BAND · INDUSTRIAL ROCK · ALTERNATIVE METAL

POWERMAN 5000

Industrial rock band formed in Boston in the early 1990s by Spider One. Tonight the Stars Revolt! (1999) went Platinum and “When Worlds Collide” became their anthem; with Abandon Ship (2024) and the Die Krupps remixes (2026), they're still going more than three decades on.

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MOST RECENT OFFICIAL VIDEO

Official video from The Noble Rot, released by Cleopatra Records on September 15, 2020 — the band's newest. Its 2024 and 2026 releases came out as audio; hear them in the catalog below.

BIOGRAPHY

EARLY 1990S–1995

I. A Boston Band First

Before the space suits, the platinum record and the move to California, Powerman 5000 was a Boston band. Spider One — born Michael David Cummings in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Rob Zombie's younger brother — started it in the early 1990s with drummer Al Pahanish, known as Al 3. With Adam 12 on guitar, Dorian 27 on bass and Jordan Cohen on percussion, the group blended rap, funk and metal into a sound that was still finding its shape.

The first recordings traveled hand to hand: A Private Little War, a 1993 cassette EP, was sold at the band's own shows. True Force followed in 1994 on Curve of the Earth, and on December 1, 1995, came the first full-length, The Blood-Splat Rating System, released by Conscience Records and produced by Mudrock with the band.

1996–1998

II. DreamWorks And The Move West

In 1996 the band signed with DreamWorks Records and relocated to Southern California. Their label debut, Mega!! Kung Fu Radio (February 25, 1997), wasn't a new record so much as a reworked Blood-Splat Rating System — songs trimmed and resequenced, with additions including “20 Miles to Texas 25 to Hell” and the title track. “Tokyo Vigilante #1” went out as a single, and that same year the band played Ozzfest.

1999–2000

III. The Stars Revolt

With Mike Tempesta — M.33 — added on second guitar, the band rebuilt its identity around B-movie science fiction, astronaut costumes and arena-sized industrial rock. Tonight the Stars Revolt!, released July 20, 1999, peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and went Platinum with the RIAA. “When Worlds Collide” became the band's anthem, followed by “Nobody's Real” and “Supernova Goes Pop.”

The momentum carried through 2000: “Get On, Get Off” landed on the Scream 3 soundtrack, the band joined Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour, and back home they took the Rising Star award at the Boston Music Awards — recognition from the city where it all began.

2001–2003

IV. The Album That Never Came Out

The next step was supposed to be Anyone for Doomsday?, set by DreamWorks for August 28, 2001. “Bombshell” was already on the radio when the album was pulled, just weeks before release; it would eventually reach digital platforms years later. In November 2001, Dorian 27 and Al 3 left the band, replaced by Siggy 00 on bass and Ad7 on drums.

Transform (May 20, 2003), produced by Joe Barresi with the band, deliberately shed the costumes and space-age imagery for leaner, more melodic rock. “Free” and “Action” were its singles, and the record closed out the band's DreamWorks years.

2004–2011

V. On Their Own Terms

By the middle of the decade Adam 12 and M.33 had moved on too, leaving Spider One as the only member of the original lineup — as he has remained ever since. Destroy What You Enjoy (August 1, 2006), on DRT Entertainment, was the band's most punk-leaning stretch; Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere (October 6, 2009), on Mighty Loud, steered back toward industrial rock and science fiction with “Super Villain” and “V Is for Vampire.”

In 2011 came a telling detour: Copies, Clones & Replicants, a covers album on Cleopatra Records devoted to the new wave and rock that shaped Spider One — Devo, David Bowie, T. Rex, INXS, The Clash and The Cars, among others.

2014–2020

VI. New Wave

POWERMAN 5000 — THE KIT AND THE EMBLEMThe drummer plays behind a bass drum bearing the Powerman 5000 logo, a pink skull in comic-book colors, before a backdrop in the same style — the band's graphics are part of the stagecraft.

Builders of the Future (May 2014), the first release of a partnership with T-Boy Records and Universal Music Enterprises, opened a more electronic chapter, led by “How to Be a Human.” New Wave (October 27, 2017), on Pavement Entertainment, pushed that direction further. Asked about the title, Spider One put it with a grin: “We have always had more in common with DEVO than DIO.”

In 2020 the band returned to Cleopatra Records with The Noble Rot (August 28, 2020), rolled out with videos for “Black Lipstick,” “Brave New World” and “Strange People Doing Strange Things.” That fall they re-recorded “When Worlds Collide,” more than two decades after the original.

2024–2026

VII. Abandon Ship And Today

Vocalist in a skeleton vest singing into a microphone, in black and white — POWERMAN 5000 — AT THE MICROPHONEThe band's vocalist sings with one hand on his head, in a skeleton-rib vest; behind him, an illustrated skull and another band member.

Abandon Ship (May 10, 2024), the band's most recent album, arrived on Cleopatra Records with Matt McJunkins producing. Ten new songs, led by the single “1999”; the CD and cassette editions added a re-recorded “Bombshell” — the single from the album that never came out.

In 2026, Jürgen Engler of German industrial band Die Krupps remixed “Black Lipstick” (March) and the re-recorded “When Worlds Collide” (April). Both landed on a CD reissue of The Noble Rot and, on July 13, on a seven-inch single limited to 50 copies signed by Spider One and Engler. That year the band toured North America in the spring and played Louisville's Louder Than Life festival in September — more than three decades after those first cassettes sold in Boston, with Spider One still out front.

Two musicians in rib-cage vests, one with an electric guitar, side by side onstage under warm light — POWERMAN 5000 — FACE TO FACE ONSTAGETwo band members meet at center stage, one of them playing guitar.

Guitarist in a rib-cage vest with a painted lightning bolt, playing under intense green light — POWERMAN 5000 — GUITAR UNDER GREEN LIGHTOne of the band's guitarists, a lightning bolt painted on his rib-cage vest, under green stage light. Costume and lighting are central to the band's shows.

MEMBERS

Lineup

The founders, the changes that marked each era, and the current core behind Spider One.

Spider OneFOUNDER

Vocals

Since the beginning

Al 3 (Al Pahanish)FOUNDER

Drums

Founding–2001

Adam 12 (Adam Williams)

Guitar

Founding–mid-2000s

Dorian 27 (Dorian Heartsong)

Bass

Founding–2001

Jordan Cohen

Percussion

Early years

M.33 (Mike Tempesta)

Guitar

Late 1990s–mid-2000s

Siggy 00

Bass

From late 2001

Ad7

Drums

From late 2001

DJ RattanCURRENT

Drums

Since 2013

Taylor HaycraftCURRENT

Guitar

Since 2019

Dan SchizCURRENT

Lead guitar

Since 2022

TIMELINE

Timeline

The moments that defined the band.

EARLY 1990S· KEY MOMENT
Formed in Boston
Spider One and Al 3 start the band with Adam 12, Dorian 27 and Jordan Cohen.
1995-12-01
The Blood-Splat Rating System
First full-length album, on Conscience Records.
1997-02-25
Mega!! Kung Fu Radio
DreamWorks Records debut, after the move to Southern California.
1999-07-20· KEY MOMENT
Tonight the Stars Revolt!
No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and RIAA Platinum.
2000
Rising Star, Boston Music Awards
Recognition from the band's hometown.
2001-08-28
Anyone for Doomsday? pulled
The album scheduled for this date is withdrawn weeks before release.
2001-11
Lineup change
Dorian 27 and Al 3 leave; Siggy 00 joins on bass and Ad7 on drums.
2003-05-20
Transform
Final DreamWorks album; leaner rock, no space suits.
2011-08-30
Copies, Clones & Replicants
A new wave and rock covers album, on Cleopatra Records.
2020-08-28
The Noble Rot
Back on Cleopatra Records.
2024-05-10· KEY MOMENT
Abandon Ship
The most recent album, produced by Matt McJunkins.
2026
Die Krupps remixes
Jürgen Engler remixes “Black Lipstick” and “When Worlds Collide.”
2026-09
Louder Than Life
The band plays the festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

CATALOG

El Disco Duro

ALBUM

ALBUM

The Blood-Splat Rating System

December 1, 1995

COVER NOT AVAILABLEVERIFIED ARCHIVE · COVER NOT AVAILABLE

ALBUM

The Blood-Splat Rating System

1995

True Force

1994

ERA617

Connections

Die Krupps (Jürgen Engler)

In 2026, Jürgen Engler of German industrial band Die Krupps remixed “Black Lipstick” and the re-recorded “When Worlds Collide.” Both remixes also landed on a seven-inch single limited to 50 copies, signed by Spider One and Engler.