Devil's Review :Saturday Morning Apocalypse

Well it finally arrived from Amazon. I heard the call and answered the Powerglove signal to help with first week sales and ordered it. It's the least I could do for my kids who asked for it(plus I think it's pretty damn nifty too) and to help my friend Chris Marichiel after he was gracious enough to grant me an interview. If you missed it you can go here. So what madness and mayhem awaits inside? Let's look after the jump.

The first track is the theme to the old Fox cartoon "X-men". I'm fairly familiar with the cartoon because at the time it came out I was at the peak of my comic collecting. The track itself is pretty faithful only broken up by spurts of soloing that is very clean and not nearly as frentic as say Dragonforce. Even a bit of groove riffing.

Then we have the first rendition of Pokemon. I know this tune by heart because my kids are huge Pokemon fans. The Powerglove dudes take the well know parts and mix in some rocking parts to give the theme some edge especially near the end. And yes there is plenty of bass to be heard.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest was not a cartoon I was the least bit familiar with. So I can't really judge how well it's covered. I'm pretty sure it was done well as there are no disappointments on the album.

The next track deviates on material away from tv cartoons and covers film in the form of Nightmare before Christmas(This is Halloween). This is the most recognized part of the soundtrack in passages but I think this is where the guys take the most liberties. It's interesting to hear a power metal version of a orchestrated song. It works.

Now back to tv and again with superheroes as in Batman. This is the same version of Batman that was also used in the Tim Burton films. This is the longest track on the cd clocking in at over 5 minutes. While the original had gothic overtones which are retained in the intro about a third of the way the blastbeats and shredding overtake the song to then retreat back to source material.A very well constructed cover.

Transformers was not a cartoon I watched much of but my wife did. Fitting that this cover would incorporate more synth and keyboards to mimic the robotic theme of the source material. Then the song delves into alot of shredding but not so much wankery that it overpowers the song.

Inspector Gadget is now represented and it starts with a bit of Hall of the Mountain King which I didn't seem to remember the cartoon doing in it's theme but I only saw a few episodes so what do I know?

Now for a bit of Disney and an odd choice compared to previous tracks. Here we have the theme to one of the most terrifying scenes for little kids in an animated feature. That's right Heffalumps and Woozles from Winnie the Pooh. Oh you thought I was going to say any scene in Pocahontas didn't you? Back to the song, the Powerglove guys make this just as crazy maybe even crazier then the original scene.It's a perfect showcase for the showcase of their speed.

The Simpsons is odd because after Tony Kakko's (of Sonata Arctica)intro there is a funky version of the theme played. And again the pace on this is just as frentic as the opening to every Simpson episode but in a good way.

And to round out the instrumentals is the Flintstones. I doubt seriously the creators could ever imagine 50 years ago their theme getting such a heavy and fast treatment.But as with other tunes on this cd it is given a very tight and faithful tribute.

Rounding out the cd is the Pokemon theme again this time with Tony Kakko performing vocals. The song is sped up and funny enough is a perfect complement to Tony's style of singing. It might still polarize fans of Pokemon but who cares, anyone that has a problem with this version is too much of nerd even for this project.

So overall this is a great nostalgic ride for everyone that enjoyed their cartoons over the years. Even the metal fan with the blackest of hearts should warm up to this. It is very well played and while it displays the technical chops it also shows alot of feeling in groove too which is good lest ye be bored. So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Powerglove's Saturday Morning Apocalypse. While you're at it check out Metal Kombat for Mortal Men a collection of video game covers. I know there are enough nerds in the world that should enjoy these guys. I know I do. Here is the sampler of the album to further tempt you.