Before asking Any One for Doomsday? in late July, Powerman 5000 will

drop a song called "Bombshell" to help you decide.

The single is just what's in order for a world full of rock bands making

music whose purpose is to make fans want "to curl up in the corner or go cry in the closet,"

says frontman Spider.

"I'm so tired of that crap," he said Tuesday. "The purpose of rock music is to

make you feel like you can do anything, make you wanna drive fast, take on

the world.

"So when you hear 'Bombshell' it's sort of this big, giant, sing-along

rallying-around vibe. A lot of the record tends to be like that — there's a very

empowering kind of vibe to it."

That may not sound like much of a new twist for Powerman, especially

considering the band's breakthrough album, Tonight the Stars Revolt!

(1999). A tribute to the sci-fi world, the album featured invincible lyrics

and a larger-than-life electro rock sound, with Spider adopting a superhero

image to cap it all off.

While retaining the sci-fi themes on Any One for Doomsday? (July 31),

Powerman 5000 are intent on bringing themselves down to earth — and proving that their superhuman tendencies come from something real.

"For whatever reason, we got painted as having this tongue-in-cheek

cartooney image," said Spider. "Looking back at

all the imagery that we put together, I can totally understand why, but that

was never the intention. We take our music seriously. There's gonna be a bit

of an effort to take a half a step away from that."

"Bombshell," one of the first songs Powerman wrote for the record, provided

some early reassurance that the band was on the right track, Spider said.

The singer said another one of his favorites is a song called "Danger Is

Go," whose title comes from a saying often repeated on the '60s British

sci-fi television show "Thunderbirds."

"The outro to that song is the heaviest moment that we've ever achieved as a

band. That's never been really a goal of ours, but for that one moment, it

feels like we achieved that. A lot of people will be surprised at the

intensity level at some moments on this record."

While Spider promised the album will feature plenty of "full-on Powerman

rockers with big guitars and big choruses," there are a few serious

stylistic departures, he said. One such number is "The Future That Never

Was," which Spider described as a mellow tune that sounds like it was

excerpted from "Twin Peaks." Another is the all-electronic number "The

Megatronic."

Powerman 5000 are planning to stage a headlining tour to kick off in

mid-August. The Boston band hopes to take a couple rising bands out for

the trek — similar to its 2000 Rockets & Robots Tour with Static-X and

Dope.

The group is getting creative with its merchandise this time around,

planning to market Powerman 5000 toys, including dolls of all the band

members and a miniature stage set. Backpacks and CD holders

are also in the pipeline.

"I want this to be the year of Powerman," Spider said. "Whatever that means,

whether we sell two million records or 10 million. I just want to go all

guns blazing. Every band has its year. I want to make sure that last year

wasn't it."