Transform by Powerman 5000

Transform, Powerman 5000's fourth album, hit stores on May 20, 2003, on DreamWorks with Joe Barresi producing, and it's the sound of the Boston band ditching the spacesuits. After years of science-fiction theatrics, Spider One, Rob Zombie's kid brother and the one member who has never left, went into the studio in July 2002 with Adam 12 still on guitar and a plainer, more direct way of writing: fewer industrial clanks, less nu-metal bluster, not so much sheer weight.

The makeover was visual too. In the video for "Free", the song that reached the countdowns, the band swaps costumes for denim and plays in a graffiti-smeared red room, a scrappy punk-rock look that suits the leaner songs. The enhanced CD carried that clip and the one for "Action", its other single, and the artwork is covered in symbols recalling the Amphisbaena. It moved 39,000 copies in its first week.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.