(Written by: Tyler Piantanida)
In gaming culture, music has been used mostly just for mood setters and background noise. It rarely takes itself into the realm of something we could listen to on a daily basis. A band known as The Protomen have set out to change this stereotype through an an extremely epic Rock Opera. The twist, is that it’s based on the classic Mega Man series. Protoman is Mega Man’s rival and brother in the series “canon” (haha, see what I did there?)
hit the break to read more about The Protomen and their Mega Man Rock Opera
hit the break to read more about The Protomen and their Mega Man Rock Opera
The Protomen’s rock opera sets Mega Man in a much darker, dystopic view of the world. The villian of the series, Dr. Wily, has complete control of the world and all of those within. The Father of Mega Man, Dr. Light, tried changing the world once with Protoman, but failed to do so. The story of the first album tells the tale of Mega Man and Dr. Light, trying to overcome the vast robot armies of Wily. This album takes on a much harder and synth- heavy rock and roll sound, which made the band popular in the first place. The second album changes tones, and is more like 80's rock, but it still tries to tell a story, and it still is synth-heavy. This retro feel is attributed to the fact that the second album takes place before the events of the first; retelling why Light is on this mission to destroy Wily in the first place.
The Protomen themselves are a very mysterious band. They even stay in character during all interviews and performances. The band's description for how they came to be says "Once, not twice, we stumbled upon each other in a sand pit of chaos in the middle of the state of volunteers. We accidentally delivered the fury from our instruments, and an army was discovered". They want to be a part of the world they are describing, and start the "revolution" through their music.
In order to stay true the classic 8-bit theme of the series, some of The Protomen’s music features original 8-bit sounds. In fact, they even had another musician (Makeup and Vanity Set) remix all of their first album into an 8-bit set, which is definitely worth a listen. The first two albums, “The Protomen” and “Act 2: The Father of Death” are both available for purchase on The Protomen website, and digitally on Itunes.
The Protomen themselves are a very mysterious band. They even stay in character during all interviews and performances. The band's description for how they came to be says "Once, not twice, we stumbled upon each other in a sand pit of chaos in the middle of the state of volunteers. We accidentally delivered the fury from our instruments, and an army was discovered". They want to be a part of the world they are describing, and start the "revolution" through their music.
In order to stay true the classic 8-bit theme of the series, some of The Protomen’s music features original 8-bit sounds. In fact, they even had another musician (Makeup and Vanity Set) remix all of their first album into an 8-bit set, which is definitely worth a listen. The first two albums, “The Protomen” and “Act 2: The Father of Death” are both available for purchase on The Protomen website, and digitally on Itunes.
