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Potential "Subculture" page: _The Protomen_.

Last posted Mar 20, 2013 at 12:10AM EDT. Added Mar 17, 2013 at 12:19AM EDT
3 posts from 2 users

Welp, after having my rocks royally socked off last night by their latest performance in Dallas, I believe that The Protomen are a band that are worthy of having their own entry. They have a vocal (but thankfully not abrasive) fanbase, recieve quite a bit of fanart, and have even been covered in game-related media, such as Nintendo Power, 1UP, and The Escapist.

Since I'm too busy with college work to write up a whole article right now, I thought that the best course of action would be to leave some kind of game plan on what I am going to write for later. So, without further ado, I give you all an outline.

  • The Protomen
  • About: The Protomen are an American Hard Rock/Nintendocore band that make Rock Operas based on the Mega Man franchise. The band is also known for its live shows that involve the band members dressing up in costumes, utilizing numerous props, and integrating audience participation.
  • Origin: The Protomen was originally formed in 2003 and initially was largely composed of Middle Tennessee State University students who wanted to major in music-based career fields. While the band was nascently forming, a former band member called Heath Who Hath No Name wrote a song called Due Vendetta that featured the names of Robot Masters from the first three Mega Man games, as well as supporting characters. From this song, the idea of a Mega Man rock opera began to develop.

*In spite of their enthusiasm as to creating a Mega Man project, the band members were considerably worried that their work would not be well-recieved. However, they would find success within their community at a local bar called "The Boro", where they would deliver their first five performances. [Source] [Not sure if I should mention this in particular, but since it seems to be the oldest recording of the band on the internet it may be worth mentioning. Also, I'm kind of out of ideas for this section right now; help is appreciated.]

  • Spread: [Like I said, a bunch of gaming journals have praised the band since they started up, and a handful of communities have popped up that celebrate their work. Babe Ruth's Alan Shacklock becoming their producer in response to liking their debut album is something worth mentioning, though I'm not sure if it goes here or in the section below.]
  • The Band: [It may be worthwhile to talk about the band's presence, what influences them, and what they plan to make in the future.]
  • Band Members: [Info on the leading band members themselves – namely, Panther, K.I.L.R.O.Y., The Gambler, Turbo Lover, and Commander – and possibly some of the members who have left the band. This part may be extraneous unless we go into detail on how their live shows work, which is something that I'd like to do if possible.]
  • The Story: The story is split up into three acts.
  • The self-titled debut album (sometimes referred to as Act I: Hope Rides Alone and Act I: The Sons Of Fate by fans) concerns a dystopian society in which Doctor Wily successfully takes over, leading to the establishment of an Orwellian society where machines impose their leader's iron fist. To try and free the opressed masses, Doctor Light constructs a robot called Protoman to challenge Wily's rule. Although the machine puts up a valliant fight, it is defeated, and in spite of Protoman's example, no citizens choose to follow the path that Light intended to set up. Upset by this turn of events, he constructs another robot called Megaman in order to alleviate his misery. Eventually, Megaman learns about his brother and sets out to avenge him, in spite of his father's protests – little does he know that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. The sound to the album itself is meant to sound deteriorated in order to reflect the state of the world, and, in the band's own words, was in part an exercise to "go against everything our recording teachers and fellow students were trying to feed us about making everything sound pristine and "perfect."" [Source]
  • The second installment, Act II: The Father Of Death, is a prequel to the previous act, showing the relationship between Light and Wily when they were partners, as well as explain the numerous events that caused the city to be transformed into the dystopia that is present in Act I. The first half of the album is more reliant on classical instruments and non-electronic music, while the second half of the album is heavy on synthesizers and modern instruments. The album as a whole sounds audibly cleaner and clearer than the previous release, reflecting the state of society "before the bomb dropped," as the band describes.
  • Act III is currently in production, and serves as a chronological sequel to the first album. Though the band has opted to keep quiet about the story, it has been confirmed that Doctor Light will play a role in the story, and that there will be a female protagonist. A single from the album, tenatively titled "Hold Back The Night_", was previewed at PAX 2012, and played in various concerts following the exposition. [Source]

…Hopefully, that's good for now. I would like some sort of input on this before I actually post an article, so feel free to make suggestions or add things to my little outline.

Last edited Mar 17, 2013 at 12:20AM EDT
Skeletor-sm

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