The Protomen

Formed in 2003 and releasing their debut album of the same name in 2005. ‘The Protomen’ is the unexpected fusion of a tribute to the famous video game series ‘Megaman’ presented in the form of a rock opera.

To my surprise however the mesh works quite well. The band presents the universe in a much more dystopian, darker way. As the opening song ‘Hope Rides Alone’ tells of a man building a robot, humanities last hope to beat this tyrannical evil that rules over this world which starts off with this slow acoustic before bursting into a full-on rock performance. The album is very much tied to the story it’s trying to tell, so I feel that songs out of the context of the album don’t hold their ground as much

For example, the follow up track to the opener ‘Funeral of a Son’ ties directly in with ‘Hope Rides Alone’ telling us that they couldn’t do it, the last hope that humanity had could not win in the face of it all. It’s not to take from Protomens over all sound, as there are some especially impressive performances on here. Standouts to me are ‘The Will of One’ and ‘Vengeance’ which have some especially impressive performances from lead singer Raul Panther III, who reaches an especially high pitch and his almost desperate cries really add to the struggle that you feel the album is going through in the latter half of the album.

I personally think that ‘The Protomen’ is competent album in what it’s trying to portray. It’s desolate, moody and a struggle but presents itself in such a grand way where it’s one of those albums you’d find yourself listening too in one sitting. And at 8 songs total, with some that can run on for a while, it’s well worth the listen if you’re looking for a solid rock opera album

Protomen is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.