History Music / TheProtomen

The first album, a self-titled release also known as ''Act I'' or ''Hope Rides Alone'', was self-published in 2005, and tells the story of how Protoman and Megaman were created to fight against Dr. Wily's regime and the very different paths their lives took. It was followed in September 2009 by ''Act II: The Father of Death'', a prequel which tells the story of how Dr. Light and Wily created artificial intelligence, and how it all went so very wrong. ''Act III'' takes place sometime after ''Act I'' and is to be released an an unspecified date. A [[https://www.twitch.tv/pax/b/330672275 live]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBWGZgbaEEQ preview]] of an ''Act III'' track was heard at PAX 2012, and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLdi6DnpzQI second song was previewed]] at [=MAGFest=] 2015.

In 2012 they released their first live disc, a [[{{Music/Queen}} Queen]] [[CoverAlbum tribute]], and an in-universe album of 70s and 80s covers called ''The Cover Up'' was released in early 2015. Both Acts also received a remastered rerelease on vinyl. Makeup and Vanity Set's 8-bit remix of ''Act I'' is getting a release on vinyl. The Protomen also held an April 2012 music video shoot for ''Act II'' track "Light Up the Night" and released a vinyl of two songs from Act III in August 2015, as well as a single release of Act III song "The Fight" in 2022.

The main page of their website can be found [[https://www.protomen.com here.]] An Act I interactive website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act1 here,]] while the Act II website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act2.htm here.]]

* AdaptationExpansion: Dr. Light is given a much fuller backstory than he ever had in the games, including the creation of Emily Stanton, an original character.

In 2012 they released their first live disc, a [[{{Music/Queen}} Queen]] [[CoverAlbum tribute]], and an in-universe album of 70s and 80s covers called ''The Cover Up'' was released in early 2015. Both Acts also received a remastered rerelease on vinyl. Makeup and Vanity Set's 8-bit remix of ''Act I'' is getting a release on vinyl. The Protomen also held an April 2012 music video shoot for ''Act II'' track "Light Up the Night" and released a vinyl of songs from Act III in August 2015.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Every band member has a rdiculously cool 80s-style code name.

The Protomen are a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters very large]] indie progressive rock band from Nashville, [=TN=], whose musical catalogue is based around a RockOpera trilogy inspired by ''[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]''. Very loosely based off of the mythology of the classic ''Mega Man'' games, the first three in particular, it shows an Orwellian {{Dystopia}} that's a {{Deconstruction}} of HoldingOutForAHero, and a general examination of the psychology behind fascism.

* XanatosGambit: Dr. Wily's murdering of Emily to get Light exiled. It's implied Wily rigged Light being let off the hook. He painted Light to be a horrible murderer, and when the justice system "failed" to put him away, Wily seized the opportunity to usurp the justice system and place himself above it.

* AlterEgoActing: The members of the Protomen present themselves as being [[{{Kayfabe}} actual dissidents living in the society described in their music]], with ''noms de guerre'' such as "Panther" or "Heath Who Hath No Name", and represent themselves as living together in a bunker called "The Thundercon".

* [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters Loads And Loads of Band Members]]: The group consists of ''nine people'' when performing live, and still there are more former members than there are current members. The Protomen go through so many band members even the fans get confused. Only four of the band's current members (Panther, Commander, KILROY, and Murphy Weller) were involved with the recording of Act I, and since the recording of Act II the group has gone through three guitarists and three drummers. And then there's "semi-members" like Master Blaster, who performs at the band's Nashville shows but seldom goes on tour.
** The was {{lampshaded}} at their 2011 Halloween show, where every band member was dressed like a former band member. And it ''still'' wasn't all of them.

* AnotherSideAnotherStory: The Cover Up tells the story of Dr. Light in between The Hounds and The State Vs. Thomas Light. He's on the run from Wily and receives help from a reporter [[spoiler:who is one of Wily's moles]].

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The band took a break from their rock opera to perform at Whiskerino, creating an [[https://www.protomen.com/BeardsGoingNowhere/ epic song about beards.]] It actually manages to subvert the trope as well as playing it straight. It's not a part of the canon, but reading the lyrics give the impression that it's written from the view of a pre-Act II Light. Beard's Going Nowhere could also be the ''happy'' ending, where Light and Emily escaped the ruined City.
** The band often performs covers of various '80s songs during their encores, including "Silent Running" by Music/MikeAndTheMechanics, "Danger Zone" by Music/KennyLoggins, and a face-meltingly awesome rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the Gambler on lead vocals.
** On December 10th, 2010, they performed a Queen covers concert to show support for Evil Bebos, a band they're friends with. The covers are also on CD.
** At [=MAGFest=] 2013, the band reconvened in Jamspace, after their main stage show was cut short, to play Due Vendetta on a meowing plastic cat keyboard christened "Freddie Meowcury".
** An [[http://billosopher.tumblr.com/post/59846728478/mp3-of-the-new-new-act-iii-song-from-the-pax original song]] was heard at PAX 2013. It was later revealed to be titled "Built to Last," and was part of two official Mega Man tribute albums alongside Breaking Out and a remastered version of The Will of One--though, like "Beard's Going Nowhere," it's also in their canon.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Every band member, as well as the characters.

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Wily's broadcast tower is the heart of his fortress and the last thing standing between man and freedom.

* ManlyfacialHair: Besides Commander's epic beard, the Protomen wrote "Beard's Going Nowhere" about Dr. Light and ''his'' epic beard that he imagines will enable him to ride out of the City with Emily.

* TheChessmaster: Dr. Wily, who always stays one step ahead of the HotBlooded heroes.

* AscendedFanboy: The Ringer and Steve are two fans who were called up by KILROY to play keyboard for the Stand and to sing as Mega Man in Vengeance, respectively. Another fan also took the stage at a North Carolina show.

* DoNotCallMePaul: According to one interview, even Commander B. Hawkins's ''mother'' calls him "Commander" these days.

* TheDragon: The Sniper was this to Dr. Wily before Light and Joe took it out. In Act I, Protoman takes this role.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Wily's broadcast tower.
* FanOfThePast: All of the Protomen are this to some extent, as is affiliate Music/MakeupAndVanitySet.

* {{Minimalism}}: The only real characters are Megaman, Protoman, Light, Wily, Joe, Emily, and the Sniper. Details about the city and setting are rarely spoken of through the songs or WordOfGod aside from the fact that Wily controls everything and how he came to control everything.

* MythologyGag: Regardless of whether Bass appears in the rock opera, Turbo Lover--Dr. Wily--plays bass guitar and drum.

* NightmareFuel: The Sniper is an in-universe example; ''one'' robot placated an entire city.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Megaman is capable of crying, and the liner notes tell of his heart hurting under the weight of what he'd been told.

* ShoutOut: To ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' by way of the line "We are the dead", spoken therein by Winston Smith, and by extension to the poem ''In Flanders Fields'' from which Orwell got the line.

** Act II directly calls the surveillance screens "telescreens."

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: In-story: There is only one major female character, and even she [[DeathByOriginStory gets killed right at the beginning]]. The band's current line-up also features only one female member out of nine.
** Act III features a female lead, though to what capacity remains to be seen.

* StylisticSuck: According to [[WordOfGod Our Heroes]], Act I is ''supposed'' to sound destroyed because it's a ruined future. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This isn't to say Act I sucks, though]]. Since Act II is largely before things have gone bad, the sound is polished and cleaner.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Act I is set in the year 200X, a ShoutOut to the setting of the games. Act II opens thirty years prior. ([[AlternateHistory 197X]], perhaps?)

* VillainSong: "The Hounds" is this for Wily, and "The Stand (Man or Machine)" subverts this for Protoman - he's a villain, but wants his beliefs to be proven ''wrong''.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Wily in Act II.

* ArtShift: The Act I booklet's art, the music video's art, and Act II booklet's art are very different.

* ForegoneConclusion: Act II. Since it's a prequel, the audience knows that Light and Joe will fail and the City will turn into the dystopia of Act I, and that the work Light sets out to do at the end, Protoman, will also fail.

* CloudCuckooLander: The band's email "press releases" are rambling affairs which take several paragraphs before actually mentioning anything having to do with the band.
** Their announcement of the release date for Act II, for instance, opened with a paean to Shark Week on the Discovery Channel (including a picture of a shark with Tom Selleck's face), and included a 48-second "preview" of the album which was every track played ''at once'' to the point of being unintelligible.

** The group's 2010 west coast tour is officially called "Super Awesome Tour Part [=III=]: [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Fievel Goes West]]". During one show on this tour, in which the bands' instruments overloaded the venue's electrical hookup and caused a brief blackout, Panther claimed that such a thing had only happened once before - and it resulted in ''the fans burning the venue to the ground''.
* CodeName: Every band member has one.

* BadassBoast: This awesome quote from an early news mailer.

* {{Mondegreen}}: During "The Sons of Fate," many listeners mistakenly hear Dr. Light (or a random member of the mob, depending on who you ask) crying out "Stop!" when the crowd is urging Megaman to kill his brother. It's actually part of the crowd saying "You're our only ''hope''."
** Commander, upon being asked about this by a fan, stated that whether it was 'stop' or 'hope' is up to fan interpretation. However, he in fact did imply that 'stop' is a mishearing of the intended lyric.

The main page of their website can be found [[http://www.protomen.com here.]] An Act I interactive website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act1 here,]] while the Act II website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act2.htm here.]]

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The band took a break from their rock opera to perform at Whiskerino, creating an [[http://www.protomen.com/BeardsGoingNowhere/ epic song about beards.]] It actually manages to subvert the trope as well as playing it straight. It's not a part of the canon, but reading the lyrics give the impression that it's written from the view of a pre-Act II Light. Beard's Going Nowhere could also be the ''happy'' ending, where Light and Emily escaped the ruined City.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The band took a break from their rock opera to perform at Whiskerino, creating an [[http://www.protomen.com/BeardsGoingNowhere/ epic song about beards]]. It actually manages to subvert the trope as well as playing it straight. It's not a part of the canon, but reading the lyrics give the impression that it's written from the view of a pre-Act II Light. Beard's Going Nowhere could also be the ''happy'' ending, where Light and Emily escaped the ruined City.

The main page of their website can be found [[http://www.protomen.com here.]] An Act I interactive website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act1 here]], while the Act II website can be found [[https://protomen.com/act2.htm here]].

!!Tropes Used Throughout All Albums:

** It was a crapsack in Act II as well, it's just a shinier crapsack after Wily's takeover.

* CrossOver: In May 2011, the Protomen were set to appear on a double bill in Nashville with none other than ''Tiffany'' of '80s pop star fame. However, [[spoiler:due to a family tragedy]] the band couldn't make it.

The Protomen have appeared in a ZombieApocalypse webcomic, ''Webcomic/DeadOfSummer''. Several members have other bands, including Music/CheerUpCharlieDaniels (Turbo Lover, occasionally Panther, the Gambler, and Sir Bakker in live shows), Music/AdamAndTheCouchPotatoes (Turbo Lover, with the Gambler appearing in a music video), and The Ascent Of Everest (Sir Bakker). Music/MakeupAndVanitySet is affiliated with them, having done an 8-bit chiptunes mix of ''Act I'', with plans to make one of ''Act II''. They are also affiliated with Music/{{Brentalfloss}}, Music/TheMegas, Music/TupperWareRemixParty, and Music/TenaciousD, and have gotten "Light up the Night" into ''VideoGame/RockBand 4''. They have also produced music for ''WebVideo/VideoGameHighSchool''.

* Sector: Backing vocals