Protomen - Act 2: The Father of Death

by Chaz Bacus
(Nashville, TN)

What would you get if you crossed the cheesy goodness of 80's arena rock with the stylings of Ennio Morricone?

Protomen's sophomore album Act II: The Father of Death!

This is actually a prequel to their debut album, and tells the story of how Dr. Wily rose to power and how Dr. Light decided to fight back.

If either or both of these names sound familiar to you, it's because they are the same names of the good and bad guys from the popular 1980s Nintendo hit Megaman. That's right, Protomen's albums are inspired by 8-bit video games from the 80s...specifically, Megaman 1-4 I believe.

Anyway, as if that's not enough to intrigue the average person, THE MUSIC IS ACTUALLY INCREDIBLE.

I'm not sure what to compare it to or how to describe it. The first two or three tracks sound like they came straight from a Sergio Leone film, but like I said above there are others that have 80s sounding influences only it's probably not at all what you're thinking.

The only way to completely dive in is to buy the CD so you can get the CD jacket that fills in the story between the songs.

Standout songs for me are: "The Hounds", "The Good Doctor", "Light Up the Night", and "Here Comes the Arm."

But as it's really a "rock opera" it really needs to be listened to all at once. Really.

So just as soon as you are able go and give it a listen. If you like your music to tell a story, then you are almost guaranteed to like it.

9.5 out of 10