I admit I sorta had this on as background music for a first listen - thus I was focusing more on the music itself than lyrics. I did find the transition from spaghetti western to arena rock interesting, and was at least paying attention enough to get that it's there for thematic reasons. The style change doesn't feel too abrupt because "How the World Fell Under Darkness" is sort of a bridge between the two. Right now I'd say the only tracks I'd probably listen to on their own are "The Hounds" and "Light Up The Night", but it's pretty interesting as a whole.
Took me a while to give this album a second listen, and I find myself liking it better.
In spite of not listening to the Protomen's first album, I've learned the broad strokes of its plot through Popcultural Osmosis. In spite of not actively paying attention to the lyrics of this one, I gather that it's about Dr. Wily's rise to power and Dr. Light's path to opposing him?
Musically, the prog-pop sound strikes a good balance by conveying the story without being overly self-indulgent. (Although some of the instrumental interludes I found boring.) I probably would have liked it better if the spaghetti western and rock tracks were more evenly spread out—rather than the album starting as one style and then transitioning to another—but I wouldn't call that a fault of the album. Also: dem horns in "The Hounds".
All in all, I'm glad I listened to this, but I'm probably not going to hang onto it.
So Great, So Powerful.
Sorry, I've tried listening to the album, and while it seemed sort of good, I just can't think of anything to say about it. It's just not very distinctive or stand-out-ish to me. Sorry, but I have nothing to say about it. Just 'meh'.
Not many people realize, 50 Cent is half man, half cossack. - Ross Noble
this was a cool thing
You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!
Nice while it lasted.
Don't mock the shocker
Can I still join? Or is this thing dead?
edited 28th Dec '13 2:47:03 PM by Rvdz
Sing the song of sixpence that goes burn the witch, we know where you live
Pretty sure this is now properly dead.
Is anyone interested in restarting this? It was a good idea, and I'm intrigued.
This is a signature.
I'd love to, though perhaps a whole new thread would serve that purpose best.
You have a point.
This is a signature.
Right, so, this being my suggestion, I figure I'll weigh in just a little bit.
I myself got sucked into the Protomen by a friend who sent me Breaking Out and The Hounds, and it really did strike a chord with me. The music as a whole is very much my kind of thing, and it's even better if you listen to both albums to get a sense of the shift in style. The cleaner and more ordered style of this one is there in large part to give the sense of a working and ordered society - before the fall, before things went to hell. The first album, which takes place after this one, is much rougher, and has much less of the big rock opera feeling about it.
All that aside though, there are a few reasons I really love this band, not the least of it being the enthusiasm and the genuine love for music that they display. Every live show they do is a full-on concert, and they give their all to it. They're also incredibly friendly to the fans and do whatever they can to interact with them. It's a band that remains committed to both the art and the people supporting them - in a big way.
Speaking for Act II, I have to concur a little bit that it slows down around the middle, and I usually skip right ahead to Breaking Out because as nice as it is to get the album through in one go and really get a proper sense of the story that's going on...well, I tend to like the bigger and faster songs.
Which is not to say that I don't put the whole album on and escape into the year 200X every now and then.
What I really, wholeheartedly recommend is going on Youtube and looking up the videos for some of their live shows. It'll be worth it.