Little is known about the Protomen, other than the band is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Because the band often responds to interviews and questions in-character, their own descriptions of their history are delivered with the dramatic flair of their storyline concept and their comments can not always be taken at face value. Their code-names are largely references to pop culture films, song titles, and fictional characters.
The band is composed mostly of MTSU recording program graduates, and first came to be so they could meet class deadlines and the need to record for [their] grades. They produced their first album over two years in various Murfreesboro studios, using analog rather than digital production. Most of the band had graduated and moved to Nashville by 2005.
Group member Commander has stated that their first album was deliberately designed to sound like "distorted pencil sharpeners about 90% of the time" and "was made specifically to go against everything our recording teachers and fellow students were trying to feed us about making everything sound pristine and 'perfect.'. The tracks were mixed on analog tape.
In a 2009 interview, lead vocalist Panther stated, "We basically gathered up all of our good friends from the local rock bands of Murfreesboro, tied ourselves together, and tried to walk. And somehow it worked. At the time, we noticed a void in rock and roll. A hole that could only really be filled with grown men and women painting up like robots and playing some fierce and furious rock music based on a 1980's video game. We were fairly certain no one else was going to fill that hole. But, by god, it's filled now. You can thank us later."
The band has strong ties to the Murfreesboro and Nashville independent music scene, and some members are integrated into several bands simultaneously.
Father Of Death
The Protomen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though I did not pull the trigger, I built the gun that he holds in his hand.
Last night I dreamed I climbed to the top of a mountain of metal
and for miles I could see the destruction of man.
I will not be the father of death.
Darling Emily, everything that I have done, I have done for you,
but it's turned out all wrong.
Can I take it back? Can I turn off this machine
before it destroys everything that I've loved?
I will find a way to make this right!
I will find a way, Emily.
I will not be the father of death!
Emily Stanton climbed the stairs to her beloved's apartment, a folded letter in her hand. Tom had been so busy with his work these last few months, they'd barely seen one another. This, instead, was how they'd communicated. The door at the top of the stairs was cracked open. She called out to Tom as she entered the darkened room. A man was bent over the desk rummaging through the drawers frantically. It was Albert Wily. He turned, startled, and looked at Emily; the hint of a smile crossed his face. He motioned, not at Emily, but at the figure standing in the shadows behind her. The machine shut the door obediently.
Emily: What are you doing here? (Albert: Let me take you away.)
I'm not going anywhere. (He will be nothing when this runs its course.)
He will be everything that a man
is supposed to be.
If the shadow blocks out the sun... there will be Light!
If it stays 'till the sun is set... there will be Light!
If the sun never shows its face again... there will be Light!
No matter how dark the city gets... there will be...
Albert Wily's eyes grew cold as Emily's rejection of him became clear. He turned to the machine standing at the door and quickly slid his finger across his own throat. The robot moved silently towards Emily as Wily slid through the window, onto the fire escape, and into the streets below. Emily ran to the window, following his escape, but the machine was too quick. Its cold hands caught the soft flesh of her arm. She opened her mouth to scream but the warm tearing of a cold blade across her neck aborted the sound.
Even as Thomas Light climbed the stairs to his apartment, he sensed something was wrong. He opened the door, crossed through, and locked it behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, the first thing he made out was a red light pulsing slowly on the fire escape. A moment passed as Light tried to reconcile the image of a machine he'd just left at his workshop, with the figure now towering outside his window. His gaze drifted from the shaded helmet of the machine to its hand and to the knife it gripped, dripping deep crimson droplets onto the toe of its black boots. The machine tossed the knife in through the window, and leapt to the ground below. Light's eyes followed the arc of the blade to the floor, to Emily.
Sirens approached in the distance.
Thomas held his darling Emily in his arms, pulling her close to his chest. Shaking silently.
Footsteps rang out from the stairwell. A fist rapped violently against the door. Thomas didn't notice. He slowly brushed the hair from Emily's face and kissed her forehead. A single tear falling from his own eyes to hers. In her hand, a folded letter with his name scrawled carelessly on the front.
The sound of the door splintering finally shook Light from his mournful reverie. He pocketed the note and lowered his love to the ground as he inched slowly to the edge of the open window.
His actions were met with the hollow click of rounds being loaded into chambers. He began howling incoherently to the policemen about renegade robots and red lights in blast shields. The only responses he received were nervous faces and fingers inching toward triggers. In grief and desperation, Light turned and threw himself from the window.
Shots shattered the hush of the sleeping city.
Light's tumbling body flattened the roof of a car parked below. The air was thrust from his lungs. His right arm was shattered, but he was alive. He rolled from the car onto the shards of glass lying on the street below, shredding his hands and knees. Gasping for air and retching violently on the pavement, for the first time in his life not thinking about the future, Light scrambled to his feet and disappeared into the darkness.
The Protomen's song "Father of Death" appears to be a tragic story of a scientist, Tom, who realizes that the weapon he created has been used for destruction and death. He is haunted by his actions but wants to make things right before it's too late. He struggles with the idea of being responsible for the actions of others and whether he can undo what has been done. There is also a subplot involving his lover Emily, who is killed by a machine created by his colleague, Albert Wily, who attempts to steal her away from Tom. Tom finds her dead body and is grief-stricken, but is also pursued by the police and forced to flee. The song is a dense, complex narrative that deals with themes of responsibility, regret, and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
What have I done?
Expressing regret and guilt over his actions and their consequences.
Though I did not pull the trigger, I built the gun that he holds in his hand.
Even though he did not directly cause harm, he feels responsible for enabling it to happen.
Last night I dreamed I climbed to the top of a mountain of metal and for miles I could see the destruction of man.
Having nightmares about the consequences of his actions and feeling overwhelmed by the destruction they've caused.
I will not be the father of death.
Vowing to take responsibility and make things right going forward.
Darling Emily, everything that I have done, I have done for you, but it's turned out all wrong.
Trying to justify his actions by claiming they were done out of love, but still acknowledging that they have caused harm.
Can I take it back? Can I turn off this machine before it destroys everything that I've loved?
Wishing he could undo the harm he has caused and prevent further devastation.
I will find a way to make this right!
Determined to take action to fix the damage he has caused.
I will find a way, Emily.
Assuring Emily and himself that he will come up with a solution to make things right.
What are you doing here? (Albert: Let me take you away.)
Questioning Albert's presence and intentions in the situation.
I'm not going anywhere. (He will be nothing when this runs its course.)
Refusing to follow Albert and trying to reassure herself that this crisis will pass.
He will be everything that a man is supposed to be.
Believing that her partner will step up and become the hero that everyone needs.
If the shadow blocks out the sun... there will be Light!
Finding hope in difficult circumstances and believing in the power of light to overcome darkness.
A single tear falling from his own eyes to hers.
Expressing deep sadness and love for Emily in their final moments together.
Contributed by Carter T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dorkandproudofit
The following is a little bit of my idea of how a full film of this album would look, continued from the last track in this channel:
[LIGHT pauses for a good while before walking to the door to the lab. As he leaves the room, we see WILY smiling evilly behind him before looking at his watch, then at a clock on the wall, and setting a timer as he walks over to the robot and turns it on; the robot follows him out the door as he smirks again.]
WILY: So very predictable.
[As he leaves the room, the first few notes of "The Father of Death" begin playing. Cut to LIGHT, alone in the lab, looking over various schematics with a very worried look on his face. The schematics all include both his and WILY's names, and a number of them have been edited with markers in various places.]
LIGHT: What have I done?
Though I did not pull the trigger, I built the gun that he holds in his hands.
Last night I dreamed I climbed to the top of a mountain of metal, and for miles I could see the destruction of man.
[Cut to WILY in his car, parked just outside an apartment building with the Model 01 robot motionless in the backseat. WILY is looking at a notepad with notes on the distance between the police station and the building, as well as between the lab and the building, with approximate travel time for both. Looking at the timer on his watch again, WILY smiles and picks up his phone and dials 911.]
WILY: [spoken] Yes, I'd like to report a domestic disturbance.
LIGHT: [voiceover, sung] I will not be the father of death!
[cut back to LIGHT in his lab, as he picks up the photo of himself and a woman; he frowns with worry as he looks at it.]
LIGHT: Darling Emily,
Everything that I have done, I have done for you, but it's turned out all wrong!
Can I take it back?
Can I turn off this machine before it destroys everything that I love?
[LIGHT glances at the clock on the wall, then stands up and puts on his coat to leave.]
I will find a way to make things right! I will find a way, Emily!
I will not be the father of death!
[cut to the interior of an apartment, where WILY is frantically searching the place, leather gloves on his hands. The apartment has been trashed in the process of his search; finally, he opens a drawer and pulls out a small schematic of a handheld device marked "Concept: master controller". He smiles. Cut to EMILY STANTON, the same woman as in the photograph in the lab, unlocking the door to the apartment and entering, only to be startled by WILY and the state of the place. WILY quickly hides the schematic behind his back, where we see he is also holding a small black device with a button on it.]
EMILY and (WILY): What are you doing here? (Let me take you away...)
I'm not going anywhere! (He will be NOTHING when this runs its course--)
He will be everything that a man is supposed to be!
[cut to WILY's hands behind his back, placing his thumb on the button and pressing it. On the choir parts, cut to LIGHT ascending the stairs to the apartment, and every time the choir sings "There will be light", we see on each landing of the stairwell one of THE PROTOMEN playing an instrument and singing the words. Every time EMILY sings, we cut back to her as the robot behind her slowly approaches.]
EMILY and (CHOIR): If a shadow blocks out the sun... (there will be light!)
If it stays 'till the sun is set... (there will be light!)
If the sun never shows its face again, (there will be light!)
No matter how dark this city gets, there will be--!
[Just as she sings the last line, the robot begins to place a knife around her neck, but we cut away to LIGHT finally reaching the floor with the apartment, then cut to WILY fleeing via the fire escape, getting in his car and driving off just as a number of police cars arrive outside the building. Cut back to LIGHT as he opens the door, seeing the robot fleeing the same way as WILY... then seeing EMILY's lifeless body on the floor, in a pool of blood with her throat cut and a bloody knife on the floor next to her. Shock and disbelief almost instantly give way to inconsolable weeping as he cradles her body. Just then, the police enter the apartment, see him and the body, and assume the worst, pointing their guns at him and ordering him to stay where he is. Light slowly stands up, hands above his head as he slowly moves toward the open window, the police shouting at him more. Suddenly he leaps out the window and over the railing of the fire escape just as shots ring out, landing in a dumpster with a loud crash and grunting in awful pain before frantically climbing out, clutching his shoulder as he flees the scene. Cut to WILY sitting in his car a good ways away, the robot slowly climbing into the car with him. WILY is not smiling; his face is stoic, but his eyes have a VERY slight water to them. He sits there silently for a few moments before driving off.]
-----
Here would be a good spot for an original number written by the Protomen just for the movie to help bridge the gap between this and "the Hounds".
-----
[The first notes of "The Hounds" play as we cut to a lower floor of a broadcast tower, slowly panning up to WILY, standing at the window and looking out with his hands behind his back, his feet tapping to the rhythm. He is dressed in a suit and tie. Behind him is a podium in a large room, which is filled with dozens of reporters, their pens tapping against their notepads to the same rhythm. Near WILY is a glass door leading to a studio with a camera and microphone. WILY turns around to face the podium and the reporters.]
@Lagomization
I was inspired to write a scene based on this song as well! Though how I wrote it, I made it so Emily was killed in the middle of the street for Tom to grab her, like in the album art:
At home, a distressed man, TOM LIGHT, is sitting in front of a TV and drinking what looks like scotch/whiskey. His living room looks as mundane as he. He flips to the news and sees Wily demonstrating their new robot. He begins to pace around his apartment.
TOM đť…
What have I done? /
Though I did not pull the trigger
I build the gun / That he holds
In his hands / Last night I
dreamed / I climbed to the top
Of a mountain of metal / and
For miles I could see the
Destruction of man.
I will not be the father of death.
Tom grabs his brown trenchcoat, his bike helmet, puts on his black leather boots, and goes for the door. He needs to talk to Emily.
TOM đť…
Darling Emily / Everything
that I have done / I have done for
you / But it’s turned out all wrong /
Can I take it back? Can I turn off
this machine before it destroys
Everything I’ve loved? / I will find
a way to make this right! / I will
find a way Emily.
I will not be the father of death!
Tom shoots out of his apartment and to his motorcycle, to see his girlfriend. Another man, his best friend ALBERT WILY sneaks past Tom. Albert looks like he plans to fuck up Tom’s career in one night; in other words pissed the fuck off.
Though Albert thought no one saw, Tom’s girlfriend EMILY STANTON was on his way to Tom’s apartment as well. Emily follows Albert up while Albert thinks he’s alone. He puts on his gloves and gets to work.
Emily busts open Tom’s door to see Albert rummaging through drawers, but to Emily’s shock, he didn’t have a look of fear, but a look of unadulterated maniacal joy.
EMILY (ALBERT) đť…
What are you doing here (let
me take you away) / I’m not going
anywhere (he will be nothing when this
runs it’s course) / He will be everything
that a man / is supposed to be!
Emily begins to corner Wily, near an open window.
EMILY (CHORUS + EMILY) đť…
If the shadow blocks the sun…
(there will be light!) / If it stays till the
sun is set… (there will be light!) / If
the sun never shows it’s face again…
(there will be light!)
Wily look towards the open window and down the alley at his robot.
No matter how dark the city
gets… (there will be--)
Wily jumps out the window, down a fire escape with a piece of paper, Emily chases him and leaves her note on tom's bed. As Wily crosses main street, he gives off a loud whistle. In the middle of the street, Emily stops and turns to see Tom and Albert’s robot running towards her with a knife. The robot slits her throat and runs back into the shadows.
Tom returning from Emily's empty apartment, hears screams just outside his apartment with a crowd gathered. Tom pushes his way through the crowd to see a pale girl, with blood running down her throat barely able to hold herself up. It was Emily. Tom is shocked beyond words and only able to gasp out an “Emily”.
Emily takes one step towards Tom before stumbling and falling unconscious, and Tom grabs a dead Emily. He’s not able to shed a tear from the utter disbelief. This scene looks very much like the Father of Death cover.
A close up of Tom’s face, in plain shock, is disturbed by the shouts of someone. As he turns to look, he sees the cops yelling for him to get down. Tom ignores them to look at Emily and is hit on the back of a head with a nightstick and blacks out.
They think it was Tom.
@georgelopes4589
I never knew an 80’s themed, rock opera, musical about Dr. Light from MegaMan struggling with depression after creating ProtoMan was something I needed.
@eggonabull
This is before protoman though? And Act I is after MegaMan.
@chs9999
Protomen was created way later in the first song of act 1 this is about him creating the first robots with Wiley
@FlamingZelda3
I found this while playing piano today. When Emily sings “if the shadow should block the sun, there will be light” it’s the same motif as when light sings “They’ve waited so long for this day, someone to take the death away” in The Good Doctor.
Musically, it’s like she’s declaring her faith in him and his promise to save mankind.
@josephschultz3301
And knowing what happens, it's just very, very sad. Which makes me appreciate the song all the more.
@Struggler3831
That’s really cool
@ballistixwearesilent5576
There are a fair few more of those knocking about in both acts.
@Kibalover1992
I decided to listen to both of the entire albums in one sitting while reading the lyrics with the notes. It was amazing but a horrible decision because I was an emotional wreck afterward.
@lupusalbus3795
Just did for the first time. I fear we are becoming what the story warned us of.
@chanez5731
me too and i was in a bad mood almot depressive..i've listened the entire album over a night ....