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.
How the World Fell Under Darkness
The Protomen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Instrumental The movement started slowly at first, but soon expanded exponentially into every part of life. The old commuter train that bore Light to his exile was bought and the track scrapped and recycled to make way for a shining electromagnetic bullet train. Sleek and silver, it tore through the city like a volt across a wire, and as quickly as it moved, the city was transformed around it.
Beneath the hammers of Wily's new army of metal workmen, buildings were razed to the ground, leveled in a single morning. New foundations were laid in the same afternoon. Structures, metal frames piercing the clouds, were erected before nightfall. Glass and steel wrapped the frames before the sun rose the next day. Then the armies of machines would move onto the next task. Never stopping. Never slowing. Never resting.
Morning after morning, the men and women of the city awoke to find a bright new world. Everything was remade. Made better. Made brighter. The streets were swept. The undesirables, the homeless, the criminal element of the city, systematically vanished.
Years passed.
A generation grew up within the metal arms that embraced the city. The older generations never told them what the city looked like before the machines. Why would they? What good could come from telling the children of the type of dark, filthy, and dangerous world that men create when left to their own devices? That once men slaved away deep inside the earth, risking death for the sake of survival. That once women left their children, still asleep in their beds, to grind away mindless hours in the factories, sacrificing family to secure necessities.
This new world was so perfect that it seemed dangerous to speak of the old world. As if this new city, sprung from a sea of darkness, was balanced on a single point, teetering on a crucial ignorance. It seemed that any misstep, any wrong word, could topple the city, sinking it back in the sea, that dark abyss of human suffering, leaving them with nothing. After all, they were not the creators of this world. They were merely the recipients of a gift. A gift given to them by a single man and his countless steel hands. And just as easily as it was given, couldn't it be taken away?
An unspoken fear dangled above the heads of every man and woman. Keeping them silent. Keeping them safe.
Even so, rumors started. Ghost stories of a demon. A beast with a single red eye. He that would pluck you from your bed at night if you were found with a dissenting word on your tongue. Mothers told children to stay close as they traveled through the streets, keep a smile on their faces, and never speak ill of the machines.
A generation grew up inside the metal hands that gently circled the neck of the city. Some of them grew up hating the city, fearing the machines. There was one boy in particular. His name was Joe.
The Protomen's song How the World Fell Under Darkness tells a dystopian, cautionary tale of a society that values progress and technology above all else. The slow movement towards a futuristic, efficient way of life quickly becomes the norm as the city is transformed by the use of machines to automate every aspect of life. Buildings are quickly destroyed and rebuilt, factories and mines are entirely run by machines, and undesirables are systematically eliminated. The citizens of the city gladly embrace this new way of life without questioning what has been lost or sacrificed.
However, a generation grows up without knowing the darker aspects of human nature that existed before this new society. There is an unspoken fear that any misstep could cause the entire society to collapse, and rumors of a demon who punishes dissenters with a single red eye circulate. Despite this, some individuals like the boy named Joe, begin to question the machines and fear for their future in a world solely run by technology. The song ultimately serves as a warning against blindly accepting technological progress without considering the potential consequences and loss of humanity.
Line by Line Meaning
The movement started slowly at first, but soon expanded exponentially into every part of life.
A movement to transform the city began subtly and gradually but quickly spread throughout every aspect of society.
Beneath the hammers of Wily's new army of metal workmen, buildings were razed to the ground, leveled in a single morning.
Under the control of the leader Wily, an army of machines quickly demolished buildings, leaving nothing but rubble in a matter of hours.
New foundations were laid in the same afternoon. Structures, metal frames piercing the clouds, were erected before nightfall. Glass and steel wrapped the frames before the sun rose the next day.
Immediately after the buildings were demolished, new foundations were built and skyscrapers were erected with impressive speed, complete with glass and steel exteriors.
Morning after morning, the men and women of the city awoke to find a bright new world.
Over time, the city was transformed into a bright and modern place, leaving the citizens amazed at the positive changes.
The streets were swept. The undesirables, the homeless, the criminal element of the city, systematically vanished.
The city was cleaned up and any elements of society deemed undesirable, including homeless and criminal individuals, were forcibly removed from the area.
This new world was so perfect that it seemed dangerous to speak of the old world.
The new city was so ideal that discussing the previous state of the city was strictly forbidden and even seen as a threat to the stability of the new society.
A generation grew up within the metal arms that embraced the city.
A new generation of citizens grew up surrounded by the metal and technology that made up the city, unaware of the world that existed before.
It seemed that any misstep, any wrong word, could topple the city, sinking it back in the sea, that dark abyss of human suffering, leaving them with nothing.
The citizens were made to believe that any small mistake or dissenting remark could bring the city crashing down and plunge them back into the previous state of suffering.
Mothers told children to stay close as they traveled through the streets, keep a smile on their faces, and never speak ill of the machines.
Parents reminded their children to be cautious and obedient, never speaking negatively about the machines that controlled their daily lives.
A generation grew up inside the metal hands that gently circled the neck of the city.
The new generation of citizens grew up under the control of the machines that surrounded and controlled every aspect of the city.
There was one boy in particular. His name was Joe.
One particular boy, named Joe, grew up in this society and eventually grew to resent the machines and the perfect society they had created.
Contributed by David J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@forceofnature26
I love how they illustrate the passage of time through the music changing - the first half of the album is 60s style western country and jazz while this song and the later ones transition into synthy 80s power ballads before Act 1 gets into 90s-00s hard rock. Genius composers
@MisterFanwank
I love how this track transitions between the two distinct musical styles of Act II.
@rockmandude4
I imagine Light goes to the train tracks. He listens to the oncoming train, contemplating suicide. The sound, the last sound of the old, pre-Wily world he'd hear, reminds him of his father's time. The clangs of Wily's machines remind him of mining. And his father's death. And his dream. And how it came to this, with the clangs of robots. With the synth, we see a fast-forward of Wily building up his empire- lights blaze by, machines fly overhead. Light's heart beats, with his internal conflict.
@veeeepeeee
scoob this track is hitting real different rn
@groundcontrolto
My vinyl copy of this just loops the heartbeat over and over.
@lupusalbus3795
Maybe because Analog is not part of the machine?
Interesting change
@Wolvinof
Loving when the electronic synths start coming in, build up and finally go all out.
@GenesicGViral
How The World Fell Under Darkness: Ends with Joe's heartbeat. Keep Quiet: Ends with Joe's ragged breathing after fighting the Sniper. The Fall: Ends with Joe flatlining...
@sandtraven3686
I'm listening to all this for the first time, and you just gave away the plot.
@graphite7898
@@sandtraven3686 7 Year Old comments man, gotta watch yourself.