Hey everybody, Kunai here!!
So I have a favorite band, and they're called The Megas. They are a Megaman fan band from LA and since 2008, they have been taking anything from the Mega-verse, and turning them from just regular 'ol 8-bit tunes to epic anthems. If you're ever curious, You can pay them a visit at their official site, themegas.com or by looking at their Bandcamp page.
Today I'll be taking a look at a trio of albums based off the fantastic game Megaman 3. The albums I speak of are History Repeating: Blue, Fly on a Dog, and the recently released History Repeating: Red.
History Repeating: Blue (Released on 6/18/2012) Tracklist 1.History Repeating Part 1 2. History Repeating part 2 (One Last Time) 3. Steel Forged in Fate 4. Can't Stop the Top/ Topman 5. Don't Mess with Magnetman/ Magnetman 6. You've Sparked a War/ Sparkman 7. Walk Away from Light/ Snakeman 8. Gamma Unchained/Dr. Wily stage 1 and 2 9. I want to be The One (To watch you Die)/Wily stage 3 and 4 10. ContinueHistory Repeating Part 1-The intro to the album is nothing short of slow, somber, and epic. The first part of History Repeating sums up the feelings of Megaman feelings towards being Earth's savior in stopping rogue robot masters and really being created as a war machine, and not a peacekeeping robot like Gamma was (more on that later.) The drums echo, giving the song an ominous feeling, yet still retaining its somberness. The drums make this first part of the song. History Repeating part 2 (One Last Time)- Now the song really picks up. Simply put, the song tells of Megaman embarking on his journey "to rewrite history, and to face his destiny one last time." Also, the band manages to pull of the t i t l e screen music really well with both parts. A nice start to the album if I do say so myself. Steel Forged in Fate-A short little ditty that plays when you pick a stage. The band makes short work of it, and makes it a little more awesome. However, I kinda like the MM2 version of it. However, that's my opinion. Can't Stop the Top/ Topman-The first song about a robot master on the album!!! Now we're getting into the meat and potatoes of HR: Blue. Bascially, Topman is saying that all he wants to do is dance, even when he's fighting Megaman. He also likes destruction (at least that's what I'm getting out of the lyrics-listen to the song on Bandcamp or on the Megas official site if you're curious) and being on the frontlines of a new robot nation. A pretty good depiction of the first robot master with a relatively useless power. Powerful against Gamma, but overall useless. Don't Mess with Magnetman/ Magnetman-Ok, now this song is something else. It depicts a Romeo and Juliet-esque story about Magnetman and...wait for it..ROLL!! yup, in the song, Magnetman basically says that he's in love with Roll, but Roll doesn't love him back, because of their "Families" (Magnet is Dr. Wily, and Roll is Dr. Light, go figure) and he's desperate to be with her. He also wonders why his magnetic body won't prevent his ultimate demise. A pretty good song overall. You've Sparked a War/ Sparkman-Now this is a GREAT song. An awesome guitar riff from an awesome stage theme. Basically, Sparkman is saying that the robots are going to take over, and the humans will be no more. He's looking forward to it, and thinks nothing can stop this from happening, not even Megaman. Overall rockin' song. Walk Away from Light/ Snakeman-Ok, in this song, Snakeman basically is trying to talk Megan out of fighting against Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters, and to just join them instead. pretty good rendition of the stage theme and a good song too, albeit not much to it. Gamma Unchained- Dr. Wily has stolen Gamma, and now he activates him. In the song, he has twisted his self-image about what he's doing. He thinks that he's saving the world instead of conquering it. He also finds a PROTOtype robot (Hint, Hint..) on the verge of death, and brings it back to life. Very good song, especially the break where Gamma is speaking. Give the song a listen if you're curious. I want to be The One (To watch you Die)-Now...we focus on Dr. Light. The man simply is Tee'ed off at Wily now, and just wants to outright KILL him!! He also wants to end the war that is going on. He also fears that his creation Megaman will have those same tendencies, since Megaman wants so much to be humanlike. A very good song, and if you listen closely, You can feel Light's anger. Continue-Finally, we reach the end of HR: Blue with a cover of the continue screen music. Basically The Megas are taking the concept of continuing after getting a game over, and kind of comparing it as a premonition, a second chance, so to speak. Love this song the most on the album, along with Sparkman, and the t i t l e tracks. A great way to end the first album of the History Repeating trilogy. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 9/10. the album simply delivers the first part of an epic story.
Fly on a Dog (Released on December 20, 2012) Tracklist 1. Fly on a Dog 2. Just Another Machine (Basically a remix of Fly on a Dog) 3. Send Me an Angel 4. Super Fighting Robot (MeGerman-a cover of the German version Ruby-Spears cartoon intro) 5. I Want to B42A5D54E2 the C531 (cover of the MM2 password screen-try entering the password B42A5D54E2C531 when playing MM2, you won't be disappointed.)Fly on a Dog-Now this song I like. Not only a great cover of the Boss Select screen, but simply has a great sound to it. In the song, Megaman is beginning to wonder if he really is doing the right thing by defeating all these robot masters, and whether or not if all he was really designed to be was a war machine. He also thinks that Dr. Light created Rush just to distract him from inquiring about this conundrum. Great song overall. Just Another Machine- A remix of the t i t l e track, I feel that this version sets a more serious tone for what the song really is all about. Great remix. Send Me an Angel-Ok, this song has no relevance to the HR story, but rather a cover of a song by the band Real Life. What I like about this cover is that snippets from the movie "The Wizard" can be heard, which is a cool nod to the movie known as "The world's longest Nintendo Commercial." Very good cover. I like this better than the original version. Super Fighting Robot (MeGerman)-Once again, no story elements here. Rather, we get the German intro music of the Ruby-Spears cartoon. What I like about this cover is the switch to Dubstep at the end. Very creative move there, Megas. Very creative move. I Want to B42A5D54E2 the C531-Last song on the album. The password screen music from MM2 is excellently covered here. I came to expect no less than awesomeness. Also the t i t l e of the song refers to an actual password in MM2 that lets you start at Dr. Wily's castle with 4 E-tanks, I believe. Give it a try if you're stuck, or just curious. Also, the t i t l e is cleverly referencing another Megas track t i t l e, "I want to be the one" from their first album. Overall, a rather short album, but a nice preview of what was in store. 8/10 is my final rating for Fly on a Dog.
History Repeating: Red (released on May 13, 2014) Tracklist 1. Fly on a Dog (re-recorded) 2. Harder Than Steel/Hardman 3. GeminEye/Geminiman 4. The Haystack Principle/Needleman 5. Afraid of the Dark/Shadowman 6. The Red Song 7. I'm Not the Breakman 8. Make Your Choice 9. I Refuse (To Believe)/Dr. Wily bosses 10. Melody from the PastFly on a Dog (re-recorded)-Once again, We are treated to the Boss select screen music again, made ten times more awesome in the opener to HR: Red. The slightly changed arrangement make this song even more epic. I liked the original version and its remix, but this version just blows those two out of the water. EPIC tune right here. Harder Than Steel/Hardman-Next up, we have Hardman. The band takes Hardman, and turned him into a boxing champion. In the song, he is called out and challenged by Megaman in a winner-take-all. The song culminates into a blow by blow breakdown. This song would definitely fit in a Rocky-esqe training montage. Great tune overall. GeminEye/Geminiman-Oh, boy. My ABSOLUTE favorite song on the album. The song takes a jazzy, Film Noir-type approach to the robot master himself (or rather, themselves.) Basically, in the song the twin is getting paranoid because he thinks someone is going to kill him, so he turns to his brother, the private eye (hence the t i t l e of the song) to find the would-be killer and take him out. However, with every clue they find, the more the case doesn't add up. Great guitar riffs, captures the mood perfectly. The Haystack Principle/Needleman-Now this song probably has the most obvious t i t l e on the album. It's about Needleman, and how he is plagued by his own being. He wishes that he can rid himself of the things that hurts the people close to him-his own namesake. This becomes his lamentation, and I really feel for him. A very good song. Afraid of the Dark/Shadowman-Ok, this song is about Shadowman and how the darkness and the nature of darkness has turned him from good to bad. He often labels himself in the song as "the knife in the gunfight." Nothing more i can say on this track, other than i like the synth and keyboards on the track. very good song too. The Red Song- Ok, this track i can't quite describe in words, so you should probably listen to it here. However, what i CAN say is that this audio skit is an EPIC lead-in to the next track. Also, I think that this can kinda be used for a MM live-action movie, just not one with Michael Bay directing. I'm Not the Breakman-NOW, we get to the one robot master we were all waiting to hear about. Basically, we now hear Protoman's opinions upon meeting his brother for the first time. The two meet, and are now prepared to fight to the death-somewhat. This is the crown jewel of the album. Love this track. Make Your Choice- Continuing from I'm Not the Breakman, Protoman and Megaman are now arguing with each other about who really is the better robot-the one who supposedly fights for peace, or the one who wants to fight for a twisted sense of justice? Epic track as their points collide. Also, Gamma makes another appearance since HR: Blue. I Refuse (To Believe)-The battle between the brothers is coming to an end. Megaman stumbles upon the notion that he refuses to believe that he is more than just a machine, and that he really couldn't kill Wily as his father had instructed him to do, because according to the lyrics "I’d do it, I would/ For his crimes/Should his life I take/Does that mean no man or machine Can learn from his mistakes" meaning that if Megaman did kill Wily, no other machine(s) will learn from Wily's misdeeds.Another epic track, but not as epic as the next and final track. Melody from the Past-Also known as the iconic "Whistle concert," The Megas did save the best for last. No words can describe how epic the rendition of the whistle concert is, so just listen to this for yourself. Protoman now accepts who he really is, and apologizes to his father Dr. Light for his shortcomings, and will now and always walk the path of justice. An awesome end to the History Repeating saga. Overall, I give this album a perfect 10. This is how the second half of an album should be. You take the time to balance story, music, and feeling and this is what results. Great job, Megas!!!!
And that's my review!! Hope you guys enjoyed it!!!
-Kunai-
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