Seeing events like BitGen Gamer Fest that feature some of the most talented musicians I have ever seen from all across the country have made me realize a few things. Firstly, without a doubt, video game music is enjoying more popularity than ever before, as more and more extremely talented artists com out of the woodwork and evetually wind up on the stages of large scale VGM events like BitGen and MAGFest. Second, the success of video game music artists has been transcending the video game subculture, and straight into the public spotlight. This phenomenon is best exemplified by none other than The Protomen.

The Protomen are like a rock opera, power ballad, and 80s synth infusion all rolled up into one epic package, whose music is loosely based off of the lure of the Mega Man universe. The story that they tell with their music is so very powerful, and they have been creating new fans all over the world, many of whom may not even realize that their music has it’s roots buried in the video game world. On top of being exceptionally talented, The Protomen are a total class act and consummate professionals. They have have played for sell out crowds of thousands, and crowds of a few dozen local fans at a high school auditorium. This complete package of epicness has gotten them noticed by folks in high places, which is why the Protomen are now touring with none other than Tenacious D! Their most recent album, which is a Queen cover album, has been very well received, and even featured on the front of page of celebrity news site TMZ. Fans will tell you that this level of success is long overdue for the group, and I am inclined to agree.

Brent “brentalfloss” Black, is a comedian, lyricist, singer, and a whole lot more. Most people know him for his With Lyrics series, in which he adds lyrics to many of our favorite video game tunes from throughout the ages. Brent got his start with first video, which added lyrics to the opening theme from Mega Man 3, and has been creating new tracks and new fans ever since. Brent recently released his second full length CD titled Bits of Me, which quickly found itself atop of charts of both iTunes and Billboard! Brent’s new album reached as high as #4 on iTunes and as high as #8 on Billboard Top 200 for Comedy, besting well known and renowned comedians like Daniel Tosh and Jim Gaffigan.

Now, you may be asking what The Megas, a powerful rock band who tells their own version of the story of Mega Man games through their incredible renditions of songs from the series, and Inverse Phase, chiptune artist extraordinaire, have in common. It’s quite simple really!

The Megas’ new album History Repeating: Blue, which is the first of a two part album that tells the story of Mega Man 3, and Inverse Phase’s new album Pretty Eight Machine, a completely redone chiptune version of the Nine Inch Nails smash hit album Pretty Hate Machine, BOTH reached #1 status on the enormous music hosting website, Bandcamp. Bandcamp is a massive network of musicians that has serviced over 34,000,000 downloads, so, suffice to say, that reaching #1 on there for any amount of time, is a humongous honor!

It’s only a matter of time until these guys, or another extremely talented video game music artist, stakes another claim to fame, and you can bet that we here at RGN will be here to tell you all about it!