The Megas

Los Angeles video game-themed rock band, taking music from the Mega Man video game series and expanding it into synth rock songs with original lyrics based on the games. Under the alias The Belmonts, they give a similar treatment to music from the Castlevania video game series; Several releases feature the band performing under both monikers and are credited to "The Megas X The Belmonts". The Megas were formed by singers/guitarists Josh Breeding and Eric von Doymi while attending Cal State Long Beach. Bassist/backing vocalist Greg Schneider (ex-Agent 51) joined them, and the group went through early drummers Dave Jensen and Brent Firestone before Mike Levinson (also ex-Agent 51) joined and they released their first album, Get Equipped (2008), based on the game Mega Man 2. They next collaborated with the band Entertainment System for the Megatainment EP (2009), based on the original Mega Man video game. In 2010 The Megas released an acoustic version of Get Equipped titled Get Acoustic, followed by the EP Sparked A War which featured a track from an upcoming Mega Man 3-themed project. Keyboardist Brian DiDomenico joined in 2011, moving the band more in a synth rock direction. The Mega Man 3 project ultimately became a two-volume album. The first volume, History Repeating: Blue, was released in June 2012. Levinson left the band shortly afterward and was replaced by Greg Herschleb. The Fly On A Dog EP was released that December, featuring a track from the second volume of the Mega Man 3 project, but the album itself, History Repeating: Red, did not materialize until May of 2014. In 2016 The Megas released the EP What A Horrible Night... under the alias The Belmonts, with songs based on the Castlevania video games. They have since released two EPs as "The Megas X The Belmonts", featuring songs based on both Mega Man and Castlevania games: Skulls (2018) and Snakes (2020). In keeping with their retro theme, the Belmonts-related EPs have been released physically as limited edition cassettes.