Knights of Unicron (band)

The name or term "Knights of Unicron" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Knights of Unicron (disambiguation).

The Knights of Unicron are a rock band from the Knights of Unicron continuity family.

"Rock 'n' roll angels bring thy hard rock hallelujah."

Are you ready to rock!? No? Well, too bad!!

The Knights of Unicron (formerly Bumblebee and the Hive) are Cybertron's most legendary bot 'n roll band, shredding the faces off headbangers from one side of the galaxy to the other. They've got amps that go to 11 and armadillos in their trousers; there ain't nothin' gonna derail this crazy train!

Except for petty infighting. Yeah, that sure did it.

Though a mutual love of hot licks and cheap tricks brought them together, bickering and "creative differences" tore them apart. By the 1990s, the Knights of Unicron were no more and the landscape of bot 'n roll would never be the same.

Until 2014, when they got back together. These things work in cycles.

Core members:

• Optimus Prime (lead vocals)
• Soundwave (back-up vocals)
• Megatron (guitar)
• Smooth Jazz (keytar)

Instrument members:

• Laserbeak (guitar)
• Ratbat (keytar)

Former members:

• Bumblebee (lead vocals, Bumblebee and the Hive era)

Other members:

• Starscream (manager)
• Vehicons (roadies)
• Arcee (Yoko Ono)

Fiction

Behind the Music pack-in booklet

This is what hipsters on Cybertron wear.

In 1978, Bumblebee founded the bot 'n roll group Bumblebee and the Hive and they skyrocketed to the top with their song "Cybertronian Rhapsody". A year later, Bumblebee shredded his vocal processor and was forced to leave the band. A record store clerk then took his place as lead singer, taking on the stage name Optimus Prime and leading to the band's new identity as the Knights of Unicron.

For the next three years, the Knights of Unicron produced hit after hit with albums such as Look What the Bot Dragged In, Dark Side of the Matrix and Sonic Interference (with the song "Thunder Touch" tearing up the charts). Though 1982 brought another hit single, "Space Bridge Over Troubled Energon", it also brought Prime's girlfriend Arcee into the fold with her increasingly intrusive "creative influence". Her demands eventually saw Prime remove his vocals from the song "Space Eater", much to the chagrin of guitarist Megatron and band manager Starscream.

In a world of rock parodies, Optimus Prime would be Meatloaf...

In 1983, the concept album Purple Energon and its accompanying tour bombed. Prime and Arcee rolled out the Concert to Heal Iacon benefit show without the involvement of the other Knights of Unicron, creating further rifts amongst the band. The band decided to "take a break" from each other and Optimus Prime found success with his solo albums Ride the Energon and Bot Out of Chaar. They regrouped in 1984 and launched their comeback Cybertronian Democracy tour. To ease expenses, Megatron hired a troop of Vehicon roadies who became intensely loyal to him. Following tensions during their performance at Crystal City, Megatron walked out of the band, taking the Vehicons with him.

With the Knights of Unicron disbanded, the members resorted to petty rivalries: When Megatron threw a VIP concert, Optimus countered with a free benefit concert and so on. During an epic-length battle of the bands at nightclub The Forge, former Knights keytarist Smooth Jazz had his sonic circuits permanently damaged by Megatron, ending his performing career. As the years passed, Megatron amassed a huge cult following. Former Knights back-up vocalist Soundwave found success in his own way, siring pop protégés Ratbat and Rumble who hit it big as a duo. Things would crash soon after, though, as Soundwave's duo were caught in a sound-syncing scandal. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime launched a concert promotion network, "The Matrix of Music", in order to share live music to everyone on Cybertron. The file-sharing network Botster threatened the profits of the former band-mates, causing Megatron to sue.

By 2014, each member of the Knights found success in other areas of the industry: Optimus and Megatron with their own bands, Soundwave as a snotty judge on hit show "Cybertron's Got Talent", and Smooth Jazz as producer for bands like New Bots on the Block, CyberSync, and the Backstreet Bots. Through unknown means, the Knights of Unicron were able to put aside their differences and reunite for the Till All Are One tour. Even ex-member Bumblebee was invited to come back and work the vocal sampler from back stage.

Beginning on planet Earth, spanning the galaxy and ending on planet Cybertron, the tour would be the biggest in the band's history...

2014 Till All Are One touring locations

Optimus the Patriot.

According to the back of the official 2014 Till All Are One tour T-shirt, the Knights of Unicron visited the following venues:

1. Mt. St. Hilary Amphitheater - Planet Earth
2. Autobot City Metroplex - Planet Earth
3. Ft. Max Forum - Planet Earth
4. The Cobra Terrordrome - Planet Earth
5. Boulder Hill - Planet Earth
6. Paradron Disco - Planet Paradron
7. Galactic Games Stadium - Athenia Outpost
8. Trypticon Dinobase - Planet Chaar
9. The Sharkticon Pit - Planet Quintessa
10. The Veil of Remembrance - Autobot Mausoleum
11. Sinister Tympanic Membrane - Planet Unicron
12. Petro-Rabbit Cantina - Alpha IX
13. Vestial Emporium - Hydrus IV
14. Wreckstock - Planet of Junk (with the Rock Bots opening for them )
15. Niter Slave Mines - Golgonath Seven
16. Mumu-Obscura - Eigerson 48 System
17. Baron Von Joy's - Planet Gobotron
18. Zarak's Palace - Planet Nebulos
19. Kranix Memorial Stadium - Planet Lithone
20. Thirteenth Legion Outpost - Planet Antilla
21. The Plasma Pit - Thrull
22. The Snu-Snu Club - Planet Femax
23. Maccadam's Old Oil House - Planet Cybertron
24. Toxic Sludge Swamps - Planet Cybertron
25. The Smelting Pool - Planet Cybertron
26. Iacon Stadium - Planet Cybertron

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime saw the Knights in concert on the Lithone stop of the 2014 tour. He was not impressed, but recognized that the protoforms attending the concert were. He believed that the band's usage of "Unicron" in their name was tasteless. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/13 One of the band's hits was "...Are All Dead", which inspired Shockwave in several realities. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/03

Sideways loves the band, especially their hit "Thunder Touch". He also claims your mom provided some automotive maintenance for the band. Ask Sideways, 2015/07/06

Games

Transformers: Legends

Does he look like a lion or like Lion?

When the Knights of Unicron needed to change their lineup, Megatron, and Optimus Prime began to battle over which of them would be the group's frontman. Autobot Jazz, a new musician on the scene, intended to put himself up for a position in the band, and attended the audition with his friends Laserbeak and Ratbat ready to show the band their smooth grooves. The trio succeeded in passing the auditions and joined the band as full members. The band continued to peddle their brand of metal thrash for years afterward, until Megatron and Optimus again had a falling out, resulting in the band splitting up. Knights of Unicron

Toys

Knights of Unicron

Smooth Jazz

• Knights of Unicron Reunion Tour Set (San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive, 2014) - The glorious set features the members of the eponymous band and their instruments.
  • Megatron - A redeco of Deluxe Class War for Cybertron Megatron.
  • Laserbeak - A redeco of Animated Laserbeak.
  • Optimus Prime - A redeco of Deluxe Class Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime.
  • Ratbat - A redeco of Animated Ratbat.
  • Smooth Jazz - A redeco of Deluxe Class Fall of Cybertron Autobot Jazz.
  • Soundwave - A redeco of Deluxe Class War for Cybertron Soundwave.

Merchandise

• Several T-shirts were available as part of the Knights of Unicron promotion... most of which didn't become available until several months after San Diego Comic-Con. The "Till All Are One" tour shirt was available at San Diego Comic Con, then later made available on We Love Fine's website. A few months later, the Optimus Prime "Bot Out of Chaar" and the "Dark Side of the Matrix" shirts were made available through Think Geek's website. The art for the latter two designs was created by Ninjaink. Ninjaink also provided the list of venues on the back of the "Till All Are One" tour shirt, while the front design (the Iron Maiden homage) was by an in-house artist at Hasbro.

Notes

• The Knights of Unicron are a tricky beast to define, continuity-wise. Much of their backstory draws from the Aligned continuity family and its Binder of Revelation, with Orion Pax the clerk, Megatron commanding Vehicons, and Bumblebee losing his voice. Meanwhile, there's an obvious 1980s influence on the whole thing, with the year 1984 and numerous other Generation 1 references found throughout the supporting material.
• Their backstory, songs, and albums are a dense collection of references to classic rock acts too numerous to describe here. But we would be remiss not to mention that their name is almost certainly based on a supposed secret meaning of "KISS": Knights in Satan's Service.

External links

• Behind The Music: The Volatile History of 'The Knights of Unicron', Cybertron's Greatest Band