Act III: This City Made Us

If you're unfamiliar, The Protomen are a band that has been around for 20 years - starting out as a concept band about the Megaman videogame series but evolving into a band writing high concept songs about dystopian worlds, fascist leadership, oppressive technology and trying to pursue hope through it all. They also wear some awesome silver makeup.

They released their first album back in 2005 - an album that could not be more about Megaman, quite literally. The followup, Act II: The Father of Death, served as a prequel and injected a lot of liberties into the storyline. It was great growth to see. And everyone expected even bigger things from Act III, the grand summation of the tale as promised by the band. But.. it never came. Years passed and the band kept saying work was underway but no one heard the fruits of that labor. They released a Queen tribute concert, a score to a stageplay, a compilation of covers but no Act III. In 2015 - ten years ago - they released two new songs from Act 3. Hope emerged. In 2022, another song. Could it be possible? On Oct 3, 2025 - the band announced Act III: This City Made Us will be released on January 9, 2026. Seventeen years between Act 2 and Act 3 but they actually did it. They are slowly rolling out the record two songs at a time, really letting fans savor in it. This also encourages poking around to see additional art.

I can't wait to hear the entire record in full and have already ordered my copy of the CD. I'm sure I'll order the vinyl whenever they make that, too. The artwork is by John DeLucca and Caspar Newbolt - longtime artwork collaborators to the band. I've no doubt they created an immersive package to contain the record.

The Protomen have never really stopped releasing music but they created a very high bar for themselves with Act 3. As a fan, I'm glad they stepped up to the challenge and saw it through.