| Act III: This City Made Us | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 9, 2026 | |||
| Genre | Rock opera [1] [2] | |||
| Length | 59:51 | |||
| Label | Sound Machine Records | |||
| Producer |
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| The Protomen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Act III: This City Made Us | ||||
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Act III: This City Made Us is the fourth album by rock band the Protomen, and the follow-up to Act II: The Father of Death (2009). The album revisits the Mega Man -inspired rock opera concept from the band's first two albums. [1] [2]
A girl watches the city from a rooftop before the building beside her collapses from a missile attack sent by dictator Albert Wily ("The Calm"). She makes her way through the city as people react to the building's collapse before coming across Thomas Light, giving a speech to a small rebel army, telling them that they have no hope in their fight against Wily. The girl, revealed to be the leader of the rebel army, rebukes him, giving hope back to the crowd. Seeing the crowd is prepared to fight, Light anxiously leaves, but the girl follows him ("Hold Back the Night"). He takes her to a trainyard, which has a computer that shows Megaman's location ("The Trainyard"). Reminded of Megaman by the girl, Light gives her the location and she leaves to find Megaman. Light reflects on the hopeless state of the city as he makes his way into Wily's fortress, using a device to prevent the robot guards from stopping him ("No Way Back").
In the control room of his fortress, Wily watches over the city as he thinks on how to maintain control of the city, frustrated that the rebel insurgency has been hiding in the southern side of the city where his robot army and missile attacks cannot reach ("The Storm"). Wily sends another pair of rockets to the southern side of the city, hoping to finally hit them, as he drinks away his anxieties and rage ("Buried in the Red"). The girl arrives to the canyon where Megaman resides and tries to convince Megaman to come back to the city and help fight against Wily ("Calling Out"). Megaman, in anger at the city for letting him down before, refuses to return. The girl, in disgust at his inaction, throws his helmet at him before driving away ("This City Made Us"). Megaman, thinking back on Light's role in his life and his fight with Protoman, changes his mind and begins to sprint back to the city ("Hold On (The Distance Between)").
The girl watches missiles attack the city while she continues her drive back and speeds up to get back faster ("The Redline"). Wily watches over the city's destruction with a smile as he continues to attack the revolutionaires. Light begins to interfere with Wily's drones as the revolutionaires use doors and car hoods to protect them from the robot army's attacks before swiftly destroying the army ("A Show of Force"). Light watches over the city, knowing that Wily has a plan to destroy the rebel army with a new machine. He falls asleep after working late at night and dreams of his late wife, Emily, who tells him that there is still hope and there is still work to be done before he can be with her in the afterlife ("The Dream").
Light wakes up and takes Emily's music box as he heads out into the city, stopping at Emily's grave before going to Wily's tower. As he walks through the city, he destroys robots and hears Wily's propaganda over loudspeakers, noticing a fear in Wily's messages that wasn't present before. Light goes to the top of Wily's control tower as Wily questions whether or not he should have activated his machine ("Light's Last Stand"). Wily enters his control tower, where Light reveals himself and tries to convince Wily to turn off his robot army by playing Emily's music box, causing Wily to break down and have his robot guards beat Light nearly to death. Wily then tells his citizens to gather to "witness the beginning a new era of peace and freedom" ("The Good Doctor • Part 2"). Citizens and rebels head to Wily's castle to watch his announcement, which is revealed to be Light's public execution. The rebel army, including the girl, watches Wily's robots push Light onto a gallows in fear and confusion right as Megaman finally arrives to the city. Light sees "a flash of blue" in the crowd as the rope slips around his neck and thinks of Emily before being hung in front of the crowd ("The Fate of Thomas Light").
All tracks are written by the Protomen. [3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Calm" | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Hold Back the Night" | 6:43 |
| 3. | "The Trainyard" | 1:37 |
| 4. | "No Way Back" | 6:00 |
| 5. | "The Storm" | 0:58 |
| 6. | "Buried In The Red" | 3:41 |
| 7. | "Calling Out" | 3:52 |
| 8. | "This City Made Us" | 6:03 |
| 9. | "Hold On (The Distance Between)" | 5:20 |
| 10. | "The Redline" | 0:36 |
| 11. | "A Show of Force" | 3:36 |
| 12. | "The Dream" | 1:40 |
| 13. | "Light's Last Stand" | 6:37 |
| 14. | "The Good Doctor • Part 2" | 6:40 |
| 15. | "The Fate of Thomas Light" | 3:27 |
| Total length: | 59:51 | |
On October 3, 2025, the album's first two tracks, cover art, and full title were revealed (previously, the band had referred to the album simply as Act III). [4]
The album was released via Bandcamp in weekly waves, with the band revealing tracks each week from October 3 to December 5, 2025, while having a release date of January 9, 2026. [2] [5] [6]
Act III was the most pre-ordered album on Bandcamp in 2025, as well as one of the top ten bestselling albums and the number one best selling compact disc on the site for the year. [7]