It’s Finally F*cking Happening: The Protomen Reveal Release Date for ‘Act III: This City Made Us’

When it comes to rock and metal releases, there are a few that took a loooooonng time to come out. Albums like Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy with its 15 years of production, Tool’s Fear Inoculum and its 13 years since 10,000 Days came out, and the 22 fucking years it took for My Bloody Valentine to release mbv immediately come to mind.

But for us super nerdy metalheads that love rock operas in the style of Styx, Queen, Iron Maiden, and even Bruce Springsteen about an iconic Capcom platformer videogame series known as Mega Man, the day has finally come.

Nashville’s own Protomen have finally — FUCKING FINALLY — announced the release date to Act III: This City Made Us. The entire album will be out and in the hands of fans on January 9, 2026. Their first two full-length studio efforts were concept albums that told a canonical story titled Act I and Act II: The Father of Death, which released in 2005 and 2009, respectively. Since then, fans have been anxiously awaiting Act III not only for new music, but to learn what happens next in the story. That means fans will have waited almost 17 years for this release.

Sure, the band’s put out a song here and there over the years from Act III, but a lot of their time in recent history was spent on a live album of Queen covers and a cover album full of kick ass 80s tunes. Fans in their comment sections were constantly asking about Act III, but earlier this month they dropped the date and began releasing new songs over on Soundcloud. Anyone that bought the album there has been getting new tracks every week until the album comes out. And as one of those folks I gotta say that so far this one definitely lives up to the hype.

So basically, if you haven’t gathered it from this post, I am fucking stoked for Act III: This City Made Us to get officially released. I’m stoked for them to go on tour because their shows are electric as all get out. But mostly, I’m fucking stoked because this means more people are going to know how fucking awesome The Protomen really are.