Exclusive Premiere: The Protomen Light Up the Night with “This City Made Us”
When it comes to heavy metal, one of the most common components of our favorite artists, songs, and albums is the desire to stand up against tyranny. How many metal bands talk about standing up and fighting the powers that be? How many urge you to take action and make the world a better place for yourself if you’re discontent? So when you hear the exclusive premiere track we’ve got from The Protomen, pay attention to the lyrics and tell me they’re not metal — or at least metal adjacent.
The track in question, “This City Made Us”, is the latest single from The Protomen‘s forthcoming album Act III: This City Made Us, which is set to release on January 9, 2026. Fans of the band are likely hitting the comments right now to remind me that it was originally released as a single back in 2015, but this final studio version has something extra. Some more galloping riffs. More bite. It’s ready for battle.
For those of you that don’t know who The Protomen are, imagine if the DNA of Queen, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band was spliced together and the result of such a twisted experiment grew up to love Capcom video games from the 80s and 90s. That’s The Protomen — a rock opera dedicated to a dark re-telling of the Mega Man series.
And while they admit they may not be the most metal act out there, The Protomen are excited to share their songs of rebellion and story of hope (and whether it rides alone or not…) to our little slice of the rock world.
“This right here is the title track for our new album, Act III: This City Made Us. And I’ll have you know, we made this thing specifically for you, dear MetalSucks reader. Or rather…we made it for all of you who think Turbo Priest is the best Priest…all six of you. And yes, Lonnieridesgoats86 in the comments, we know we’re on MetalSucks and we’re not metal…but most of the main characters in our story are made of metal, so we’re pretty sure that gives us a pass.”
Complete with their signature dueling, harmonizing guitars, soaring vocals, and a thunderous rhythm section, “This City Made Us” further proves that The Protomen are practically the embodiment of the rock opera concept. It’s bombastic and theatrical, but oddly grounded in a way that doesn’t let them fall too far into the “this is cheesy as hell” category.
So check out the track below. If it manages to sink its hooks into you, check out their Bandcamp and pre-order the album. They’ll be releasing new tracks every week until it finally releases in full on January 9.
