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However you seek to classify Finland’s biggest export since Hanoi Rocks, be it goth, metal, rock or indeed ‘love metal’ – a term coined from their 2003 album of the same name – it’s hard to deny their appeal.

From their blackened imagery and unashamed balladry to founding frontman Ville Valo’s near‐obsession with literate turns of phrase, they’re easily one of the world’s most prolific and beloved cult bands. So it comes as good news for their legion of devoted fans that their eighth release is perhaps the strongest summation of these Helsinki natives’ strange brew of Chris Isaak crooning, Sabbath‐worship and Type O Negative‐inspired self‐loathing.

From the candy‐sweet chorus of the title track to the Stooges‐loving Into The Night, this is manna from purgatory for the Twilight generation, and a glorious return to form for one of the world’s most peculiarly successful bands.

Alexander Milas is an erstwhile archaeologist, broadcaster, music journalist and award-winning decade-long ex-editor-in-chief of Metal Hammer magazine. In 2017 he founded Twin V, a creative solutions and production company. In 2019 he launched the World Metal Congress, a celebration of heavy metal’s global impact and an exploration of the issues affecting its community. His other projects include Space Rocks, a festival space exploration in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Heavy Metal Truants, a charity cycle ride which has raised over a million pounds for four children's charities which he co-founded with Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. He is Eddietor of the official Iron Maiden Fan Club, head of the Heavy Metal Cycling Club, and works closely with Earth Percent, a climate action group. He has a cat named Angus.