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Great news for fans of German prog band Everon, who could have been forgiven for thinking the quartet had consigned themselves to the history books, given it's been a whopping sixteen years since the band last graced us with an album, 2008's North.

"Everon didn't retire or anything, and we never even talked about it," guitarist and singer Oliver Philipps reasons. So here we are then, with Shells, an album bristling with energy and verve, encapsulating everything that made Everon such a force to be reckoned with in the first place. Defiantly old school, packed full of progressive flourishes and Philipps' innate sense of melody set the band apart from many of their peers all those years ago. It's almost like the last sixteen years have never happened.

And although a new Everon album is something to be celebrated, the road to Shells has sadly been tainted by tragedy. Although the line-up that began the recording process was recognisably the band's classic line-up, sadly, during the recording of the new album, drummer and co-founder Moschus died suddenly. "Until We Meet Again" stands up as one of the most heart-on-sleeve songs on the album. The lyrics refer to the passing of Moschus.

It’s been sixteen years and now we have Shells - Twelve tracks of quality, highly melodic, progressively inclined rock for people to enjoy. It's certainly good to have Everon back.