Brighton band Architects have beaten Maximo Park to number one after a close fought race.
The metalcore group, a genre which combines extreme metal and punk, pulled ahead by 550 chart sales to earn their first chart-topping album since forming in 2004, according to the Official Charts Company.
It is not only the band’s first number one but also their first top 10 album – with their previous peak of number 15 coming in 2016.
Celebrating the news, and paying tribute to their former lead guitarist Tom Searle – who died in 2016 aged 28 with melanoma skin cancer, singer Sam Carter said: “I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to us. Thank you to every single person who bought this record. We love you so much and we could not have done this without you.
“To have an album that connects this much, with what we’re talking about – trying and pushing for a better world – it’s unbelievable. As ever, everything we do is for Tom Searle, our brother.”
West London rapper Digga D was at number three with Made In The Pyrex, the most streamed release of the week, while rock veteran Alice Cooper was at four with Detroit Stories.
Former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan’s well-received sixth album Choices sat at number five, the singer-songwriter’s highest-charting to date.
On the singles chart, Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License holds onto number one for an eighth consecutive week.