With a formidable lineup including founding vocalist Greg Dulli (THE TWILIGHT SINGERS, THE GUTTER TWINS), guitarists Dave Rosser and Jon Skibic, drummer Patrick Keeler, multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson, and co-founder/bassist John Curle, The Afghan Whigs will be making their first return to Metro since their two-night residency in 2014. The band will be touring behind their eighth studio album, In Spades, which will be released this Friday, May 5, via Sub Pop. The album boasts ten tracks promising the spectral imagery and brutalist lyrical charm that has become the Whigs’ calling card.

Through breakups, brief reformations, and now a full-on reunion that kicked off in 2012, The Afghan Whigs have remained an intrepid force in alternative rock. Nearly 20 years of interpersonal joys, sorrows, and upheavals of innocence echo throughout In Spades, powerfully documenting where The Afghan Whigs have been, and where they might go next.

“Having a break from the Whigs helped me remember what made it so rewarding,” bassist John Curley says. “Over the course of a lifetime, there are constants, and there’s also change. You see who’s dropped off the vine—who’s going in reverse, and who’s still by your side. It’s interesting to see where life takes you, and where it doesn’t. That’s the journey and it hasn’t stopped.”