A Celebration of Endings

A Celebration of Endings is the eighth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. It was produced by Rich Costey and was released on 14 August 2020. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it the band's third consecutive studio album to top the chart.

Background
The band confirmed they were working on new material in an NME interview in July 2019, having released their soundtrack album Balance, Not Symmetry a few months earlier. Another NME interview in October 2019 confirmed the release of the album, with the working title Opus 8, for the 'first half of next year'.

The first single, "Instant History", was released on 20 February 2020, and first played on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show.

The album was initially planned for release of 15 May 2020, but was pushed back to 14 August due to difficulties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical reception
The album received critical acclaim upon release. On review aggregate website Metacritic, the album has an average score of 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim," based on 16 reviews. Kerrang! gave the album a perfect score, stating that "Biffy Clyro have delivered an album of restless invention, substance and style that arrives like a spray of water on the arid expanse of this saddest of summers." The Independent also gave the album a positive review, writing that the album "soothes, shakes and surprises at every turn".

Personnel
Biffy Clyro
 * Simon Neil – lead vocals, guitars
 * James Johnston – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Ben Johnston – drums, backing vocals, percussion

Additional personnel
 * Zac Rae – additional keyboards
 * Steve Mac – additional Keyboards
 * Rob Mathes – string arrangements and conducting
 * Jenny Nendick – conducting
 * Jackie Shave – concertmaster (1st violin)
 * Magnus Johnston – violin
 * Perry Montague-Mason – violin
 * Patrick Kiernan – violin
 * Pete Hanson – violin
 * Natalia Bonner – violin
 * Cathy Thompson – violin
 * Debbie Widdup – violin
 * Jonathan Evans-Jones – violin
 * Chris Tombling – violin
 * Bruce White – viola
 * Peter Lale – viola
 * Rachel Roberts – viola
 * Caroline Dearley – cello
 * Ian Burdge – cello
 * Jonathan Williams – cello
 * Caroline Dearley – cello

Production
 * Rich Costey – production, mixing
 * Steve Mac – production
 * James Rushent – additional production
 * Chris Laws – additional programming and engineering
 * Joe La Porta – mastering
 * Jonathan Allen – string recording
 * Paul Pritchard – string recording assistant
 * Neil Dawes – string recording assistant
 * KT Pipal – engineering
 * Mario Borgatta – engineering
 * Wesley M. Seidman – engineering
 * Cecil Barlett – engineering
 * Dann Pursey – engineering
 * Koby Merman – additional mix engineering and digital editing
 * Dalton Ricks – additional mix engineering
 * Ross Newbauer – additional mix engineering

Artwork and design
 * Thomas Robson – cover artwork
 * Simon Neil – additional artwork, art direction
 * Richard Welland – art direction
 * Ash Reynolds – photography