Snow Patrol’s fifth album is to be entitled One Hundred Million Suns, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.

The follow-up to the massive-selling Eyes Open album is set for release later this year and according to drummer Jonny Quinn, is their best offering to date.

And the band are expected to perform a few intimate shows back home in Northern Ireland before playing a major concert here in the new year.

Speaking from Berlin where Snow Patrol have been recording their highly-anticipated new album, Jonny admitted the pressure had been on to deliver a spectacular new album — but the band are delighted with the result.

“We recorded the album at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland and the same studios in Berlin where U2 recorded Achtung Baby,” he said.

“It’s still very much melody- based, but it’s different too in ways from the other albums. It’s hard to know what everyone will make of it but we’re happy. I’d go as far as to say I think it’s our best album yet.

“The new album should be out some time later this year, maybe October, and we certainly want to get home to play a big gig for everyone next year. But we’ll probably play a few smaller ones, with any luck, before Christmas.”

Snow Patrol’s third album Final Straw was the band’s first major commercial success and gave the band a number of hit singles.

But it was their fourth album, Eyes Open, released in 2006, which saw them break the US market as well.