The Rolling Stones have returned with the best album in years

The Stones are not immortal, but they play as if time did not touch them. They added to their legend with the hit, great sounding album "Hackney Diamonds". These are the albums you wait for.

Despite the team's legend saying otherwise, the Stones and their fans painfully realized they were not immortal when two years ago, during the summer, Charlie Watts, the band's drummer, passed away. But this doesn't mean that the musicians have hung up their passion. Quite the opposite. And they prove this with their new album.

Indeed, they undoubtedly realize the passage of time, but they have no intention of surrendering. Proof of this is their newest album, "Hackney Diamonds." Those who had the opportunity to hear it in full, primarily critics and journalists (and judging by the reviews often loyal fans) are raving that it's the best The Rolling Stones album in years. Nay, in decades.

And they are right. "Hackney Diamonds" sounds great, and is sparkling with guests. Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder have all appeared as guests on the Stones' album. In a word, it is royal. This will please, especially those who claimed that Mick Jagger and company have long given up, are living off the legend and can't record anything fresh.

They sure can, and how! "Hackney Diamonds" is a hefty dose of bumping, which means solid, rock 'n' roll playing. There are melodic choruses, sharp riffs, varying tempos, and pure, rock and roll energy. But there's no revolution here. The Stones play classically with their unmistakable flair. However, there's so much space and freshness in this playing that you might as well assume that the record was made by much younger colleagues, inspired by the band from the Islands. And of course, there's the "eternally young" voice of 80-year-old Mick Jagger. It hasn't aged a bit.

Despite everything, the passage of time and recent events have made their mark on the new Stones' album. The departure of a friend pushed the musicians to finally grit their teeth, meet, and finish the album that they've put off for many years. The new record celebrates the life and work of Charlie Watts, who can be heard, among others, in the songs "Mess It Up" and "Live By The Sword". In others, he was honorably replaced by Steve Jordan.

Some of these tracks are concert certainties, like the album-opening "Angry", others, like "Depending on you", adds a note of nostalgia, and with "Get Close", in turn - you want to sing and dance. "Hackney Diamonds" will charm even a skeptic.

We had to wait nearly 18 years for a new, and so excellently sounding disc with original material from The Rolling Stones (since "Bigger Bang" from 2005). But it should be emphasised here: it was worth it. Just that and only that. All that remains is to listen!

It is worth adding at the end that the gentlemen organized a proper celebration around the album's premiere, as befitting rock's royalty. First, a formal press conference was organized in London, hosted by the well-known American showman, Jimmy Fallon. Later, the promotional campaign rolled on like an avalanche.

The premiere of The Rolling Stones' new album is a celebration. And indeed, there is something to celebrate. The kings of rock have returned in full glory. Diamond inches.