Arctic Monkeys have confirmed the recording of a new live album from the band's 2018 Royal Albert Hall show, with proceeds going towards the charity War Child UK.

Due to be released on December 4, Arctic Monkeys - Live at the Royal Albert Hall will enable War Child to fill a £2 million deficit they are facing in 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These funds are all the more urgently needed as a result of the devastating impact of the virus on fundraising.

The band shared the news in a series of tweets announcing the album.

On June 7 2018 we played a special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. All proceeds from that night were donated to @warchilduk in support of the vital work they do protecting, educating & rehabilitating children who have experienced the trauma of conflict and the horror of war. pic.twitter.com/nsGsbLprc3

— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) October 28, 2020

“On June 7, 2018 we played a special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall,” they wrote. “All proceeds from that night were donated to War Child in support of the vital work they do protecting, educating & rehabilitating children who have experienced the trauma of conflict and the horror of war.”

“The situation that was bad in 2018 is now desperate and those children and their families need our help more than ever," Arctic Monkeys added.

“To enable War Child to reduce their funding deficit and continue their valuable work, we are releasing a live album, recorded on that evening. All proceeds will go direct to the charity.”

Pre-order Arctic Monkeys’ new live album, which comes in a variety of different formats including double heavyweight vinyl, a clear vinyl option, double CD, photobook and more, here.

Rumours of new Arctic Monkeys material have recently been swirling after drummer Matt Helders was photographed in a recording studios.

Arctic Monkeys’ last album was 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which Hot Press' Ed Power called “a journey – one that gets weirder and woozier as you go along":

"‘Batphone’ is a carnival ride of banging piano and fire-snorting riffs, with Turner half-crooning, half-rasping ; and ‘Ultracheese’ embarks on a bluesy ramble whilst declining to live up to the title’s implicit promise of top level fruitiness. What all this portends for the Arctic Monkeys is hard to say, though presumably the next album will be more straightforward (it could hardly be less so). Not that Turner is overly troubled you suspect.

The LP explicitly rejected many of the genre’s founding principles, yet became a massive commercial success and spawned a sell-out tour for the band yet again.

Check out the trailer for Arctic Monkeys - Live at the Royal Albert Hall below: