The Darkest Skies Are the Brightest is the third solo studio album by Anneke van Giersbergen, released on 26 February 2021 by Inside Out Music.

As a way of recovering and think about her future life decisions, van Giersbergen retreated alone to a small house near the woods outside Eindhoven.

She then started writing songs by herself there, with just an acoustic guitar and basic musical gear,[1] without the intention of transforming them into a full album.

[2][3] The title, The Darkest Skies Are the Brightest, reflects the album main themes and refers to the idea that people are forced to find answers regarding big life questions when facing personal challenges.

[5] According to the singer, "for the new album [she] wrote a lot of songs filled with messages of love and heartache, but [she] also went on a more propulsive journey, with darker storytelling", which is clear in the second single released, "Hurricane".