The Year the Sun Died is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Sanctuary, released on October 6, 2014, in Europe, and eight days later in North America.

In 2010, four of the founding Sanctuary members — Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard, Lenny Rutledge and Dave Budbill — came together for a few select reunion performances.

At first, they just planned on playing a few shows together, but the chemistry on stage between the members and the response from fans was so overwhelming that they decided to record a new album.

[2] Commenting about how Sanctuary's reformation came about, Dane told Rock My Monkey TV, "Lenny Rutledge and I always talked to each other, but never really been friends again.

But he's really writing some great stuff that's really inspiring me, and making me fall in love with music again, with the creative process...everything that revolves around that.

Metal Injection stated, "The Year The Sun Died is a musical tour de force in that the solos and riffs are amazing, but the songs will stay in your head and simply take root there.

"[9] Metal Underground.com said that while they had expected an album that sounded more like 1988's Refuge Denied, they praised the band's evolution and post-nineties sound, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating: "Fans who expect things to go back to precisely where they left off are many of the same ones who refuse to explore music outside self-made walls, thus missing out on the true passion of music...exploration.

Ironically, after multiple listens to 'The Year the Sun Died,' you quickly start to realize that Sanctuary has done precisely that, constructing the perfect bridge between 'Into the Mirror Black' and the entire Nevermore back catalog.