Kanye West returns to Instagram with a spooky black mask and a gold chain featuring the names of his four children... as he prepares to release his new album Donda

He's set to release his 10th studio album Donda later this week.

And Kanye West returned to Instagram on Tuesday as part of the album's promotional role out with a series of spooky, shadow-bathed images of himself wearing a black mask.

The 44-year-old rapper and producer also shared some closeups of a gold chain he wore around his neck featuring the names of his four children with his former wife Kim Kardashian, 40.

Back in black: Kanye West, 44, was dressed in a spooky black mask as he returned to Instagram on Tuesday

Family: The rapper showed off gold chains with his four children's names ahead of his new album release

As was usual with Kanye's cryptic and sparse social media posts, he didn't both captioning the photos.

A figure that appeared to be him was seen crouching like Spider-Man on two silvery metal cylinders in an all-black outfit.

He wore leather pants with a black zip-up Bottega Veneta hoodie, plus gloves and a black mask that covered his entire head, which he augmented with goggles.

Another photo showed his blurry gloved hand reaching up to his throat, where he wore a gold Cuban links chain.

Closeup: One photo showed his blurry gloved hand reaching up to his throat, where he wore a gold Cuban links chain

All together now: The necklace included the names of his four children: North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two

Double: Some of the photos showed a second, more delicate chain that also had all of his children's names written on it

Dark superhero: A figure that appeared to be Kanye was seen crouching like Spider-Man on two silvery metal cylinders in an all-black outfit

The necklace included the names of his four children: North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two. 

Some of the photos showed a second, more delicate chain that also had all of his children's names written on it.

He kept the disconcerting black mask on in all of the photos and even gave a closeup of it in another photo done in profile.

He held his gray camouflage gloves up to his face to cover his exposed eye holes, revealing a gray bracelet.

Odd: He kept the disconcerting black mask on in all of the photos and even gave a closeup of it in another photo done in profile

His outfit: Kanye capped off the photo set with an image of all of his clothing and jewelry from the photos laid out on a table, as if he was advertising it

Kanye capped off the photo set with an image of all of his clothing and jewelry from the photos laid out on a table, as if he was advertising it.

The necklaces appear to be a family gift, as his ex Kim shared photos of their son Saint wearing a gold chain with his name written in the same Old English text.

'Just how????' she captioned the photo, marveling at how fast her son was growing up. 

Kanye has also recently been seen in a similar full-face mask last week when he stopped to chat with legendary rapper Ice Cube during a game for his Big3 three-on-three basketball league.

He's also worn more colorful full-face designs in recent months in place of more modest masks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Matching: The necklaces appear to be a family gift, as his ex Kim shared photos of their son Saint wearing a gold chain with his name written in the same Old English text

New look: Kanye has also recently been seen in a similar full-face mask last week when he stopped to chat with legendary rapper Ice Cube during a game for his Big3 three-on-three basketball league; seen on July 17

The hitmaker is reportedly set to release his next album Donda, named after his late mother, on Friday.

On Monday, the rapper Pusha T announced on Instagram that Kanye would be hosting a listening party in Atlanta on Thursday night.

The album is highly anticipated by fans following his lackluster 2018 release Ye, which failed to energize critics, and his religious-themed 2019 album Jesus Is King.

The Monster rapper was previously reported to have made disparaging remarks about his ex-wife in the lyrics of his upcoming release, but a source told DailyMail.com on Monday that he 'doesn't say anything negative' about Kim on the record. 

Coming soon: Pusha T announced Kanye would hold a listening session for his album Donda in Atlanta on Thursday, before releasing it on Friday; seen in 2019 at coachella

Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in February this year after seven years of marriage, requesting joint legal and physical custody of their four children. 

Prior to their split, the two had been mostly living apart in the wake of his doomed presidential bid, and she had been open about his struggles with mental illness in recent years. 

The lyrics of his new song reportedly liken the Calabasas home that he shared with Kim to jail, as he raps: 'Tell the assassins I escaped from Calabasas.' 

A source who was at the listening party told The Sun: 'It's a very deep, sad song about Kanye, with him reflecting on his marriage with Kim.'

'He talks about the kids and mentions her taking everything. After he played this song he paused for like, two minutes, and cried. It was really sombre.'

Despite their divorce filing, the two appear to be committed to raising their family harmoniously.

Over the weekend, they had a rare reunion when they took the children to the interactive teamLab: Continuity exhibition at the Asian Art Museum, according to E! News.

Family: Over the weekend, Kim and Kanye reunited to take their children to an interactive museum exhibit