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Astra to release "The Black Chord" in March
New song "Quake Meat" now available
The new track from The Black Chord, Quake Meat, can be heard now over at metalblade.com/astra. The Black Chord will be available in North American on March 27th. Astra will be hosting an album release show in San Diego on March 16th. The show will be at The Casbah with Dead Meadow, The Loons and Joy. The show will also feature visuals by Operation: Mindblown. For more info, check out astratheband.com.
About the band:
Born in San Diego but bred in the mists of Avalon, Astra have fast become a synonym for the ethereal, the sublime, and the genuinely progressive. 2009's The Weirding put these analog-inflected San Diego visionaries on the map, alongside the likes of co-conspirators Earthless, Diagonal and Dungen.
Collectively, like some lost tribe of prog faithful they brought this unwieldly and much- maligned form of music out of the dark ages and in front of a new generation of Mellotron-loving cognoscenti. If this was simply a case of exhibitionism, or some demonstration of holier-than-thou musical knowledge, then surely Astra would not be talked about in such hushed, reverential tones. But it's the very humility of the band's beginnings and the grace of what they've created that's given them the respect of starry-eyed peers, fans, and indeed critics alike - all of who in unison have embraced both the band's sound and the undeniable integrity of their aspirations.
Beginning their sound experiments under the winter sun of 2006, it wasn't long before Richard Vaughan (guitar/Mellotron/Moog/vocals), Conor Riley (Mellotron/Moog/organ/piano/vocals), Stuart Sclater (bass), David Hurley (drums/percussion/flute) and Brian Ellis (lead guitar/Moog) had struck upon a new pot of ingredients from which to conjure their enchantments. If 2009's debut hinted at the power and grace of their vision, then The Black Chord is perhaps the full realisation of their spellbinding prowess. And oh, how their latest outing thrills.
Like a Meddle-era 'Floyd supercharged by a Mahavishnu-intensity not seen for eons, The Black Chord is an album of blinding light and abysmal shade, of bone-jarring rhythmic density and vast, breathtaking mental vistas: nothing less than an epic journey through the outer reaches of musical possibility tinged by an elegance and knowingness that suggests a creative maturity beyond the members' collective years. Therein lies their redemption, because this is a record at home in 1972 as it is in 2012.
Think wailing guitars and dulcet harmonies thickened by Mellotrons and given hypnotic qualities by the kind of drumming that borders on the shamanic. Cinematic in scope but frequently yielding to a kind of melodic fragility that can only be the product of genuine emotion, The Black Chord's musical ebb and flow prove Astra to be a band's band, capable of an artistry all-too-rare among their generation, and it's a sound to behold.
-Alex Milas, 2012.
http://twitter.com/astraband
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ASTRA/105238338423
http://www.myspace.com/astrasound
BISON b.c., The Gates Of Slumber and Astra confirmed for Planet Caravan festival
Planet Caravan is a unique two-day music festival that celebrates the original sound of heavy music. The festival will take place at The Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club and Mo Daddy’s in Asheville, North Carolina. It features a line-up of some of the best established and emerging hard rock and heavy metal acts that will perform in an extremely rare and intimate setting. The debut festival showcases all things heavy and includes bands from a wide array of sub-genres, from doom, stoner and psychedelic to progressive and experimental. Planet Caravan spotlights the torchbearers of heavy music- the bands that hark back to its original sound and those who take it to creative new places.
FRIDAY - Buy Tickets Here
SATURDAY - Buy Tickets Here
Friday, September 18
Clutch
Kylesa
Burst
Wino
Lionize
Tombs
Bison b.c.
Zoroaster
Sourvein
Pick Up The Snake
Saturday, September 19
Pentagram
Orange Goblin
YOB
Astra
Taddy Porter
The Gates of Slumber
Orchid
Hull
Salome
Batillus
http://www.myspace.com/bisoneastvan
http://www.myspace.com/thegatesofslumber
http://www.myspace.com/astrasound
New song, “The River Under”, from celebrated San Diego prog rockers, Astra, posted online
San Diego based progressive rock band ASTRA has completed work on its hotly-anticipated debut album, entitled The Weirding. The record hits stores in North America today via Rise Above Records.
A taste of what The Weirding holds in store can be experienced now as the new ASTRA song The River Under been posted online at this location.
Originally formed in 2001 as SILVER SUNSHINE, ASTRA dubs its forward-thinking sound “freaked out prog rock”. As ambitious a unit as you will find, the quintet (Richard Vaughan [guitar, mellotron, echoplex, vocals], Conor Riley [mellotron, arp odyssey synth, organ, guitar, vocals], Stuart Sclater [bass], David Hurley [drums, percussion, flute, various noisemakers] and Brian Ellis [guitar, moog, vocals]) will unveil The Weirding as the musical introduction to its self-proclaimed sound. An eight song ‘Progressive Rock Concept Album’, the record is intricate and thoughtful in both concept and execution yet neither forced nor pretentious. Beautifully surreal cover art by Arik Roper (High On Fire, SUNN O))), Boris) furthers the record’s ever-evolving mood. View the album cover now at this location.
From the Mellotron-heavy title track to the ethereal strains of Broken Glass to the seventeen minute instrumental leviathan Ouroboros and through to album closer Beyond to Slight the Maze (“for the contemplation of eternal solitude”), ASTRA’s The Weirding invokes a celestial ocean of wah wah waves crashing against a never ending shore of wonderment. ASTRA’s arsenal of sunward-reaching sonic harmonies, spiraling synth-laden melodies and art-rock uplift calls for comparisons to Amon Düül II, Can, Guru Guru, Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and Yes. Already making a name for itself on the West Coast, ASTRA has shared the stage with such like-minded and diverse acts as Dungen, Earthless, Bigelf, Saint Etienne, The Black Keys and DMBQ.
The Weirding, like all great concept albums is initially rather vague in it’s er, concept. As band founder Richard Vaughn explains; “The main themes are death, introspection and contemplating what lies beyond. It's about pondering the rapidly deteriorating state of the world today and trying to find an escape.”
The track listing for ASTRA’s The Weirding is as follows:
1.) The Rising of the Black Sun (5:44)
2.) The Weirding (15:27)
3.) Silent Sleep (10:41)
4.) The River Under (8:41)
5.) Ouroborous (17:23)
6.) Broken Glass (3:45)
7.) The Dawning of Ophiuchus (5:29)
8.) Beyond to Slight the Maze (11:36)
“the missing link between Rubber Soul and Radiohead.” San Diego Reader
"soon-to-be-legendary…Are you ready for the SWOPP (Second Wave Of Psychedelic Prog)?" Classic Rock
"The Weirding’ is a predominantly a series of melancholy, end-of-days numbers that have as much in common with Jethro Tull and 60s folk as they do Yes, King Crimson, and the Book of Revelations…unadulterated rock goodness" StonerRock.com
"During the late '90s, it seemed like prog rock had finally achieved extinction. But fast forward ten years later and the genre was thriving once more -- as evidenced by the arrival of such groups as ASTRA and their 2009 full-length debut, ‘The Weirding’ (which includes some very Roger Dean-inspired cover artwork). Unlike many other modern-day prog rock revivalists, ASTRA recall a day when the genre was more about creating sweeping mood shifts than mere mind-numbing instrumental acrobatics." AllMusic.com
http://www.astratheband.com
http://www.myspace.com/astrasound
http://www.riseaboverecords.com
SAN DIEGO PROG ROCK MASTERS ASTRA SET TO ISSUE DEBUT ALBUM “THE WEIRDING”
San Diego based progressive rock band ASTRA has completed work on its hotly- anticipated debut album, entitled The Weirding. The record will see a June 23 North American release date via Rise Above Records.
Originally formed in 2001 as SILVER SUNSHINE, ASTRA dubs its forward-thinking sound “freaked out prog rock”. As ambitious a unit as you will find, the quintet (Richard Vaughan [guitar, mellotron, echoplex, vocals], Conor Riley [mellotron, arp odyssey synth, organ, guitar, vocals], Stuart Sclater [bass], David Hurley [drums, percussion, flute, various noisemakers] and Brian Ellis [guitar, moog, vocals]) will unveil The Weirding as the musical introduction to its self- proclaimed sound. An eight song ‘Progressive Rock Concept Album’, the record is intricate and thoughtful in both concept and execution yet neither forced nor pretentious. ASTRA’s arsenal of sunward-reaching sonic harmonies, spiraling synth-laden melodies and art-rock uplift calls for comparisons to Amon Düül II, Can, Guru Guru, Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and Yes. Already making a name for themselves on the West Coast, ASTRA has shared the stage with such like- minded and diverse acts as Dungen, Earthless, Bigelf, Saint Etienne, The Black Keys and DMBQ.
From the Mellotron-heavy title-track to the ethereal strains of “Broken Glass” to the seventeen minute instrumental leviathan “Ouroboros” and through to album closer “Beyond to Slight the Maze” (“for the contemplation of eternal solitude’), ASTRA’s The Weirding invokes a celestial ocean of wah wah waves crashing against a never ending shore of wonderment. Beautifully surreal cover art by Arik Roper (High On Fire, SUNN O))), Boris) furthers the record’s ever-evolving mood. View the album cover now at this location.
The Weirding, like all great concept albums is initially rather vague in it’s er, concept. As band founder Richard Vaughn explains; “The main themes are death, introspection and contemplating what lies beyond. It's about pondering the rapidly deteriorating state of the world today and trying to find an escape.”
The track listing for The Weirding is as follows:
1.) The Rising of the Black Sun (5:44)
2.) The Weirding (15:27)
3.) Silent Sleep (10:41)
4.) The River Under (8:41)
5.) Ouroborous (17:23)
6.) Broken Glass (3:45)
7.) The Dawning of Ophiuchus (5:29)
8.) Beyond to Slight the Maze (11:36)
“the missing link between Rubber Soul and Radiohead.” – SAN DIEGO READER
"soon-to-be-legendary…Are you ready for the SWOPP (Second Wave Of Psychedelic Prog)?" - CLASSIC ROCK
http://www.astratheband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/astrasound
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