San Diego outfit Astra have ended their hiatus with a surprise announcement and outlined their plans for the future.
The band released two albums: 2009’s The Weirding and 2012’s The Black Chord but fell silent following the departure of drummer David Hurley in 2013.
Now the band’s Richard Vaughan has posted a statement on Facebook and says it’s now possible work could continue on their long-awaited third album.
Vaughan says: “Back when our drummer David Hurley left Astra, no one could really foresee the difficulties ahead. We knew carrying on without Dave would be a hard road to travel but we had no idea just how much of an impact his departure would have on us.
“The five of us had an undeniable chemistry that just worked so well in every aspect, but especially when it came to songwriting. After Dave left, I think we were all pretty bummed out and while we were working on writing material for our third album, our frustrations slowly started cropping up.
“We decided to take a short break which turned into a long break, which turned into a longer break, which happens to be where we’re at now. Because of this long hiatus some of the guys have become extremely busy with their own musical projects which, unfortunately, now leaves very little time for Astra.”
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He continues: “However, I do have some good news! I recently spoke with all of the original Astra members, including Dave, and everyone is down to record a third Astra album if we can get enough material together.
“Another bit of good news is that Stuart Sclater and I have been playing and writing together and we’re hoping that we can eventually make this third album a reality.”
Vaughan cautions that there’s no guarantee another album could materialise but says the fact that they’ve been discussing plans “is a step in the right direction.”
He adds: “Astra will always be my baby and my first love when it comes to music and I don’t want to give up on her so I’m going to do all that I can to make this happen.
“This will most likely take quite some time since everyone is so busy but I will try to keep you all updated as best I can. I will also try to be much more diligent in responding to your emails and messages in the future.”
Vaughan goes on to thank fans for their patience and adds: “I’m going to do my best to bring some new Astra music to your ears as soon as possible.”
The band’s future plans will be revealed in due course.
