Astra The Black Chord

2012, Once a decade an album will emerge from out of nowhere and be so phenomenal that it is destined to be up there with the greats. THE BLACK CHORD is one of those albums. We have not heard much from Astra since their stellar performance at the 2010 Roadburn Festival. The silence has been well worth it. What they have brewed in their San Diego space rock laboratory is cosmic treasure. It is a progtastic mixture of vocal harmonies and psychedelic spaced out riffs. The generous use of the Hammond B3 and Moog add the vintage 70's sound without sounding dated. Guitar and keyboard harmonies replace the typical twin-axe harmonies that seem cliché after a while. It could be a companion piece to Yes's CLOSE TO THE EDGE (1972).