The story of Astray begun in 1998 when Markku Pääkkönen and Vesa Moilanen decided to bang their aching heads together to feed up their need to create dark and aggressive music. By combining their strengths together; Markku's melancholic, atmospheric and doomy but aggressively crushing compositions - mixed with Vesa's sick lyrical expression - created the basic what Astray is all about: Darkness. Hate. Depression.
The first release
In the end of 1998 Astray visited first time in BRR studio to record the first self-financed MCD titled "Until I'm Cold Enough", which was released in next spring. The MCD was pressed and spread about 1100 copies and its two editions were sold out very fast in the worldwide underground scene. Soon after, Astray signed a record deal for one MCD with the label called Beyond...Prod. The band was supposed to record a full-length CD as the next release of Astray, but after long thinking the band preferred to have some more experience of studio working with just another MCD before full-length album.
The second release
Astray returned to BRR studio with four new songs in autumn 1999 and recorded the basics for the following release. The recordings and mixing were finished in the beginning of the next year and the second MCD titled "Alone" was released in July 2000. The first edition of the MCD was digipack, limited to 1000 copies.
The third release
After two MCD releases and composing some new songs, the band thought that Astray would be mature and ready to start working for their debut full-length album. So they started working for new songs and planning the concept of the album, and finally nine of the new songs were chosen to be included on it. This time the Astray was more conscious and experienced of how to express the inner mental infections of band-members fucked up points of life.
Studio recordings were started already at late of the year 2000 by recording the drums, but then followed break lasting one year. Recordings were continued after that in short periods and so the album was again making progress - little by little. The material is much more crushing, brutal, dark and weird compared to the previous material. The full length album is almost finished (there are only some short guitar solo lines and synth parts missing from couple of tracks). Today Astray does not have a deal with any record company and the band is looking for a label to release this debut album "Project Earth - DeathCult Ritual". You can find three rough mixed tracks from the album released on "Promo 2002". The promo cdr is still available, and you can also download it from the bands web site.
New line up
Within past five years the other members of Astray were growing out of the band, one by one. The originators Markku Pääkkönen and Vesa Moilanen have been continuously looking for new members to fulfill the empty slots in the line up. Finally things started to happen, as new musicians with similar interests and attitude to music were found during the year 2004. The new line up was affirmed in the beginning of 2005 and currently Astray is rehearsing like hell, writing new material and preparing to finish the unreleased album.
Contacts:
Markku Pääkkönen
Tullivahdinkatu 1 A 11
90120 OULU
FINLAND
markku_astray@hotmail.com
Vesa Moilanen
Pekankatu 5 D 47
00700 Helsinki
FINLAND
vesa_astray@hotmail.com
