Butthole Surfers Long Lost “After The Astronaut” Album Released

After The Astronaut is a Butthole Surfers album that was supposed to come out in 1998 but was, at the last minute, pulled from the release schedule because it wasn’t “commercial” enough, it is now finally seeing the light of day via Sunset Boulevard Records, allowing the musical provocateurs to have the last laugh. The mythical, shelved album comes at a pivotal time for the band as it is coupled with a complementary and equally-celebrated music documentary, The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt, which has seen Butthole Surfers enjoy a renewed rearview-mirror focus. Originally planned as the follow-up to their unexpected mainstream breakthrough Electric Larryland which spawned a chart-topping single Pepper, After the Astronaut didn’t make it past the advance cassette to journalists phase before being pulled off the release schedule for not being more like that hit.

“We were pretty stoked to make another album after the success of our previous album and Pepper. Capitol Records was stoked to get that next record… until our relationship soured. Hollywood Records bought the album but wanted to make changes to it which was an uncomfortable experience for us, now we have the right to release the original recording the way we intended it to be with its original title, After The Astronaut.” (guitarist Paul Leary)