Wolfmother Lose Two Cubs

Two-thirds of Wolfmother have left the band, but singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale plans to find replacements and begin recording a new album under the same group name.

The Australian rock act announced on their website on Thursday that bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett had left. The three men played their final concert together on Sunday at the Splendour In The Grass Festival in Byron Bay, Australia, where rumours were circulating about their future.

"Following that show Chris Ross decided to announce that he was leaving the band due to irreconcilable personal and musical differences," says the group's announcement. "Myles Heskett has also decided to leave the band rather than continuing as part of a changed lineup. The pair has been working together on songs for some time and they plan to focus their energies on that new project in the future."

Wolfmother's 2006 self-titled debut album has sold more than 1.3 million copies worldwide and received multiple Australian Recording Industry Association Awards. They were named favourite international artist/group at the 2007 Canadian Independent Music Awards, and their hit "Woman" won the 2007 Grammy Award for best hard rock performance.

Wolfmother toured all over the world through 2006 and early 2007 in support of the record, but they say "longstanding frictions within the group then lead them to take an extended break during the second half of 2007 to consider their future.

"In early 2008 they regrouped and worked on new material. Initially encouraged by those sessions, they committed to a handful of live shows to 'road test' the new songs and to try to find a way forward."

After a series of performances that included last month's Pemberton Festival in British Columbia, that road test — and Wolfmother as we've come to know them — ended Sunday.

Stockdale, Heskett and Ross say they won't make any public statement regarding the split at this time, but concluded their announcement by asking "all Wolfmother fans to please understand that in spite of their best efforts over a long period of time, they just could not find a harmonious way to work together and that has lead to the decisions announced today."