Nick Mason refuses to rule out further Pink Floyd projects after apparent final album The Endless River

His comments come after guitarist David Gilmour proclaimed that the idea of continuing the band makes him “break out in a cold sweat”

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason at the Oxford Union in 2013 (Rex Features)

Is The Endless River truly the end of Pink Floyd’s astounding back catalogue, or could fans be set to hear more from the prog rock pioneers in the years that follow it?

Drummer Nick Mason has refused to rule out that the album, due out on 7 November, will be the last of the band's material.

His comments come after guitarist David Gilmour proclaimed that the idea of continuing the band after the new record makes him “break out in a cold sweat”.

“I think I'll let David [Gilmour] do the, 'This is the last, this is the end',” Mason told Rolling Stone.

“I now believe when I'm dead and buried my tombstone will read, 'I'm not entirely sure the band’s over.'”

He did, however, call the idea of a touring reunion featuring Roger Waters - a man he recently compared to Stalin - “unlikely”.

“Live 8 was such a great opportunity to do it for the right reasons, and if something like that was ever recreated where we knew we could make a difference, I hope that we would all sort of step up and do something,” he said.

Mason, 70, also touched on the how he felt completing the project without Richard Wright, the late multi-instrumentalist who died in 2008. The Endless River will feature some of his recordings posthumously.

“That was one of the big things on listening that came across, the realisation that this was some great Rick stuff,” he said.

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“Over our history, Rick is the least recognised considering his input into our sound and what we are. It was a good opportunity to maybe redress a bit of that balance.“

Mason’s revelation will serve as redemption to some, following the drummer’s comments in support of One Direction and The X Factor last week.

“They have some good songs,” he told The Sun at an awards event.

“I don’t subscribe to this idea that musicians don’t make good music anymore. The standard of musicians is higher now than it was in my day.”

He added that the 1D boys did well to get as far as they did on The X Factor, stating that Pink Floyd “wouldn’t even have got through to the judges”.