Even though Astroqueen first made their debut in the summer of 1998, the individual members played in a number of various metal bands throughout their scene of Gothenburg, Sweden. Johan Backman (drums), Mattias Wester (bass), Daniel Tolergård (guitar), and Daniel Änghede (guitar/vocals) were inspired to churn out their own fuzz of spaced-out '70s retro-metal that looked up to the likes of
Black Sabbath,
Iron Maiden,
Kyuss, and
Soundgarden. After a handful of compilation appearances, Monster Zero Records released Astroqueen's debut EP in 1999. Following the 2000 self-released 7" Rufus the Space Agent, the band signed to Pavement Music that same year.
Into Submission, the band's first full-length, appeared in spring 2001. ~ Mike DaRonco