ASTROQUEEN
"Into Submission"
Pavement Music

by: Jonathan Mariante

Break out the bongs, it's time to get stoned! This is some bad ass Stoner rock from Astroqueen, produced by none other than King Diamond's guitarist, Andy La Rocque! While this is nothing that hasn't been done before, it is some rockin' stuff. It's got all the necessary ingredients of good stoner rock-fuzztone, downtuned guitars, doomy vocals from singer/guitarist Daniel Anghede, a pounding rhythm section, and of course lots of Black Sabbath influence. In fact, one song, "I Go To Sleep (I'm Gone)" is reminiscent of "N.I.B", and in another, "Brain Phase Voyage", there are hints of "War Pigs" and "Children Of The Grave". These guys can play quite well, and they rock it out, too! Stoner rock is not really my cup of tea, but I did find this album enjoyable nonetheless. The opening track, "Landslide", gets the disc off to hard rocking start, and this continues in songs like "Out Of This World", "Superhuman God", "Planet Dust", "The Sonic Ride", "Soulburner" (short and speedy, a nod to the Ramones here!), and closing track "Lua Vermalha", which ends the album with some weird, spacey guitar sound effects. I guess that's the way stoner rock's supposed to be. Fans of this style should definitely dig this. Andy La Rocque appears to have picked a winner here, although this has nothing in common with the King or Merciful Fate. If you're in the mood for a "Brain Phase Voyage" or a "Sonic Ride" that's "Out Of This World", this is the album to do it with. Happy stoning!

More from the Online Metal Journal