Beautiful Beast | Adult Oriented Candy
by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer
Adult Oriented Candy marks the return of hair metal revivalist and all-‘80s fanatic Julian Angel. Adult Oriented Candy is the second album by the glamorous mastermind, this time emerging under the band/project name Beautiful Beast. Angel has thoroughly studied/mastered ‘80s rock as a genre which is actually a rather big deal considering that the guitarist/vocalist is fluent in composing and performing AOR/melodic rock, glam metal and sleaze metal while occasionally mixing all three sub-genres into a tune.
Vocally Julian Abgel sounds like a mixture of Ted Poley and Mike Tramp, although far from a master AOR vocalist, Julian wisely arranges songs to perfectly suit his singing abilities. As a guitarist he is indeed a force to be reckoned with, a shredder that demonstrates deep understanding of melodies therefore including great harmonies on each and every song on Adult Oriented Candy. The line up is completed by Franc Mc Douglas who handles bass and keyboards and drummer Ro Lee.
It would not require more than a play of a few songs off Adult Oriented Candy for any rock fan to realize that Angel has a clear vision of what his music should sound like. One does not just happen to write rock music as if it was 1988 without effort. That is not to say however that Angel does not decide to have fun with it; on the contrary, from the album title, project name and naughty front cover, it is evident that he is enjoying every second of this record.
It is at this point that one has to make an inescapable distinction. The album cover of Beautiful Beast might deliver the impression of ‘80s extravaganza; particularly when focusing on the picture of Julian getting a girl on her knees in Steel Panther style. Still the music has non of the sarcastic and uncensored characteristics of the notorious American band. Lyric-wise Adult Oriented Candy never gets too sexual, sarcastic or rude so it highly unlikely that anyone will be offended by the material on this release. In fact, the more one plays the album, the more one realizes that Beautiful Beast is more of an AOR/melodic rock outfit than a hair metal band, strictly speaking for the music.
The essence of optimism on this album is unrivaled which in combination with the large choruses, the flamboyant solos, the stylish rhythm section and Angel’s attitude is definite to lift the mood of just about any rock fan, or any music fan for that matter. Songs like, “Wild Tonight”, “Tokyo Nights”, “Save My Heart” and “Rock All Arenas” sound as authentic as any ‘80s hit song from that era. No question, Adult Oriented Candy is a treat for any fan of ‘80s rock; peaking on melodies, choruses, guitar solos and attitude. Fans of Reckless Love, Crazy Lixx, Jettblack, Miss Behaviour and Steel Panther should definitely add Beautiful Beast to their collection.
Genre: Glam Metal / Melodic Hard Rock / AOR
Band:
Julian Angel – lead vocals, lead guitar
Frank Mc Douglas – bass, keyboards
Ro Lee – drums
Track List:
01. Showdown
02. Do You Want It
03. Ride With The Wild One
04. Tokyo Nights
05. Juvenile Affair
06. Oh Valerie
07. Save My Heart
08. Rock All Arenas (Born To Rock)
09. Wild Tonight
10. Still I Dream Of You
11. Singer And Guitarist In A Hair Band
Band website: http://www.angel-rock.com/
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10