{"id":44488,"date":"2014-08-31T12:06:48","date_gmt":"2014-08-31T17:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=44488"},"modified":"2014-08-31T12:06:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-31T17:06:48","slug":"interview-with-julian-angel-of-beautiful-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/interview-with-julian-angel-of-beautiful-beast\/","title":{"rendered":"Julian Angel of Beautiful Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It might have been eliminated by the flannel-shirt clad, continuously depressed grungers, ridiculed and laughed at by the \u2018serious\u2019 metalheads and dismissed as the cheesiest genre of all by the omnipotent music critics. But now, Steel Panter-esque mockery aside, purebred \u201880s Hair Metal strikes back and soon it may feel like 1989 again! It only takes a moment to give Julian Angel\u2019s Beautiful Beast\u2019s new album Kick Down The Barricades<\/em> a spin once or twice to start digging for your Poison shirt at the back of your closet. <\/p>\n

But before the revolution happens. And all of us are backcombing our hair like crazy again, Hardrock Haven catches up with the man behind the Beautiful Beast project. Angel talks about new album, his side projects, the \u2018image over substance\u2019 issue and the supposed \u2018cheesiness\u2019 of the genre that remains a guilty pleasure of almost every rocker. Ladies and gentlemen, Julian Angel!<\/p>\n

\"JulianHardrock Haven: Beautiful Beast names themselves a \u201chair band\u201d with pride. Hair Metal is a genre that\u2019s been \u2013 at the utmost \u2013 treated with serious reservation by the majority of the music critics, if not simply laughed at or mocked. Why then have you decided to bring it back?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: Most hair metal adversaries think of the poor power-chord strummers and out-of-tune squawkers. Yes, like in any other genre, there have been quite some really bad hair bands, back then and today. But when I think of hair metal as a hypernym I think of the excellent guitar work in Dokken or Ratt, singers like Sebastian Bach or Cinderella\u2019s Tom Keifer and such compositions as Whitesnake\u2019s \u201cStill Of The Night.\u201d They will outperform many a \u201cserious\u201d band. If you associate yourself with that kind of musical quality you have something to be proud of. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Some say Hair Metal disappeared from the charts in the early 1990s due to the Grunge wave, while the others claim the genre was simply overloaded with copycats and it kind of burnt out. What do you think about it?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: As in any genre the labels were trying to repeat the formula over and over. Maybe it\u2019s them you can blame for the image hair metal has today had they not put that much emphasis on the boy band aspect. But that\u2019s an effect you will always see everywhere. The grunge thing wore out too, so did techno and boy-groups. Heavy metal is still there but it has seen certain trends come and go as well. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Nowadays, Hair Metal survived primarily in the form of pastiche\/parody \u2013 Steel Panther come to mind as the most obvious example. What do you think about their tongue-in-cheek approach?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: I appreciate Steel Panther for being excellent musicians and I\u2019ve had my fun watching them do interviews. When I had been to a Steel Panther show in Germany lately, though, I realized the effect they have. People in the audience were wearing carnival wigs, wrapped random pieces of cloth around their heads for bandanas and put on makeup like a five dollar hooker. Come on, not even Poison looked that way in their early days. Like it or not, it all had some type of class back then and this is exactly what\u2019s missing in the whole mock-rock thing today. Really, I cannot take hair bands seriously if their members have names like Sexxxy Rexxxy or Cosy von Cock. Such bands are making fun of the music, but also of the people who really like hair metal. Then again Steel Panther sells quite some records, so it seems as if some people really love the music but are afraid to commit \u2013 and so they need the parody to hide behind. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: A suitable image was one of the key ingredients of every Hair Metal band. How important is it to you?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: Every person alive should have an image, represent something he or she stands for. Unfortunately only few people do. If the music is great, why shouldn\u2019t you back it with a strong image? Rappers totally got it, but most rockers let it slide. Like Gene Simmons said \u2018Rappers are the only rock stars left, because rock stars have stopped being “rock stars.” If I go to a concert I want to see a band that\u2019s larger than life. I want to admire them for what they do and not go \u2018Oh, was this someone from the band or just a random drunk head\u2019. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Is your band Beautiful Beast more of a project, or a regular band? Any chances of seeing you on the road?<\/p>\n

\"JulianJulian Angel: Honestly, it is a project, because it cannot be a full time band. Germany isn\u2019t really a hotbed for bands. Few musicians even dare make a living and if they do they are being shared by a number of bands, all the way from wedding to cover bands, then one or two original bands and that generates scheduling difficulties. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: A so-called \u201cpower trio\u201d formula has been rarely used within Hair Metal genre. Do you think it works in the case of Beautiful Beast?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: It worked for late Winger, didn\u2019t it? It\u2019s all about the musician problem. Give me a cool dude with long hair willing to play rhythm guitar, travel and who doesn\u2019t charge me up my butt and I will take him. Guitarists have egos and I am one, so I have one too (laughs). <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Yet about the balance of power in the band \u2013 you\u2019re both a singer and a guitarist. Your task in the band being double, are there any problems because of it? Which of these roles do you find more satisfying and expressive and why? <\/p>\n

Julian Angel: Me being the jack of all trades is based on the fun I have writing and recording the songs. I could never settle for recording just one guitar track. I love doing it all. So I add the vocals too, as well as bass, keys \u2013 it\u2019s like sitting in front of a bowl with candy, I just can\u2019t stop. If I had to choose between having only a mic stand or a guitar I\u2019d opt for the latter. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Finally to the topic of the new Beautiful Beast album \u2013 do you think there was any different between Kick Down The Barricades<\/em> and its two predecessors, or was it a kind of a smooth continuation?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: Both. While \u201cAdult Oriented Candy\u201d had lots of AOR its successor \u201cCalifornia Suntan\u201d came along a bit rockier with less keyboards. On \u201cKick Down The Barricades\u201d I totally eliminated the keys. I just couldn\u2019t stand it at that time. So \u201cBarricades\u201d is a lot sleazier. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: The music video to \u2018Bad Boys Never Dance\u2019 is relatively simple rock-performance-kind of thing. Was it your intention, or a matter of budget\/possibilities?<\/p>\n

Julian Angel: To me music is not just a hobby. I really do my best to make money doing what I do so I can keep doing what I do. Production, manufacturing, promotion, it all costs money. So while I could have afforded an expensive video I had a budget to work with. You should not spend more than you expect to earn, right? I dig the video anyway. It\u2019s unpolished like the sound. And it\u2019s fine with the fans because they know we do not sell out arenas anymore. <\/p>\n