Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures is the debut of a band that turned its back squarely on the post-grunge mood of late-1990s Los Angeles. DJ Ashba of BulletBoys and Joe Lesté of Bang Tango joined forces in 1999, filling the line-up out with Kenny Kweens (bass), Anthony Focx (guitar) and Glen Sobel (drums). It started before they even had a name: when Ted Nugent dropped off Kiss's reunion tour, they filled the gap and opened a show in Houston. Sean Beavan, known for Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, produced and mixed, and Ted Jensen mastered. From the opening “1 A.M.” through “Wasted” and “Step Back,” the songs are short, the riffs thick, and Lesté's voice worn raw — 1980s LA flash crossed with punk roughness and the industrial texture of the day. There is an irony to it, though. The band spent the summer of 2001 on Ozzfest while Warner was convulsed by a huge corporate restructuring, and they were dropped not long after the dates ended. The record came out that August with no promotional support behind it. The single “Wasted” reached number 37 on Mainstream Rock and the album number 29 on Heatseekers; “1 A.M.” also turned up in the film Valentine and on Smallville.