San Francisco melodic hard rock/metal act Babylon A.D. burst on the scene back in 1989 with a strong self-titled debut for Arista Records, but unfortunately they also happened to peak just at the time when grunge & alternative rock basically killed metal in the early '90s. Despite a strong follow-up Nothing Sacred in 1992, interest in the band waned and they spent much of the next two decades in long stretches of inactivity. The entire original band of Derek Davis, vocalist/songwriter, guitarists and songwriters, John Mathews and Ron Freschi, drummer Jamey Pacheco and bassist Robb Reid are all still at it however, and now celebrating their 30th anniversary with this brand new release for Frontiers Records, titled Revelation Highway. The groups penchant for writing catchy, hook laden hard rock is still shining through thankfully, as this album contains a wealth of memorable songs. Energetic fare such as "Crash and Burn", "One Million Miles", "Tears", "She Likes to Give It", "Rags to Riches", and "I'm No Good for You" allow the band to fire off some chunky '80s styled metal riffing while Davis struts his still powerful vocal chops, and in between you get a few softer tracks for the ladies in the form of "Fool of Fire" and "Last Time for Love". "Saturday Night" is perhaps the raunchiest slab of sleaze here, another throwback to the late '80s era of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, a tune that will easily take you back in time.
Honestly, I didn't expect much from Revelation Highway, but it's always nice to be pleasantly surprised by an old favorite who has been away for a while. For their first studio album in 17 years, Babylon A.D. have more than done themselves proud.
Track Listing
01 Crash And Burn 4:05
02 Fool On Fire 4:02
03 One Million Miles 4:03
04 Tears 5:01
05 She Likes To Give It 4:49
06 Rags to Riches 4:09
07 Last Time For Love 5:08
08 I'm No Good For You 3:54
09 Saturday Night 4:31
10 Don't Tell Me Tonight 3:21
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