Back in 1989 I was into all kinds of music, but my favorite genre was what they now call “Hair Metal”. Btw, I hate that term, it takes away from the musicianship and the talent. I know some lazy journalist came up with that phrase and it just stuck – whoever you are, I really don’t like you! Where I’m from it was all Metal or Hard Rock and it was all relative, we were Metalheads whether we were spinning the latest from Savatage, Twisted Sister or Poison. Around ‘89, I had a friend that worked at the local Record Bar, and he would hook me up with cassette singles that were sent for in-store play after they’d ran their course which was about a month or so if I’m not mistaken. This is how I found the band Babylon A.D. I landed the “Hammer Swings Down” single and as the saying goes, that’s all she wrote. I grabbed the debut without thinking twice about it and to this day it’s still one of my favorite debuts! With tracks like “Bang Go the Bells”, “The Kid Goes Wild” and “Shot O’ Love”, it’s not much of a surprise that this would turn me on since I was 14 and full of piss and vinegar.
1989 was a strong year for great Hard Rock/Metal releases too, good to know that a band that got their start on the label Arista still stands out. Bands on the Arista label weren’t very popular in our area, we just didn’t see a lot of them outside of Krokus. While Babylon A.D. wasn’t active for a good many years, they still managed to release a handful of albums and I’ve been right there for each of them including some Live albums that were raw as hell. Back in 2017 the band released Revolution Highway on Frontiers Records and while I really enjoyed the album, it took me awhile to warm up to it, the production was too slick at times. The follow up to that album, a Live disc entitled “Live Lightning” saw the band come “home” to Perris Records. And when I say home I mean it in an endearing way – Perris Records is legitimately one of the best Hard Rock labels in the last 20 years or so - they’ve released some fantastic albums and have been a home to bands/artists that were kicked to the curb in the 90’s when Grunge took over. They’ve also ran a fantastic distro where you can get hard to find stuff here in the states. So, when I say home, I mean that – Perris is one of the best, they don’t do anything half-hearted when it comes to the Hard Rock/Glam/Sleaze Genres.
Babylon A.D.’s latest effort for Perris is entitled “Rome Wasn’t Built in A Day”. It’s quite different than Revolution Highway specifically in the production department, this one is a bit more organic and has a tougher feel to it, the slickness is gone, the band leans into who and what they are – a Hard Rock band. If you’re an Aerosmith fan, think of the 70’s era of the band and that’s what we’re talking here – unapologetic fistfuls of Rock N’ Roll. Opening track “Wrecking Machine” gets this one started off quick, fast and in a hurry. Great hooks, melody lines and some seriously great bass lines and drum work – the new rhythm section of the band is tight! Next up is the darkest song off the album – a moody track called “Pain”. While I don’t feel it’s out of place, it just kind of comes out of left field, it just broods, then again, the title of the track is Pain. I should also mention that there are a few ballads on the album and that’s fine by me, the band has always had the kind of musicianship and the Pop sensibility to pull off ballads/songs with meaning and substance. “Face Of God” is the best of the ballads on this release, it stands out big time, it has that classic Babylon A.D. feel to it, almost like it could’ve been a left over from the Self-Titled release. The build up to the chorus is classic – I’ve played this one a lot more than the others, it just hits all the right spots for me. Those of you who still remember the glory days of sexual innuendos in music from this era will get off on “White Hot Bullet”. It’s no “Bang Go the Bells” by any means, but it’s close enough! The band also add an instrumental on the album, “Super Beast”. I typically don’t vibe on instrumentals too often, but this one has a ton of 70’s Rock swagger to it, it’s an all-out riff party packed with big leads and some nice drum work.
If I had one complaint about this album it would be the drum production, but that’s because I prefer a clear and concise snare sound and sometimes throughout the album the snare doesn’t pop in the manner that I prefer. I’m a Stones freak, so I dig that style if you get my meaning, it’s not bad by any means, I would’ve just preferred a louder snare sound. Otherwise, this is a fantastic release from Babylon A.D. and it far surpasses the band’s previous effort. The band seems rejuvenated, recharged and ready to take on the world again. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, I strongly recommend grabbing it up! It’s not 1989 anymore, but don’t tell Babylon A.D. that, they’re still kicking ass just like they did way back then.
~Black Angel