Line Up:
Derek Davis – Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar
Ron Freschi – Guitars & Vocals
John Mathews – Guitars & Keyboards
Robb Reid – Bass & Vocals
Tracklist:
Crash And Burn
Fool On Fire
One Million Miles
Tears
She Likes To Give It
Rags To Riches
Last Time For Love
I’m No Good For You
Saturday Night
Babylon A.D. was formed in San Francisco CA in 1987 and to celebrate their 30 year anniversary, plus the fact they have kept the original members, vocalist Derek Davis, guitarists John Matthews and Ron Freschi, drummer Jamey Pacheco and bassist Robb Reid, they give us Revelation Highway.
Rockers and readers of a certain age will remember Babylon A.D. from their late 80’s/early 90’s classics such as “Bang Go The Bells”, “Hammer Swings Down”, “Nothing Sacred and “Bad Blood”. The good news is…this album will not disappoint. There appears to be a renewed energy within the 10 songs on this their fourth album, the vocals of Derek Davis a particular highlight.
Starting off with the brilliant new single “Crash And Burn” you sense the band is firing on all cylinders setting up the listener for an intense and rewarding experience. The musicianship is obviously excellent and the tone of the album continues through the hard-hitting and melodic “One Million Miles”, “Tears” and “Rags To Riches”. Things do slow down for what seems like the obligatory ballad “Last Time For Love” although this leads into, for me, the stand out track “I’m No Good For You”.
Everything seems to click on this album. The guitar sound – heavy and melodic, the rhythm section – hard hitting and the crystal clear vocals, added to the excellent songwriting, make this an essential album. Fans of the band will expect nothing less, although this release will definitely attract a new audience and a new legion of hard rock fans to Babylon A.D. After 30 years the band sounds as good as ever so, Happy Anniversary and here is to the next 30 years!
Written by: Simon Kneller
Ratings: 8/10
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