BABYLON
A.D.
Formed in 1986, Babylon
A.D. hail from the Bay Area in California.
Babylon A.D. (Arista) 1989
1. "Bang go the Bells"
(4:15)
2. "Hammer Swings Down" (3:27)
3. "Caught in the Crossfire" (3:33)
4. "Desparate" (5:23)
5. "The Kid Goes Wild" (4:52)
6. "Shot O' Love" (5:47)
7. "Maryanne" (3:41)
8. "Back in Babylon" (4:10)
9. "Sweet Temptation" (3:40)
10. "Sally Danced" (5:53)
Babylon A.D.'s debut is a good, solid slab of pop metal and hard rock. The music is energetic and feature some excellent riffs and good song writing. Apparently someone named Jack Ponti put this band together to play his songs. He also produced Baton Rouge, who coincidentally also recorded the song "Desperate" around the same time. "Bang Go the Bells" and "Hammer Swings Down" are high octane rockers that are a bit more raunchy than the typical radio-ready pop metal. "Kid Goes Wild" even features the late Sam Kinison doing his signature screams. Comparing this CD to the band's sophmore output, I prefer this one only slightly. Either one, however, is an enjoyable listen.
Babylon A.D.
- Nothing Sacred (Arista) 1992
1. "Take the Dog
off the Chain" (4:40)
2. "Bad Blood" (3:57)
3. "So Savage the Heart" (5:14)
4. "Sacrifice Your Love" (5:36)
5. "Redemption" (4:57)
6. "Down the River of No Return" (3:08)
7. "Psychedelic Sex Reaction" (4:28)
8. "Dream Train" (4:52)
9. "Blind Ambition" (4:31)
10. "Slave Your Body" (3:50)
11. "Of the Rose" [instrumental] (1:36)
12. "Pray for the Wicked" (4:27)
Babylon A.D.'s second record 'Nothing Sacred' is not earth-shattering but it is pretty darn good album. The music contained herein straddles the fence between glammy California heavy metal and slick AOR. Songs like "Psychedelic Sex Reaction" and "Take the Dog off the Chain" sit a bit closer to that LA club sound, whereas "So Savage the Heart" are more radio-ready hit material. From what I have read the band's debut is stronger, which means I will need to keep an eye out for it as well as this CD is pretty strong itself.