Originally published in the October 1992 issue of the Columbus Edge
IIn 1988, Babylon A.D. released its self-titled debut to the masses and proved that hard rock is not a dying art form. These days, every band seems to be jumping on one bandwagon or another, but Babylon A.D. has stuck to its guns and continued to pump out music along the lines of the members’ influences: Aerosmith, AC/DC, the Scorpions, and Montrose. The band’s sophomore release Nothing Sacred has been out for three months and the group just recently finished the first leg of its tour with support acts Wildside and Roxy Blue.
“There is always that weird thing where you hit somewhere in Nebraska or somewhere like that. There’s no radio station and there are really no kids that know you,” lead singer Derek Davis says while taking a few weeks off before the second leg of the tour. This time the band will perform alone.
Although the second single, the ballad “So Savage the Heart,” is starting to get airplay, don’t expect to see a video for the song in the near future. The band did shoot a video for the song, but although Davis claims it is their best video, Clive Davis (no relation), president of Arista Records, didn’t like it.
“He just threw it away. How do you throw away $80,000? To me, that’s just insane,” Davis remarks. “That’s when you realize that you don’t have any control over your future whenever you have some guy like that.”
While the first album had big hard rock anthems like “Bang Go the Bells,” “Hammer Swings Down,” and “The Kid Goes Wild” (featured in Robocop 2), the new album features songs that come from the heart. The song “Redemption,” for instance, a song about incest, was based on the true story of “a chick I used to go out with six or seven years ago,” says Davis.
“So Savage the Heart” is like something that happened to me a few years back. My best friend snaked my old lady. I had been with my old lady for like six years, so I was devastated; I was ripped apart.”
Fans of Babylon A.D. may have noticed a long gap between albums with virtually no explanation. Many people thought the band had broken up, but Davis sets the record straight.
“We had a producer all picked out. We would have had an album out a year ago, but the record company said, ‘No, we want a bigger name.’ That’s how these record company executive guys are; they don’t have a fucking clue.”
Arista Records gave the band a list of producers to choose from and the band eventually settled on Tom Werman. “We gave him the tape and actually we had always wanted him to produce our first album anyhow, because he had always done the stuff like Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Motley Crue, all the stuff we grew up on.”
Werman was busy in the studio producing Lita Ford and McQueen Street, so Babylon A.D. had to wait six months. Even with the delay, Davis says it was worth it. Werman gave the band complete control and expressed interest in co-producing a band with Davis down the line.
With all the different variations of hard rock (glam, grunge, thrash, death metal), it is refreshing to hear a band like Babylon A.D. that sticks to the original hard rock roots. While they aren’t on the top of the charts now, they should remember the old saying, “success comes to those who wait.”
Babylon A.D. will appear at the Alrosa Villa on September 27.
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