{"id":39851,"date":"2014-04-23T16:12:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T21:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39851"},"modified":"2014-04-23T16:12:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T21:12:29","slug":"babylon-a-d-lost-sessionsfresno-ca-93-ep-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/babylon-a-d-lost-sessionsfresno-ca-93-ep-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Babylon A.D. | Lost Sessions\/Fresno, CA 93 [EP]<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"BABYLONNostalgic trips down memory lane (or organizing one\u2019s old memorabilia) can turn out to be surprisingly fruitful sometimes. Especially if you\u2019re a singer of a once successful \u201880s hard rock act, who happens to find a twenty-year-old reel of the band\u2019s long-lost recordings in an old trunk. That\u2019s what happened to Derek Davis, a frontman of newly reunited Babylon A.D. a while ago. It was decided the 1993 recordings \u2013 thought for many years to be lost \u2013 are worth sharing with the listeners. Hence you have an EP entitled Lost Sessions\/Fresno, CA 93<\/em>, now released digitally and on CD.<\/p>\n

The material now released as Lost Sessions\/Fresno, CA 93<\/em> was probably recorded right after the Nothing Sacred recording sessions, the fact which makes a real journey twenty years back out of the listening experience. It\u2019s a freeze-frame shot of the late \u201880s\/early \u201890s music era, a hard-edged piece of guitar rock which was \u201ccurrent\u201d at the time and a throwback to the times when the sweetened glam or AOR tunes were replaced with more abrasive and sleazy music along with successes of bands such as Guns N\u2019 Roses or Tesla. <\/p>\n

Out of all the goodies this EP is comprised of, the absolute highlight is the second track \u201cWhile America Sleeps\u201d, much in Babylon A.D.\u2019s typical style (of the same kind as the \u201cThe Kid Goes Wild,\u201d the band\u2019s 1989 trailer song for Robo Cop 2<\/em>). Built on some rough riffing up to the well-crafted chorus, and featuring some great guitar work, \u201cWhile America Sleeps\u201d could have been put on heavy rotation on MTV\u2019s Headbanger\u2019s Ball back in the day. Most certainly, it would also fit if included on any of the two first Babylon A.D.\u2019s albums. <\/p>\n

\u201cLove Blind\u201d is another groovy and dynamic track with melodic chorus, illustrated with Derek Davis\u2019s trademark raw and feisty vocals. The third is a standardized power ballad \u201cLove Is A Mystery\u201d \u2013 a melancholic and somber track, slow verses archetypically contrasted with wall-of-sound chorus with the intense, soaring vocals. With more polished production, this track could be a leading tear-jerker \u2013 and also a leading chick magnet \u2013 in the band\u2019s catalog, even though they had a couple of heartbreaking ballads up their sleeve anyway. <\/p>\n

And as the wailing guitar coda to this slowly fades, there comes a time for a rendition of a well-known MTV-era hit. The re-recorded version of \u201cBang Go The Bells,\u201d Babylon A.D.\u2019s most popular song, is more raw than its original 1989 version. Nevertheless, that\u2019s an enjoyable trip down the memory lane for everyone who discovered Babylon A.D. years ago and now is just about to dig for their well-worn copy of 1989 Babylon A.D. LP to bring these memories back.<\/p>\n

The best thing about this compilation of demo tracks, apart from their authenticity, is that they pick up exactly where Babylon A.D.\u2019s 1992 album Nothing Sacred left off. Because of this, it gives a listener a unique sneak peek into what\u2019s been held in store for a supposed mid-\u201890s follow-up to the band\u2019s first two releases. Music-wise, it\u2019s the same Babylon A.D. which one knows from the first classic albums of theirs, let alone the collectible factor of the EP itself. <\/p>\n

The Frisco-based group proves it\u2019s worth it to rummage through your old memorabilia sometimes, a thing some bands should really try. And as for Lost Sessions\/Fresno, CA 93, Babylon A.D.\u2019s avid fans will treasure the EP anyway; yet, for every \u201880s hard rock fan who feels like traveling back in time it\u2019s also much recommended. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDerek Davis \u2013 lead vocals
\nDan De LaRosa \u2013 guitars
\nRon Freschi \u2013 guitars
\nJames Pacheco \u2013 drums
\nRobb Reid \u2013 bass guitar<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tLove Blind
\n2.\tWhen America Sleeps
\n3.\tLove Is A Mystery
\n4.\tBang Go The Bells (re-recorded)<\/p>\n

Label: Perris Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Babylonadband<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Nostalgic trips down memory lane (or organizing one\u2019s old memorabilia) can turn out to be surprisingly fruitful sometimes. Especially if you\u2019re a singer of a once successful \u201880s […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9127,9129,8289,1103,9182,981],"class_list":{"0":"post-39851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-babylon-a-d","9":"tag-ca-93","10":"tag-ep-review","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-lost-sessionsfresno","13":"tag-perris-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}