DEREK DAVIS (Babylon A.D.) – Re-Volt (2012)
not the missing track & cuts version floating the net
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DEREK DAVIS’ name as solo artist may not be familiar to hard rock fans, but surely you have heard him as vocalist of Babylon A.D.
They were latecomers to the commercial metal scene, enjoying a brief run of mild popularity before grunge took a big, down-tuned piss all over the hairspray heroes that had dominated the market for so long.
Now Derek is releasing his album “Re-Volt”, recorded with his own band.
On their first two albums, Babylon A.D. contentedly hopped on the hair metal bandwagon; in fact, if you listen to their early demos, you can hear the band was originally more melodic and AOR-tinged and changed to a harder sound for their debut in order to capitalize on what was popular in ’89.
Now, a dozen years later, Davis has resurrected onto the rock scene and said to hell with trend chasing.
“Re-Volt” is an album rich in edge, rewarding honesty that exhibits a stubborn, captivating refusal to cater to any crowd. This is a pure powerhouse rock album. Threaded through this music are veins and arteries pulsing with sonic blood that beats to the rhythm of a central hard rock heart but each with their own unique flavor.
Opening track ‘Re-Volt’ is a modern vibe driving rocker with a relentless beat that comes across both sounding strangely familiar and new at the same time. It’s a song that lays down one of the template sounds Derek has created here and isn’t a million miles away from latter-day The Cult (Derek even has a hint of Ian Astbury in the voice here and there) meets Babylon A.D.
“Tied Down and Hammered” a couple of tracks later has a very similar feel to it but if anything is an even better song, while “Bad Man Cometh” pummel you with vicious beats and menacing power chords.
A few tracks in and “Troubadour” has a Spanish-style acoustic construction that really showcases Derek’s voice and comes as a stark contract to the bombastic opening to the album.
“Judas Kiss” is a hard rocker designed to rip your face off with no apology, and the album has even more diversity with the catchy melodic hard rock of “I Love U 2 Death”). Such diversity means there is something here for everyone, but the tradeoff is a slight lack of cohesiveness.
The ballad “Desperate” is a reworking of the song that first appeared on Babylon A.D.’s debut. It was a great song in ’89 and it’s a great song now.
Derek Davis covers a wide range of topics on this album, but what “Re-Volt” is mostly about, is revolution. He is revolting, not against gods or governments, but against the corporate-fisted crap that passes for rock music these days.
“Re-Volt”, with its flaws and all, is the inner essence of a man sitting in solitude and writing rock ‘n roll the way it used to be done, from the heart and gut and soul, with zero regard for whether or not the mainstream sheep or label suits will care for it.
This is a brave album in that it doesn’t strive to tick any boxes, or play the game. Rock music was, is, and always should be rooted in rebellion and that, more than anything, is the underlying message of this album.
Derek Davis has risen up from seemingly out of nowhere and given rock music a good hard kick in the ass.
01 – Re-Volt
02 – Bad Man Cometh
03 – Tied Down and Hammered
04 – Troubadour
05 – American Jihad
06 – Hollywood Heartbreak
07 – The Promise
08 – Judas Kiss
09 – I Love U 2 Death
10 – Love Star
11 – Desperate
Derek Davis (vocals, guitar)
Loren Turner (lead guitar)
Eric Pacheco (bass)
Jamey Pacheco (drums)
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