Babylon A.D. (band)

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Babylon A.D. is an American hard rock band formed in 1987.^[2][3] Babylon A.D. hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States.^[3] In 1989, Babylon A.D. caught the attention of Arista Records president and industry music mogul Clive Davis, who signed them at a live showcase in Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]} The band's first lineup was Derek Davis on vocals, guitarists Danny De La Rosa and Ron Freschi, drummer Jamey Pacheco and bassist Robb Reid.^{[citation needed]}

The debut album, Babylon A.D., was released in 1989,^[3] and included the hard rock songs "Bang Go the Bells", "Hammer Swings Down" and "The Kid Goes Wild", the latter used for the soundtrack and video for the Orion Pictures movie RoboCop 2.^{[citation needed]}

Their sophomore effort, Nothing Sacred, was released in 1992.^[3] It produced two singles, "Bad Blood" and "So Savage the Heart".^{[citation needed]} The band toured throughout the early 1990s and put several videos on MTV.^{[citation needed]}

After spending several years with Arista, the band signed with Apocalypse Records in 1999 and released Live in Your Face, a compilation of live tracks recorded at various cities throughout the United States.^{[citation needed]} The band's next release American Blitzkrieg, followed in 2000.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, the band released In The Beginning... Persuaders Recordings 8688 on Apocalypse/Perris Records, which contained songs from the original demo tapes that secured them their record deal with Arista Records.^{[citation needed]}

In between breaks in the band, Davis released three more records. In 2005 he and band member Jamey Pacheco released a blues rock album with the band American Blues Box.^{[citation needed]} In 2012, Davis released his first studio effort (Re-Volt).^{[citation needed]} In 2014, Davis's band Moonshine was released, a blues based rock band which was recorded at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 studios with guest appearances by Michael Anthony and Jane Child.^{[citation needed]}

Freschi was also busy during this time, recording and releasing his own band's debut Syrym in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

After a long hiatus, Babylon A.D. regrouped with all original members and released a four-song EP Lost Sessions / Fresno, CA 93 in 2014.^{[citation needed]} The band also played several shows in the U.S. and Nottingham, England's FireFest Rock Festival.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015 the band released LIVE@XXV to celebrate their 25 years of recording and performing together.^{[citation needed]} They played on the 2015 Monsters of Rock Cruise, along with Bay Area favorites Y&T, Tesla and Night Ranger as well as other select dates across the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Revelation Highway was issued on Frontiers Records on November 10, 2017, and Davis spoke to The Rockpit about the making of the album and the return of original guitarist John Matthews.^{[citation needed]}

Eric Pacheco, the band's former bassist who contributed to American Blitzkrieg, died at the age of 53 on December 6, 2020.^[4]

In 2023, the band released a third live album, Live Lightning, featuring live performances of 14 of their songs.^[5]

• Derek Davis – lead vocals, guitars, piano, songwriter (1987–1994, 1998–2006, 2008–2010, 2013–present)
• Ron Freschi – guitars, backing vocals (1987–1994, 1998–2006, 2008–2010, 2013–2018, 2021-present)
• John Matthews – guitars, backing vocals (1987-1989, 2017-present)
• Dylan Soto - drums, percussion (2023-present)
• Craig Pepe - bass, backing vocals (2023-present)

• James "Jamey" Pacheco – drums, percussion (1987–1994, 1998–2006, 2008–2010, 2013–2023)
• Danny De La Rosa – guitars, banjo, backing vocals (1989–1994, 1998–2006, 2008–2010, 2013–2017)
• Robb Reid – bass guitar, backing vocals (1987–1994, 1998–2006, 2008–2010, 2013–2017, 2021)
• Eric Pacheco – bass guitar, backing vocals (2000, 2018-2020) (died 2020)^[4]

• Nick Hernandez - guitar (2019-2021)
• Marc "Spyder" Webb - guitar (2019)

• Babylon A.D. (1989)
• Nothing Sacred (1992)
• American Blitzkrieg (2000)
• Revelation Highway (2017)
• Rome Wasn't Built in a Day (2024)

• Live in Your Face (1998)
• Live@XXV (2015)^[6]
• Live Lightning (2023)

• In the Beginning... Persuaders Recordings 8688 (2006)

• Lost Sessions / Fresno, CA 93 (2014)

• Live at the Roxy (1991)

• "Bang Go the Bells" (1989)
• "Hammer Swings Down" (1989)
• "The Kid Goes Wild" (1990)
• "Desperate" (1990)
• "Bad Blood" (1992)
• "Psychedelic Sex Reaction" (1992)
• "American Blitzkrieg" (2000)
• "Sinking in the Sand" (2000)
• "Crash and Burn" (2017)
• "One Million Miles" (2017)
• "Wrecking Machine" (2024)
• "Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day" (2024)

• "Slave Your Body" (1992)
• "So Savage the Heart" (1992)

• List of glam metal bands and artists

• "Babylon A.D." Archived from the original on 2005-08-19. Retrieved 2006-02-02.
• "Syrym". Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.

"Babylon A.D. announce new drummer Dylan Soto and departure of founding member Jamey Pacheco".

• Official website
• Babylon A.D. discography at Discogs