History & Biography The band was founded in 1986. The original members, singer Derek Davis, guitarists John Mathews and Ron Freschi, bassist Rob Reid and drummer James Pacheco met at high school before they banded together as The Persuaders. The 'A.D.' suffix was unsurprisingly added due to a conflict with another Babylon in 1989. The act was signed following an audition for Arista Records' Clive Davis in Los Angeles. The deal was reportedly for 10 albums.
While the hard rock of the San Francisco band made some impact and the record went gold after peaking at #46 in the Billboard charts, following the disappointment of the second the band threw in the towel. Reid was replaced by little Eric Pacheo as Reid was not into touring any longer. John Matthews had left just before the debut and replaced by another former school-mate, Dan De La Rosa. The band had released a live EP entitled Live At The Roxy between albums and appeared on the Robocop 2 soundtrack. Apocalypse is the band’s imprint label.
Perris Records issued a disc by the group called In The Beginning in 2006. The album featured the band’s early 12-song demo. San Francisco’s Babylon A.D. reformed with the original members in early 2010 and was in pre-production for its sixth studio release. 2010 would also bring a promised new version of the song Bang Go The Bells.
The band was on hiatus, but returned in 2014. Former Arista Records recording artists Babylon A.D. issued a 2015 live independent CD entitled Live @ XXV to celebrate its 25 years of recording and touring together. The band was also playing several US shows. A four-song E.P was called Lost Sessions. John Mathews returned in 2018. Derek Davis released his first single and video Sweet Cream Cadillac in mid-2019. The track was from an upcoming album, called Resonator Blues, which landed worldwide on June 1st, 2019. It was distributed by Perris Records. The group postponed a studio album due to the pandemic and illness within the act. Eric Pacheco, drummer Jamey’s brother, died in 2020. Eric had roadied for the band previously. Original members James Pacheco and Robb Reid left the band in 2022. A live record emerged in 2023. It was culled from a couple of shows in California, USA.
Babylon A.D. announced a new studio album, called Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, to be released through Perris Records on May 17th. The band had booked several 2024 gigs including Monster On Mountain or Horsefest.
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