Former Babylon A.D. Singer Derek Davis Starts Revolution With Debut Solo Album, Re-Volt
The revolution is moving across the nation! Rise up! Re-volt! Man your stations! The revolution is moving across the nation! Re – Volt!”
A bull horn blasts its opening salvo from the title track of the debut solo release by Northern California’s Derek Davis. Derek is the former singer/songwriter for Arista recording artists Babylon A.D., the first rock/metal band personally signed by legendary music mogul Clive Davis.
The eleven tracks of mind-blowing hard rock retro-metal capture an angst-ridden, sometimes dark, yet poetic true-to-life world with which most of us can relate. Did someone say perfect timing? But this is not your typical metal rock formula release.
From the opening track’s revolution call of “Re-Volt” to the second song, “Bad Man Cometh,” an up-tempo motion picture-style soundtrack with (surprise!) a rapid-fire rap delivered by guest artist, Monte Carlo, and through the third track, a bombastic, guitar-driven slow grinder called “Tied Down and Hammered” (“You kick me with your steel toed boot, You hit me with your iron fist”), you just might think you have the man and the sound all figured out. Then out of the blue comes “Troubadour,” a beautifully-crafted acoustic song with a surreal story of new found love and hope, featuring Spanish-style guitar playing and glass-like strings that add depth and emotion to the song’s moving lyrical content. The battle cry of “American Jihad” follows with a funkafied bass line driven by a menacing vocal attack, with Derek delivering every line with bullet-like precision. ‘Hollywood Heartbreak” is a solid up-tempo rocker with a “Born to Run”-like theme. On track seven, Derek really breaks out the production with “The Promise,” a heartbreaking, paradoxical, deathbed love story. The music is spacious and mystical, with clean roto-verb-style guitar sounds, a strange rhythmic drum beat, and a haunting vocal. It is also the first single from the record (check out the video here: http://youtu.be/-8KC-QMUaVA). Up next is “Judas Kiss,” with Derek cranking out a brutal tale of betrayal and revenge. This is followed by the dark and vampirish “I love U 2 Death,” “Love Star,” a temptation-driven, sexy groover, and the final track, “Desperate,” a big, luscious ballad. The song features a wall of sound and orchestration, with the arrangement and lyrical content perfectly weaving a sad tale of loneliness and isolation (“Everybody’s desperate just like you”). This song has massive hit appeal written all over it.
Derek Davis has brought together an eclectic mix of songs. “It’s not the Beatles’ White album, but I feel I have had the freedom of expression to write and produce music the way I have always wanted–something you usually can’t do with the restrictions of a major label,” says Derek.
Derek has painted a moving picture landscape, both lyrically and musically. He has created a truly modern, anthemic rock album, with a wild and twisted rollercoaster ride of emotions for listeners. The vocals, melodies, musicianship and production are excellent, and the execution and arrangements all fit together nicely. Vocally, Derek’s style is high-octane grit, full of electric energy–different enough to push beyond the modern-day Daughtry clones and provide the material with exactly the right combination of power and attitude.
The revolution is moving across the nation! Re – Volt! The new release by Derek Davis from Apocalypse Records is now available on CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon, as well as at all retail music outlets.
Re-Volt track listing:
1. RE-VOLT
2. BAD MAN COMETH
3. TIED DOWN AND HAMMERED
4. TROUBADOUR
5. AMERICAN JIHAD
6. HOLLYWOOD HEARTBREAK
7. THE PROMISE
8. JUDAS KISS
9. I LOVE U 2 DEATH
10. LOVE STAR
11. DESPERATE
Sources:
http://www.derekdavismusic.com
http://www.apocalypserecords.net
