More hard-rock than heavy metal, L.A.'s
Babylon A.D. get the commercial sound right on
Nothing Sacred, despite the tacky cover artwork. More muscular and real than most of the pop-metal to hit the charts in recent years, one can only hope that groups like this will continue to supplant
Poison-type dross. The live-wire guitars on uptempo material like "Sacrifice Your Love" and "Psychedelic Sex Reaction" owe a debt to
Michael Schenker from his
UFO days; lead vocalist Derek (just Derek to you) sings as if life itself depended on every note; the group delivers powerful, memorable ballads on "So Savage the Heart" (serious hit material) and "Down on the River of No Return" without resorting to power-ballad cliché; and integrates some cool banjo picking on the
Aerosmith-like "Dream Train." ~ Roch Parisien