{"id":51537,"date":"2025-10-22T15:13:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T22:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/?p=51537"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:13:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T22:13:08","slug":"love-is-cruel-the-second-single-and-video-from-the-new-babylon-a-d-album-when-the-world-stops-is-released-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/love-is-cruel-the-second-single-and-video-from-the-new-babylon-a-d-album-when-the-world-stops-is-released-today\/","title":{"rendered":"LOVE IS CRUEL the Second Single and Video from the New BABYLON A.D. Album WHEN THE WORLD STOPS is Released Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"default-heading1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-51538\" src=\"http:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pr2025-10-22-babylon-01-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Love Is Cruel - Babylon A.D. - From the new album &quot;When The World Stops&quot; Kivel Records.\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lD__LGEazLw?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>OAKLAND, CA (October 22, 2025) \u2014 BABYLON A.D. is excited to announce the release of the second single, LOVE IS CRUEL, from their new album WHEN THE WORLD STOPS.<\/p>\n<p>Lead singer Derek Davis had this to say about the new single, \u201cThe song \u201cLove Is Cruel\u201d I had written a few years back but I had never\u00a0shown it to the rest of the band. We were looking for a ballad for the new\u00a0album and I presented it to the guys not knowing what their reaction would\u00a0be due to the piano arrangement, something that we had never done\u00a0before on an album.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default\">To my happy surprise all the guys in the band instantly said yes \u201cThis is a Killer Track Lets Do It\u201d!\u00a0The song is about how you can be completely absorbed in someone and\u00a0love them so deeply, but love is so very fragile and can be taking away so\u00a0easy.\u00a0The memory and pain of loosing someone in your life can make you see\u00a0the world in a di\ufb00erent light and it can wake you up or shut you down,\u00a0and sometimes both.\u00a0\u201cDrifting on a memory, high above the clouded skies of blue pictures play inside my head, pieces of the time I spent with you now you&#8217;re waving goodbye, and I just want to die, Love Is Cruel\u201d!\u00a0It\u2019s so true, love can be so cruel sometimes and we all share in the pain\u00a0and su\ufb00ering at one time or another in it this life.\u00a0On a side note I would like to thank Julie Pacheco for the absolutely\u00a0stunning piano playing. Eric Pacheco our bassist passed away 4 years ago\u00a0and he was one of the few people I had played the song for and I feel Julie\u00a0was playing out her soul for him.<\/p>\n<p id=\"isPasted\" class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cAn album that can be recommended to every fan of eighties Stadium Rock.\u201d &#8211; MetalHeads Forever<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cI am a big fan of the first couple of records and feel this one will join them in my favorites by the band. Great job!\u201d &#8211; Heavy Metal Resource<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cThis is a Must Have Rocker of an Album.\u201d &#8211; Metal Shop 101 Radio<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cEleven songs with deep feelings, energy and melodies. It will rock you all night long.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>A must-have 100\/100.\u201d &#8211; The Metal Mag<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cA hard rock album that doesn\u2019t pull any punches and delivers the band\u2019s signature blend of heavy riffs, catchy choruses, and a touch of cinematic storytelling.\u201d &#8211; Heavy Metal Darkness<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cFrom arena-sized scorchers to slow-burn ballads that reach into your chest, this record knows its audience.\u201d &#8211; Black Angel Promotions<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"default\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>\u201cAn album that\u2019s damn near impossible to stop playing!\u201d &#8211; The Rock Pit<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Crunchy riffs abound throughout with hooks sturdy enough to hang your winter coat on\u2026\u00a0<\/em><em>This is a rock solid kick-ass thing of gnarly beauty. &#8211; Gonzookanagan.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This is a record with two sides, the all out rocking Babylon A.D. and the emotional side when things are not all party, party. &#8211; Fireworks Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhen The World Stops\u201d is one of the best hard rock albums of 2025\u2026get it at all costs! &#8211; Rockpage.gr<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThis is a must-listen.\u201d &#8211; KNAC.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Purchase the CD: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kivelrecords.com\/wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.kivelrecords.com\/wordpress\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Steam the album: <a href=\"https:\/\/smarturl.it\/whentheworldstops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/smarturl.it\/whentheworldstops<\/a><br \/>\nWatch the Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lD__LGEazLw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lD__LGEazLw<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>BABYLON A.D.<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Derek Davis &#8211; Vox &#8211; Guitar &#8211; Keyboards<br \/>\nRon Freschi &#8211; Guitar &#8211; B Vox<br \/>\nJohn Mathews &#8211; Guitar<br \/>\nDylan Soto &#8211; Drums &#8211; Acoustic Guitar on \u201cThe Damage Is Done\u201d<br \/>\nCraig Pepe &#8211; Bass &#8211; B Vox<br \/>\nSpecial guest: Julie Pacheco &#8211; Piano on \u201cLove Is Cruel\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Track Listing:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>When The World Stops 3:25<\/li>\n<li>Come On Let\u2019s Roll 4:36<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t Ask Qustions 5:22<\/li>\n<li>Love Is Cruel 6:49<\/li>\n<li>Toxic Baby 4:16<\/li>\n<li>I Don\u2019t Beleive In You 5:15<\/li>\n<li>Power Of Music 4:21<\/li>\n<li>Torn 3:33<\/li>\n<li>The Damage Is Done 4:43<\/li>\n<li>Oh Suki 4:01<\/li>\n<li>Sadness Madness 5:11<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Produced, Mixed, Engineered by Derek Davis @ The BADMOFO\u2019s Recording Studio, Pleasanton, CA.<br \/>\nDrums recorded by: Brad Barth @ Audio Voyage Livermore CA.<\/p>\n<p>ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY:<br \/>\nDerek Davis, Ron Freschi, John Mathews, Dylan Soto, Craig Pepe.<br \/>\n\u00a9 Perfect Pen Publishing, Matrix Media, Jonestown Pub ASCAP.<\/p>\n<p>Management: Malla Entertainment<\/p>\n<p>Released by Kivel Records\/Apocalypse Records<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Babylon A.D.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Formed in 1987, Babylon A.D. hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Original members, Derek Davis vocalist\/songwriter, guitarist&#8217;s and music writers John Mathews<br \/>\nand Ron Freschi drummer James Pacheco and bassist Rob Reid met in high school before they began playing together as &#8220;The Persuaders&#8221; making a name for themselves with their powerful live performances and catchy songwriting skills becoming one of the top drawing original Hard Rock bands in the Northern CA.<\/p>\n<p>In 1989 the band changed their name to &#8220;Babylon A.D.&#8221; and caught the attention of Arista Records President and industry music mogul \u201cClive Davis\u201d, who signed them at a live showcase in Los Angeles thanks to their impressive three song demo and a home made video. John Mattews departed the band and was replaced by another high school friend Dan De La Rosa just before their self-titled album \u201cBabylon A.D.\u201d was released in 1990. The album included their hard rock classic hits &#8220;Bang Go The Bells\u201d, \u201cHammer Swings Down\u201d and \u201cThe Kid Goes Wild\u201d, which featured Screaming &#8220;Sam Kinison&#8221; and was the trailer song and promotional video for Orion Pictures (ROBO COP 2). The band scored three #1 songs at Metal Radio and reached Gold status on their first release, which spent 38 weeks on the Billboard top 200, peaking at # 46. Their sophomore e\ufb00ort (Nothing Sacred) was produced by the legendary &#8220;Tom Werman&#8221; and released in 1992, it produced two more top-ten metal rockers. \u201cBad Blood\u201d and \u201cSo Savage the Heart\u201d. Constant touring throughout the early 1990s and several MTV videos made them<br \/>\none of hard rock fans favorite bands.<\/p>\n<p>In 1999 the band and released \u201cLive In Your Face\u201d on Apocalypse Records, a compilation of live tracks recorded at various cities\u2019 across America. Their next release \u201cAmerican Blitzkrieg\u201d soon followed in 2002 and both records were well received by critics and fans alike. In 2008 the band released Babylon A.D. &#8220;In The Beginning\u201d on Perris Records, a compilation of songs from the original demo tapes that secured them their recording contract with Arista Records.<\/p>\n<p>After a long hiatus the band started playing and recording again in 2014. Touring across the States and Europe releasing the four song E.P &#8220;Lost Sessions&#8221;. in 2018 John Matthews rejoined the group and the band signed with Frontiers Records for their forth studio release \u201cRevelation Highway\u201d Four singles\/ videos and more touring followed<br \/>\nthrough the beginning of 2020. In 2022 original members James Pacheco and Robb Reid left the band for other pursuits remaining connected to the bands legacy and part of a brotherhood of friendship that has lasted for over 30 years!<\/p>\n<p>PRESENT DAY&#8230;<br \/>\nFast forward to 2023, BABYLON A.D. announced new members Craig Pepe (bass) and Dylan Soto (drums) and a new live concert album \u201cLive Lightning\u201d from Perris Records.<br \/>\nThe new album included their top-ten rock-radio classic hits from their debut album as well as songs from \u201cNothing Sacred\u201d, \u201cAmerican Blitzkrieg\u201d, and \u201cRevelation Highway\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As 2024 begins the band is set to release their 5th studio album on Perris Records titled<br \/>\n\u201cRome Wasn\u2019t Built In A Day\u201d on May 17th. The 11 track album is classic Babylon A.D. firing on all cylinders, showcasing great songwriting talent, performances and the hard rock sound the band is known for. New videos and singles are coming and the band is currently booking and playing select live shows across the states in support of the new album.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024 they released their 5th studio album on Perris Records titled \u201cRome Wasn\u2019t Built In A Day\u201d. The 11 track album is classic Babylon A.D. firing on all cylinders, showcasing great songwriting talent, performances and the hard rock sound the band is known for.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Kivel Records:<br \/>\n<\/strong>A modest independent record label\u00a0that has maintained for 27 years and\u00a0counting. A label that is\u00a0fanbase focused.\u00a0Music oriented and couldn&#8217;t care less about current music trends.\u00a0A label that has lasted\u00a0over two decades and is STILL STANDING.\u00a0A label that may be small but has a big punch. Hailed for quality production and award-winning photography and artwork. This label has carved out its\u00a0own niche\u00a0of musical vision and product with a loyal customer base and one helluva a rogue&#8217;s gallery of bands. For 27 years,\u00a0Kivel Records &#8211; Delivers Rock.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links to Website and All Socials<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/babylonadband.com\/\">https:\/\/babylonadband.com\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Babylonadband\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Babylonadband\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/babylonad_\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/babylonad_\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpQVt2LWl21avPsyLstHJEA\">www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpQVt2LWl21avPsyLstHJEA<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/6sh4WKluS0LOsPdGPerKJ5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">open.spotify.com\/artist\/6sh4WKluS0LOsPdGPerKJ5<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-51504\" src=\"http:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pr2025-09-30-babylon-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">For all inquiries, contact:<br \/>\nMICHAEL BRANDVOLD MARKETING &amp; MANAGEMENT<br \/>\nMichael Brandvold | me@mikebrandvold.com | 415-200-8483<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Michael Brandvold is a freelance music industry consultant based in Northern California. Having launched Michael Brandvold Marketing to leverage his years of experience to provide direction to large and small clients in the areas of online &amp; social marketing as well as e-commerce and customer acquisition and retention.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Gene Simmons of KISS first tapped Michael\u2019s skills as a pioneering online marketing strategist to launch and manage all aspects of Kissonline.com\u2019s multi-million dollar enterprise, including their ground-breaking VIP ticket program.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Michael has also managed the online efforts for Jordan Rudess, Greg Kihn, KISS, ACCEPT, SOiL, Tantric, Killer Dwarfs, Dream Theater, Little Caesar, Narada Michael Walden, Motley Cr\u00fce, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna and Britney Spears to name only a few.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you are interested in speaking with Michael about what he can do to assist with your marketing needs contact him online at\u00a0me@mikebrandvold.com | 415-200-8483<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; OAKLAND, CA (October 22, 2025) \u2014 BABYLON A.D. is excited to announce the release of the second single, LOVE IS CRUEL, from their new album WHEN THE WORLD STOPS. Lead singer Derek Davis had this to say about the new single, \u201cThe song \u201cLove Is Cruel\u201d I had written a few years back but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":51538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,3355],"tags":[3360,3877,3384,3386,3385,3362,3361,3363,3390,3387,3391,3389,3588,3904,3700,2901,3392,3388,3876],"class_list":["post-51537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-marketing-2","category-press-releases","tag-announcements","tag-apocalyptic-love-story","tag-babylon-a-d","tag-babylon-ad","tag-babylonad","tag-client-announcements","tag-client-news","tag-client-press-releases","tag-danny-de-la-rosa","tag-derek-davis","tag-james-pacheco","tag-john-mathews","tag-kivel-records","tag-love-is-cruel","tag-malla-entertainment-group","tag-press-releases","tag-robb-reid","tag-ron-freschi","tag-when-the-world-stops"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pr2025-10-22-babylon-01.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51539,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51537\/revisions\/51539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}