Search - Asia :: Silent Nation

"Silent Nation" Is Anything But Silent.

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 09/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The vetran British supergroup Asia has returned with their first new studio album in three years, "Silent Nation". Although the present incarnation of keyboardist Geoff Downes, bassist/vocalist John Payne, guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Chris Slade has been together for nearly three years, this album is the first studio album to feature this line-up.

For "Silent Nation", Asia has partially returned to the sound of their early '80s heyday while offering fresh and exciting new approaches to the mix. Tracks such as "Long Way From Home", "Ghost In The Mirror", "What About Love" and "I Will Be There For You" are loaded with the driving anthemic choruses and dynamic arena rock asthetics that fans love most about Asia. Elsewhere are more progressive tracks such as "Blue Moon Monday", "Midnight" and the album's title track. "Gone Too Far", "Darkness Day" and "The Prophet" display a darker side to the band that's not always apparent in their other works.

All in all, this is a triumphant return for Asia. The band has definitely come full circle and the album truly is a solid group effort. Now, if the band were to really come to the fullest circle, John Wetton, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer would need to come back to the band. However, the current line-up of the band has fully succeeded in recreating the definitive Asia sound. "Silent Nation" is Asia's strongest album in years and is worth checking out.

The Special Edition includes a bonus DVD which features a 25-minute documentary of Asia behind the scenes recording "Silent Nation". Besides containing interviews with the Asia band members, it also offers a great insight into how this album was made. Another reason for picking up "Silent Nation"."

Strong effort builds on AURA

Dr. Emil "Tom" Shuffhausen | Central Gulf Coast | 10/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With SILENT NATION, Asia combines their prog-rock finesse of AURA with a strong emphasis on straightforward melodic rock and the result is a winning effort...one of their best ever with lead vocalist John Payne. While I remain a great fan of the "classic" Downes-Howe-Palmer-Wetton era, I believe that the lineup who recorded SILENT NATION is Asia's best since then. In addition to Payne and keyboardist/founder Geoff Downes, Asia has added superb guitarist Guthrie Govan and veteran all-star drummer Chris Slade. SILENT NATION sounds more like a cohesive band effort than anything Asia has done since 1983. Payne's vocals are strong and soulful, without going over the top as he has tended to do in the past. The songs are a fairly strong lot, though the bookends could have been a little sturdier. The opening cut, "What About Love" is a bit heavy-handed lyrically, and somewhat pedestrian-sounding rawk in a nouveau Bad Company way. But, with "Long Way from Home," Asia begins to move cautiously towards the prog/pop end of the equation, and then they up the ante tremendously with "Midnight" and "Blue Moon Monday," which contain tremendous playing and arranging, particularly the latter. "Silent Nation" is another strong cut, and "Ghost in the Mirror" would have sat comfortably (and stood tall) on Asia's first two classic albums...great, soaring harmonies, plucky organ and keyboard work, shimmery guitars...tremendous! Guthrie Govan's delicate, gorgeous acoustic work leads into the stellar and moving "Gone Too Far," a tragic ballad with strong spiritual overtones. Payne's vocals are a revelation here..nuanced and powerful without being overpowering or showy. The track builds into a killer, showstopping guitar solo by Guthrie backed by a mournful choir. "I Will Be There for You" is another ALPHA-sounding song...if we lived in 1983, this one would be a chart-topper. A huge chorus, memorable hooks, heavy riffage, blistering solos, gritty-yet-harmonic vocals, bubbly prog-pop...what's not to like? As the dust settles, a seeming choir of monks leads us into the twilight zone of "Darkness Day," which is heavy and spooky...Payne growls and wails his way through this pastiche of Black Sabbath-meets-Vangelis. Strong instrumentally and melodically, "The Prophet" suffers from wanting to say SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT, but being unsure of exactly what it is, or at least, unclear about it. Govan's nimble guitar work and Downes' simmering Hammond organ keep things at least interesting here, in a Pink Floyd sort of way. The enclosed DVD, "The Making of SILENT NATION" is a nice bonus...not essential, but cool to have. The packaging in this Special Edition really is special...hardback book format, great pictures and artwork, extensive liner notes. Asia obviously went all out here, and it really pays of handsomely.



STANDOUT TRACKS: "Blue Moon Monday," "Ghost in the Mirror," and "Gone Too Far.""

ASIA...The Smile Has Not Left Your Eyes.

Kenneth E. Haynes | Snellville, GA USA | 10/05/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"At first listen, I was drawn into the music and at times the vocals. After listening to Silent Nation several times, it is a solid effort. Payne's vocal quality has never been Asia's greatest attribute, but he can sing and this is some of his best work. The Guthrie's guitar playing is probably the biggest surprise. It is quite good. It fits into the Asia mold while at the same time manages to sound fresh and energetic. Downes keyboards are always good eventhough he almost seems uninspired here and the drumming is solid, not virtuoso, but still capable. This brings us to why I gave Silent Nation three stars. While it is a better than average effort, it still lacks the stellar musicianship that ASIA was originally founded on. On their first album, the songs fed off the musical energy. Now it seems that the musicianship gets lost in all of the production. While the DVD (included in the package) doesn't really add alot to the package, it does portray the band as a hard working group of guys who care about the end product more than selling millions of CDs. Therefore, it's hard not to pull for ASIA. They obviously don't just put out "product."

If you are looking for the glory days, you want find them here. If you are looking for above average music in the overated prog rock segment, this is way better than most.

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