Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Asia
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2004
Length: 58:08
Rating: 4/5
If “Aura” (2001) was conceived poetically, like drifting through heavens of light and positive vibes, “Silent Nation” is its opposite, a firm landing on sacred, real-world ground. On “Silent Nation” the ecologically conscious guys in the band put their “green” language to good use. So basically nothing new. Yes and Barclay James Harvest were already preaching like that in the seventies. “Silent Nation” is the first studio album in the band’s history whose title isn’t a single word, or a word starting with the letter “A” (“Asia”, “Astra”, “Alpha”, “Arena”, “Aria”, “Aqua”, “Aura”)!
While “Aura” dealt in its lyrics mostly with the spiritual side of the individual, on “Silent Nation” Asia don’t mince words about the desecration of planet Earth and the sell-off of human dignity for every last handful of cash (What About Love). They sing about the boundless, destructive hunger and material lust of the rapacious beast called man, and at the same time about his immense smallness and powerlessness against the forces of universal truth. A dark force has taken hold of the poor little human in all his pitiful mental smallness, and he’s chained to it by the shackles and yokes of competitive passion, killing for material goods, spreading lies, fear and hatred, with no road to salvation out of it. Will mother nature forgive at least the handful of enlightened ones who’ve kept their heart and their true essence, who follow their real mission and know the truth, who through repentance and admitting the wrong turns of humanity try to atone at least partly for the sins (Long Way From Home) and ease the pain caused by the evil of human betrayal? Armageddon is approaching, and it’s needed to put things back where they belong (Midnight). So the album is about how far we’ve drifted from our essence, how we’ve lost every connection with mother nature, how all the heritage and knowledge of the Native American tribes is vanishing, how incurable diseases are spreading, how nature is fighting convulsively to somehow still hold the balance that man has definitively decided to wreck. Human indifference and apathy toward everything that doesn’t smell of dollars is captured best by the title track.
The lineup has apparently finally found the right formula for a solid shape, and after the last two records it remains unchanged. That hadn’t happened with Asia since “Alpha” (1983). Its current members are the band’s founding leader, the brilliant keyboardist Geoffrey Downes (ex-The Buggles, ex-Yes), the experienced all-round drummer Chris Slade (ex-Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, ex-Uriah Heep, ex-AC/DC), the charismatic bassist/vocalist John Payne (ex-Van Morrison) and a youngster, the fast-fingered guitar sprinter Guthrie Govan. The latter has no trouble following in the footsteps of his predecessors in the band, be it the purist jazzy approach of guitar giant Steve Howe (Yes) or the metalized rock lines of Al Pitrelli (Savatage), who is still one of the most respected and sought-after studio “session” guitarists today.
On “Silent Nation” Asia once again sound a notch more “to the point” and a notch more compact, simpler and not as varied genre-wise as on “Aura”. But the record, built on guitar riffs pushed a bit further forward in the production, has gained, as I already mentioned, in rock punch, which immediately calls for comparisons with the eighties. But watch out! John Payne is not John Wetton, and the chemistry in the band is totally incomparable to that of the almighty “super eighties” Asia lineup of Wetton/Downes/Howe/Palmer. So the new record is different from all previous Asia releases. On it Asia keep the winning formula of composing finely crafted songs with a proper head and tail, always fantastically seasoned with lovely detours into progressive rock elements.
Downes also uses organ sounds more than on the previous record, which combined with the guitar riffing adds even more to the record’s tart sound. The peaks of the songs center on expressive choruses and ambient instrumental passages. The band has an outstanding feel for building dramatic tension through the songs. They steer artfully through various states in which the dramatic mood is loaded with pain, with a constant breeze of immense sadness and eternal longing (e.g. Gone Too Far or Blue Moon Monday). Throughout, the band never loses the thread. Asia build up the mood round after round by layering the sonic palettes of their instruments. Asia are simply “masters”. They weave slowly, slowly, and once they catch the listener in their trap, it doesn’t let go of him from its embrace, like opium. So an album that’s shamelessly listenable! The arrangements as a whole sound simple, but they’re laid together quite intricately, so you keep getting fascinated every time you listen. The “feel” of the record, which even reaches for the never-surpassed Asia hit Heat Of The Moment, is definitely captured in I Will Be There For You, which is designed (if the eighties were still with us) as a proper rock hit.
So the Asia “eighties” nostalgics have gotten the record they’ve been missing all these years. Not in modern sound, not in chemistry, but simply in the way of composing, which has once again leaned toward writing songs around a pronounced guitar riff and thus brought probably even the tartest Asia record so far. Calling it a “retro eighties” product would still be exaggerated, superficial and unfair here, since “Silent Nation” wears a completely new look that follows constant change, and Asia, even at this point in their evolution, remain in their perfection as splendid as ever.
Lineup
John Payne – bass guitar and vocals
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Chris Slade – drums
Guthrie Govan – guitar
Track List
1. What About Love? (5:25)
2. Long Way From Home (5:58)
3. Midnight (6:23)
4. Blue Moon Monday (7:16)
5. Silent Nation (6:03)
6. Ghost In The Mirror (4:35)
7. Gone Too Far (6:47)
8. I Will Be There For You (4:09)
9. Darkness Day (6:17)
10. The Prophet (5:15)
