ASIA

Ah, possibly one of the most reviled and despised albums in these archives- I can only imagine what must have been felt by someone expecting Asia to usher in a progressive revival, only to find relatively unambitious hard rock. However, I don't know those feelings, and instead I approached this album with the following thoughts; "hmm, it's only 3 dollars, it has some legendary players, and who knows, maybe I'll like it. Oh, what the hell". I can't say I was disappointed, I got exactly what I was expecting- not great, not terrible- the songs are actually pretty cool sometimes, and I actually think Heat of the Moment is a really nice song- that's right, I said it. So, if you find it for under five bucks in a bargain bin, by all means get it, especially if you like this kind of thing- bombastic 80's arena rock drenched in synths and guitar with anthemic (not necessarily good) vocals. If you don't, no biggie, it's not essential by any stretch of the imagination. Because the music isn't all that unique and doesn't really stand out amongst the general crowd at all, It really doesn't earn much above a 2 star rating. Unless your music preferences favor 80's arena rock, get it cheap or not at all.