The line up in the legendary
British rock project Asia seems to be
without the great guitarist Steve Howe
(I'm not surprised), I'm very keen to learn if
their unique sound has changed with the
young and talented string bender Sam Coulson. "Gravitas" is the name of their
new release and my second question is;
Can they really come up with another
dazzling album after the amazing disc
'XxX' from 2012.
This is the first studio album with Sam
Coulson on guitar and I watched their
live performance at Sweden Rock Festival
last year and he fills Howe's shoes
really well in the older songs. On
"Gravitas" the songs are written to fit
Sam's guitar playing. How is this album
standing in comparison with the
masterpiece 'XxX'? The first impressions
is that I doesn't find any given
radio-hit song on "Gravitas", like 'Face
on the Bridge' or 'Tomorrow the World'.
John Wetton still sings as no one else
and gives Asia their unique sound and
Sam get a lot of space to shine and show
the world his string skills. Geoff
Downes' keys and Carl Palmers percussions
drives this solid prog rock machine
forward in their epic, gentle and
sensible pace. I just love their musical
ideas. It takes several spins to get
some of the songs into my back spine and
it took a while to sort them out in my
mind.
The first single from the album
is the opening track 'Valkyrie' and it is
one of the top-notch songs of the album
with smooth, charming 'Asia moods'... The eight minutes long title track is an
epic journey with a two and an half
minutes long intro. 'Gravitas' has the
clear and pompous sound that comes like
a thick musical fog over me. An adorable
song. Downes keyboards build a lovely
foundation for the rest of the band,
and they are able to spice up the songs
with their individual musical
craftsmanship. Nyctophobia (is a word I
had to search on the internet to get
the meaning of, and to us who aren't is
familiar with the word it means a intense
condition of fears of the dark) is a is
a pretty boring track really, but there
comes with a damn cheeky guitar solo that
keeps me awake in the middle of the song
and that rescues it from my skip button.
'Heaven Help Me' is my own
personal favorite track on this album
with sensational guitars and after a two
minutes long classical intro, it turns into a
hard riffing rock track with it's more driven sound. Classic big
Asia
vocals and elegant keyboards with
delicate drumming by Palmer, which
together provides a timeless AOR sound.
Next big track is the bombastic 'I Would
Die For You' with classy vocals. In 'Joe
DiMaggio Glove' they paint with their
smallest brushstrokes and is a
atmospheric, sensitive and wonderful
ballad. Asia close the album with 'Till
We Meet Again' and it is not one of the
strongest songs on this album. Did Sam Coulson's entry in the band make any
difference in the Asia sound? My opinion
after some spins of 'Gravitas' is; not
much differences actually. He has his
moments in every track and it seems that
they want to keep the classic Asia
sound intact.
I like this album, but I had
very high expectations of it, so my
overall score is higher that average,
but are not even close to the amazing
'XxX' album, which was one of 2012's top albums
in my view. It feels quite toothless
occasionally insome of the songs and
that reflects my overall rating.
If you are a
fan of the band, it's still worth an
investment. You won't be
disappointed.
Asia:
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Carl Palmer – drums
John Wetton – bass, vocals
Sam Coulson– guitars
