Asia broke some traditions with the release of their eighth studio album, Silent Nation. First, their previous seven releases all had one-word titles that began and ended with the letter ‘a.’ Additionally, all of their previous discs featured artwork by Roger Dean or the Dean-inspired Rodney Matthews. Here, stylish black-and-white art graces the cover.

Musically, though, Silent Nation continues where 2000’s Aura left off, but with a slightly harder edge to it. And while Aura featured guest appearances from numerous musicians, Silent Nation is a self-contained, self-produced effort. Joining Asia founder/keyboardist/producer Geoff Downes and long time bassist/vocalist/producer John Payne are guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Chris Slade, who has played with AC/DC, the Firm and David Gilmour, among others.

The musicianship on Silent Nation is superb, especially on the darker, more progressive tracks. ‘Blue Moon Monday’ sees Downes getting a workout on various keyboards, ranging from piano to synthesizer to Hammond organ, while Payne adds an impassioned vocal. ‘Gone Too Far’ gives Govan his turn in the spotlight as he supplies some impressive solos. The song includes cool, monk-like chanting that wraps up the track. ‘Darkness Day’ opens with another chanting part before leading into a cinematic, John Carpenter-like synth riff that carries the number. Payne shows off his range as a vocalist here, going from quiet to angry to most points in between. Govan adds some strong electric guitar riffs in the background while Slade pounds out an aggressive rhythm.

As for the more mainstream numbers, they’re largely hit-or-miss. ‘Long Way From Home’ includes a catchy chorus and some nice playing by all of the band. ‘Ghost In The Mirror’ sounds like classic Payne-era material. Downes carries the track with a Hammond riff that Payne gives a soaring vocal over. Some understated guitar adds a nice touch to the song.

On the other hand, the vocals in ‘Midnight’ are too repetitive and the music in ‘I Will Be There For You’ is a bit too disjointed. And the opening song, ‘What About Love,’ plods along a bit too much and is not the best way to start off the disc. While not really bad tracks, they’re not nearly as strong as some of the others on Silent Nation.

One of the things that stands out on Silent Nation is Downes’ playing. While always a part of his keyboard arsenal, Downes really gives the Hammond a workout with its flourishes on most of the tracks represented here. I’ve always admired Downes, both for his work in Asia as well as the Drama album he made with Yes. His playing is never over the top. He plays what’s needed for the given song, and most importantly for a progressive rock keyboardist, he knows what not to play.

So while Silent Nation isn’t quite as good as the defining Payne-era disc, Arena, it’s an impressive collection of songs nonetheless. And now, perhaps a new tradition of two-word titles has begun. Only time will tell.