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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Asia — Asia / Armed to the Teeth
(Wild Places, 1980/1995, CD)

by Mike McLatchey, Published 1996-03-01

Asia / Armed to the Teeth Cover art I don't understand why I'm reviewing this in Exposé... maybe it's the Mellotron? Without being too judgemental on a genre that I inherently dislike in the first place, the 70s American hard rock/melodic rock axis (somehere in the Boston, Styx, Frampton area), I must say that this has little to do with anything commonly referred to as "prog rock." Amongst this strong US bent are hints of groups like Deep Purple, Rainbow, and NWOBHM like Saxon or early Iron Maiden. Asia have a directly commercial sound with quick choruses, lots of oohing and ahhing, arena rock style guitar playing (posing galore) and an eternal middle of the road tempo that takes out a lot of the dynamics that a band like this could benefit from. Listeners coming from the "classic rock"/prog rock axis may be more comfortable with this as there is a lot here easy to grab onto. The albums are similar, athough the self titled one is slightly more interesting, and adopts some obvious influences from Yes or the Moodies at times. 2-on-1 CDs are always a good deal for the money, yet I'm sure this would appeal more to the 70s hard rock fan than most readers.

Filed under: Reissues, Issue 9, 1995 releases, 1980 recordings

Related artist(s): Asia

 

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