10 Most Underrated Asia Songs

Feature Photo: Andrew F. Kazmierski / Shutterstock.com

Everyone knows the first Asia album. It was such a huge hit and received tons of airplay on MTV when it was first released back in 1982. The group didn’t waste much time and released their second album a year later, called Alpha in 1983, and most people know that one too. Then came Astra in 1985, which some people still probably recognize. However, that was the last album with John Wetton on lead vocals for a while. (He would return many years later.) From that point on, the band released ten more studio albums from 1992 to 2014. During that time, the band went through many lineup changes, and a lot of the music released during this period was really good. However, we think much of it has been overlooked, so we’re going to rule out the first two albums on this list because everybody knows the music from those records, so you won’t see anything from Asia or Alpha on this list.

Gravitas remains Asia’s most recently released studio album as of this update. The band has announced a new studio album, Indigo, for release on November 6, 2026, with a lineup of Geoff Downes, Virgil Donati, John Mitchell, and Harry Whitley.

The whole point behind the underrated songs listing articles is to turn people on to music they may have missed, and that could be hardcore fans, casual fans, or people who know nothing about the band. We also have a lot of fun doing this because we go through an entire catalog and, in many ways, turn ourselves back on to music we forgot all about. So here we go; only time will tell.

# 10 – Valkyrie – Gravitas

We open our list of the 10 most underrated Asia songs with this beautiful track from the band’s 2014 album Gravitas. The song selected here was the opening track on the album, titled “Valkyrie.” John Wetton’s heartfelt vocals will cut right through you from the opening a cappella line all the way through. This is just vintage-sounding Asia; it’s a tremendous piece of music on a really good album. Gravitas was released in 2014 and remains the band’s most recent released studio album, with Indigo scheduled to follow in November 2026. The band’s lineup on Gravitas consisted of John Wetton on lead vocals and various guitars, Geoff Downes on keyboards, Sam Coulson on guitars, and the Rock God drummer Carl Palmer. This is a good way to start out this list.

# 9 – The Day Before the War – Arena

If you’re a fan of progressive rock, this is one of the most epic pieces the band has ever recorded. It’s also one of the longest, coming in at over 9 minutes. At times, the group sounds like Dream Theater at the beginning, and of course, there’s the Yes influence, even though Steve Howe is not on this record. This is a really wondrous piece of music and a joy to listen to, probably a surprise to some people out there. It was released on the album Arena, which was the band’s sixth studio album.

Released in 1996, the album featured just three core members: Geoff Downes on keyboards, John Payne on vocals and bass, and Michael Sturgis on drums. Many guest musicians contributed, including Elliott Randall on guitars, Aziz Ibrahim on guitars, Hotei Tomoyasu on guitar, and Luis Jardim on percussion. It reached number 34 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, although in the US, it was pretty much ignored.

# 8 – Never Again – Phoenix

Phoenix was a special album in the band’s catalog; it was the first time since Alpha in 1983 that the original lineup released a new studio album together. Of course, music had changed dramatically since the ’80s, but it was wonderful to get a new album from John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, and Carl Palmer. We had thought that we would never see that again. The song picked here was the album’s opening track titled “Never Again.” One would have thought that the return of the original lineup would have catapulted the album to the top of the charts; however, like we said before, it was a different world in 2008, and the band had lost many of their early fans. In the US, it peaked at number 73 on the Billboard 200. In the United Kingdom, it reached number 10 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

# 7 – Long Way From Home – Silent Nation

There are multiple reasons why we picked this song to be placed on this list. First, we love the tune; it features an intense driving beat, fueled by the phenomenal Chris Slade on drums. John Payne sounds incredible on vocals, the guitar work by Guthrie Govan is fantastic, and, of course, Geoff Downes brings it all together with his sensational keyboard work. This powerful tune served as the opening track to the band’s ninth studio album, Silent Nation.

What’s particularly interesting about this album, and you may not have noticed, is that, apart from the instrumental soundtrack album Rare, it’s the first Asia studio album titled without a word that begins and ends with the letter “A.” Additionally, the cover art is very different from the traditional Roger Dean artwork. This album broke a lot of Asia’s traditional molds, but hey, that’s what rock and roll is all about. Interestingly, this would be the last album to feature this lineup of musicians, as the original lineup returned for the next album, Phoenix.

# 6 – Face on the Bridge – XXX

XXX would be the final album the band released with the original lineup. In total, the lineup of John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer released five studio albums: Asia (1982), Alpha (1983), Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010), and XXX (2012). After the release of XXX, Steve Howe left the band. Sadly, five years later, John Wetton passed away in 2017. There was some really good stuff on this record, and the song that we’ve chosen to represent the album on this list was actually the single that was released from the record, entitled “Face on the Bridge.”

The album reached number 8 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and number 69 on the main UK Albums Chart. It did not fare as well on the US Billboard 200, where it reached number 134. However, on the US Tastemaker Albums Chart, it reached number 9. Nonetheless, for Asia fans, this was another album that featured the original lineup and, sadly, the last one to do so.

# 5 – Holy War – Omega

At the halfway point on our Asia Underrated Songs list is a smoking tune called “Holy War.” The song was released on the band’s album Omega, released in April 2010. Once again, this album featured the original lineup of Wetton, Howe, Downes, and Palmer. Almost all the songs on the album were written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes, with the exception of a pair of songs written by Steve Howe and John Wetton. The album did not perform well on the charts; in fact, it didn’t even break into the US top 200 album charts. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? This song cranks.

# 4 – Enough’s Enough – Aria

“Enough’s Enough” was definitely a hidden gem on the band’s fifth studio album called Aria. This album featured Geoff Downes on keyboards, John Payne on lead vocals, the incredible Al Pitrelli on guitars, and Michael Sturgis on drums. Released in 1994, as the grunge scene raged on, this style of music wasn’t getting much attention anymore. It didn’t even break into the US Billboard Top 200 album charts and kind of just drifted away. It’s not one of our favorite Asia albums, but it still has some good tracks, especially this one.

# 3 – I Would Die for You – Gravitas

“I Would Die for You” is the second of two songs featured on this list from the Gravitas album, making it the only album on this list that is represented twice. Perhaps it’s a sentimental pick, as this album marks the final released Asia studio album featuring John Wetton as the band’s lead vocalist. Nonetheless, it’s a really good song that was co-written by Wetton and Downes. Interestingly, the song was actually written in 1986 but had never appeared on an Asia album before. You can hear the difference in this song compared to the rest. Gravitas is a solid album, but “I Would Die for You” was definitely the standout track.

# 2 – Wherever You Are – Aura

This is a really interesting one because of all the people involved in recording and writing this song. The Aura album was recorded in 2000 and first released in Japan in January 2001, before being released in the United Kingdom and the United States. This album is unlike any other Asia album as, at the time, the band’s two permanent members were John Payne and Geoff Downes. However, they brought in different musicians to play on different songs. Some people might not have liked that, understandably so, but if you’re someone with open ears, an open heart, an open mind, or even an open can of tuna fish, you might have enjoyed it. I liked it; I thought it was fascinating.

The song we’ve chosen to showcase on this list features Chris Slade on drums and Guthrie Govan on guitars; Govan later joined the stable Asia lineup that followed the album. However, it’s the songwriters involved in this song that we found quite interesting. Of course, Geoff Downes and John Payne have writing credits, but Andrew Gold and 10cc’s Graham Gouldman were also on board. It’s a pop song, but it’s a pop song with power, which was one of Asia’s trademarks. So, if you’ve never heard this one, you might actually be surprised by how good it is.

# 1 – Go – Astra

As we wrap up our underrated Asia songs list, we turn to the band’s third album, entitled Astra. This was the first Asia studio album to see a lineup change; Steve Howe left the band and was replaced by Mandy Meyer on guitar. Meyer was relatively unknown at the time, having only played in the band Cobra. After his short stint with Asia, he went on to play in bands like Krokus, Gotthard, and Unisonic. Astra would be the first Asia studio album not to achieve gold status in the United States. The first two albums had gone platinum in the US, but this album saw a huge drop-off.

The debut album had hit number one in the US, and the follow-up reached number six, but Astra only reached number 67, and it would be the last Asia studio album to break into the US top 200 until the original lineup returned with Phoenix in 2008. Nonetheless, this song is really good. The video might be a bit cheesy, but it has its charms. The powerhouse track, written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes, kicks off the album impressively. The album is also visually complemented by iconic artwork designed by Roger Dean.