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Asia biography

2001's Aura featured three different session guitarists, including Ian Crichton (of Canadian progressive rock band Saga) who'd briefly joined Asia in 1998-1999. Aura took a more progressive rock form, but still did not recapture the commercial success of the first album. Former members Howe, Thrall, Sturgis and Elliott Randall also made guest appearances. The single "Ready To Go Home" was barely distributed. Asia then signed with Recognition. 2001 did see the band with a stable lineup, achieved during the Aura sessions featuring Downes, Payne, guitarist Guthrie Govan and ex-Manfred Mann's Earth Band/The Firm/Uriah Heep/Gary Numan/AC/DC drummer Chris Slade (who had first joined Asia in 1999, briefly). Asia would tour for the first time since 1994, including the first US dates since 1993. A live album and DVD "Asia: Live In The USA" was released in 2003, recorded at the Classic Rock Festival in Trenton, NJ in October 2002 which they co-headlined with Uriah Heep.

In the summer of 2003, Downes and Payne did the "Asia Across America Tour" which got some national media attention. Performing "unplugged", the duo would reportedly play anywhere in the US that fans requested, provided there was a venue and the fans put up $3,000 to cover costs. From New Jersey to Alaska gigs took place and the fans were treated to "meet and greet" sessions after each show as well and given a rare chance to see Downes in an intimate setting.

Marking a departure from convention, for the first time, a studio release was not titled as a single word starting and ending with the letter A. Released on Asia's newly signed label SPV/Inside Out Records, 2004's Silent Nation (name influenced by the Howard Stern vs. FCC incident) picked up some unexpected exposure on the Internet.

In 2004, an acoustic Asia toured featuring only Downes and Payne. In 2005, the full band toured in Europe and the Americas playing settings ranging from small clubs to medium-sized theatres. Again, in the US, attendance was poor at best. Meanwhile, Wetton and Downes released some archival Asia material under the name Wetton/Downes and they then reunited to record a full-length album (Icon, released in 2005), and an accompanying EP and DVD.

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