Gravitas (Asia album)

Gravitas is the thirteenth studio album by British rock group Asia, released in 2014. It is the group's final studio album with vocalist/bassist John Wetton before his death in 2017 and the only one to feature guitarist Sam Coulson.

Gravitas was released on CD, deluxe edition CD/DVD-Video (featuring bonus tracks, the "Valkyrie" music video, the making of the album and three tracks recorded live with a full symphonic orchestra in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) and LP. A music video for "Valkyrie" was shot in January 2014 in Los Angeles.

Production
Asia began to work on the new album in the end of June 2013. As this time they decided not to invite an outside producer, it was produced by Wetton and keyboard player Geoff Downes. The instruments were recorded at Steve Rispin's Liscombe Park Studios, located in Buckinghamshire countryside west of Bedfordshire town Leighton Buzzard, where the group had worked on all their previous studio recordings since the reunion in 2006. The vocals were done at Aubitt Studios in Southampton, Hampshire, by Rob Aubrey. The album was mixed and mastered by John Mitchell at Outhouse Studios in Reading, Berkshire, from October to December 2013. "I Would Die for You" was written by Wetton and Downes in 1986 as opposed to the rest of the songs, which were composed in 2013.

Gravitas was originally announced under the name of Valkyrie, but the title was later changed. The cover artwork was designed by Roger Dean, who had collaborated with Asia since their debut album, released in 1982.

Reception
Matt Collar gave the album a rating of three stars out of five on AllMusic. He noted that "Asia have always moved back and forth between their radio-friendly pop side and more classical-influenced progressive side" and Gravitas "bends more toward the latter, showcasing Downes and Wetton's longstanding partnership as thoughtful songwriters and technically proficient arrangers". "Valkyrie", "Nyctophobia" and "I Would Die for You" were selected as three "Track Picks".

Gravitas was less successful in terms of sales than its predecessor, but still managed to reach the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.

Asia

 * John Wetton – lead vocal, acoustic and bass guitars; producer
 * Geoff Downes – keyboards; producer
 * Sam Coulson – guitars
 * Carl Palmer – drums

Additional musicians

 * Katinka Kleijn – cello (on "Valkyrie")

Technical personnel

 * Steve Rispin – engineer
 * Rob Aubrey – engineer (vocals) (at Aubitt Studios, Southampton, Hampshire)
 * John Mitchell – mixing and mastering engineer (at Outhouse Studios, Reading, Berkshire)
 * Devin DeHaven – producer and director ("Valkyrie" music video and the making of Gravitas)
 * Roger Dean – paintings, logotypes
 * Michael Inns – photography
 * John Price – photography