Asia – Arena, 1996

1. Into the Arena
2. Arena
3. Heaven
4. Two Sides of the Moon
5. The Day Before the War
6. Never
7. Falling
8. Words
9. U Bring Me Down
10. Tell Me Why
11. Turn It Around
12. Bella Nova

Geoffrey Downes – Keyboards
John Payne – Bass (2,8,10-11), Lead Vocals (2-11), Solo Guitar (3,8,10), Acoustic Guitar (5)
Michael Sturgis – Drums (2-11)
Elliott Randall – Lead Guitar (4-6,10-11), Guitar (2,7), Acoustic Guitar (1,3)
Aziz Ibrahim – Lead Guitar (5), Guitar (9), Acoustic Guitar (8), Rhythm Guitar (3-6,8,10-11)

Special guests:
Tomoyasu Hotei – Lead Guitar (1)
Luis Jardim – Percussion (1,2,4)

Arena is a novelty in the history of Asia. Geoff Downes and John Payne used some influences from South American and oriental music and created a fresh and modern rock sound. Of course there are some tracks (like ‘Heaven’ and ‘Arena’) in the traditional Asia style. Fans of pure Progressive Rock will love the song ‘The Day Before the War’, which shows the full spectrum of this extraordinary band. Arena features great guests like Elliott Randall (Steely Dan), Aziz Ibrahim (Simply Red) and Luis Jardim (Bryan Ferry). The wonderful fantasy artwork was painted by Rodney Matthews (Magnum, Barclay James Harvest).