Asia’s 1983 Top 10 single “Don’t Cry” briefly masked serious problems within the band. Despite the success of their debut album, rapid pressure to produce a follow-up intensified creative disagreements and contributed to the group’s decline.

The band’s 1982 debut, featuring “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell”, became America’s highest-selling album that year. Rushed into recording Alpha, Asia faced disputes over songwriting, an unsatisfactory final mix and tensions over Steve Howe’s reduced guitar role; although “Don’t Cry” succeeded, Howe had left by 1985 and the band’s momentum had faded. The original line-up did not reunite for an album until 2008.