Rush
Clockwork Angels

The Rush, for quite a number of years now, have accustomed their fans to wait roughly a couple of years before they can listen to a new work. These long periods are marked by intermediate tours and occasional news on the status of the works. However, in the end, they are always well-received by their audience. It happened with "Snakes And Arrows," and it happens once again with "Clockwork Angels."

In this regard, Rush are, let's say, the opposite of Dream Theater. While for Dream Theater the releases are less spaced apart and are continuously criticized, whatever approach is proposed, maybe even being dismissed as rubbish before the release... Rush, on the other hand, almost always get everyone to agree, or almost everyone, regardless of their proposal, almost as if there is a phenomenon of fanboyism exerted on them, perhaps due to the almost institutional status the band has gained in North America. And thus, it's no surprise at all if "Clockwork Angels" has united fans and critics.

But let's talk about it... Rush had already set the anticipation in motion by the end of 2009 when they announced their return to the studio with the same producer of "Snakes And Arrows," and already by 2010, we had a single that included the first two tracks of the future album, namely "Caravan" and "BU2B," before embarking on the acclaimed "Time Machine Tour" which would further delay the release of the work. But in the end, in June 2012 "Clockwork Angels" became reality. Rush astonish once again, not wanting to make a new "Snakes And Arrows," and thus they deliver an album of sincere and sharp hard rock, with few calm moments but without reaching the cavernous sound of "Vapor Trails," thus forming almost a counterpart to the previous album, which had a more acoustic breath. The album, even though it aims to be a hard and dragging album intended for hard rock lovers, does not fail to highlight the technical skills of the three Canadians as well as their desire to still be very lively despite the aging in years and biology. Geddy Lee's bass is splendid and highly inspired, Neil Peart's rhythm remains very varied, and Alex Lifeson's guitar performance is no less impressive.

Those who also appreciate Rush as soloists will not be disappointed. But the album requires a couple of listens to be fully appreciated, and I think this is due to the approach that involves wanting to contrast the desire to make a powerful album on one hand and the desire to create a product played with class and moderate instrumental variety on the other. Accompanying the three, as well as bringing a breath of fresh air, are orchestral arrangements that act as a background in some tracks, hence the choice to bring an orchestra on the promotional tour of the album. But let's take an overview of the tracks. The album is a concept album that tells the story of a young man who overcomes various obstacles to achieve his dreams. The choice of concept intrigued everyone, as they had never really made one before. But further curious was the announcement of the possible presence of long tracks, if not even a suite. Curiosity justified by the fact that Rush had never again hit the seven-minute mark after 1981 (the 11 minutes of "The Camera Eye" on "Moving Pictures"). In the end, there is no suite, but they still exceed 7 minutes with the title track and with "Headlong Flight" the first almost offers hard progressive, as it frequently changes rhythms and suddenly starts with hard rock bursts that could immediately bring to mind a "Double Agent" from "Counterparts," the second is a sharper and more direct track with a riff reminiscent of a "Bastille Day." These are perhaps the two highest points, but others like "Seven Cities Of Gold" and "Carnies" are not far behind. Outstanding quality is also found in the more immediate tracks "The Wreckers" and "Wish Them Well."

The intense tones of the album are broken by pieces with a greater acoustic presence such as "Halo Effect" and the splendid concluding "The Garden," which also includes a piano interlude. In conclusion, I say that this is indeed an album worthy of their name and with its own identity, certainly taking inspiration from things the band has already done but is not a clone of any other album. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece because it sometimes suffers from a bit of prolixity and tends to repeat itself slightly as the minutes pass. I perhaps preferred the more acoustic and slightly more stylistically varied approach of "Snakes And Arrows", but nevertheless, it is an album that has kept me company during this hot summer and that we will surely place on the higher shelves of the annual rankings.