Metallic Observer

Synthetic Dread With “Signals”, the power trio dipped their toes into new sonic directions, a direction that took  advantage of the emerging technology that was being implemented by bands around the early eighties. Rush were always about advancing their own unique brand of rock music, and they were aware that they had to adapt to the changes of the music industry in order to stay relevant. This direction was one that had diehard fans a bit taken aback but they were still willing to see where the band would go with this new focus. If “Signals” was the album where the band were toying with the ideas of synthesizers, 1984's “Grace Under Pressure” exhibited the band diving head first into this realm. Compared to “Signals”, Rush’s tenth studio outing is a much more focused release, one that takes greater advantage of the new direction that the band was toying with and in addition, Rush tackle greater, more emotionally heavy concepts.  The opening track, “Distant Ear

A Sleek New Form Rush were now in the unenviable position of having to capitalize the mammoth success that was “Moving Pictures”.  Whatever direction the band was going to explore, inevitably fans were going to compare it to “Moving Pictures”, whether they liked it or not. Luckily, the band did not fall into the trap of resting on their laurels and in 1982, “Signals” was released.  This record marks the beginning of a new era of the band, one in which the trio heavily implemented synthesizers into their music, an era that fans have dubbed the "Synth Era". Now synthesizers were an already established ingredient of Rush's music, since the late seventies in fact, but this is the release where the synths started to become a more dominant part of the song making process. “Signals” is a very bold, daring record in many respects helping to push the band's sound further, luckily not resting on the success of their previous output. The record opens with a from

Entering the Lighted Stage “A modern day warrior Mean mean stride Today’s Tom Sawyer Mean mean pride” The minute you hear that opening synthesizer note by Lee and Peart’s signature drum pattern, you know what song this is. This signature single, and this record as a whole, catapulted Rush to the commercial stratosphere. “Moving Pictures” is the band’s biggest selling album of their career, peaking at number three of the Billboard Top 100 LPs, and reaching platinum barely two months after its initial release.  This record shows the band’s culmination of seven years of experimentation, with its successes and failures, and demonstrates Rush at their peak of their abilities both as writers and musicians. Going forward with the successful execution of "Permanent Waves", the trio keep to the idea of shorter, more concise tracks, and just like that release the band is still able to showcase complex playing. In fact, this record probably showcases som

Usually, I try to construct these entries with some professional, but for right now, I'm going to be speaking from the heart. Today the news has broke that my favorite drummer in rock music has passed away.  I do not have the coherent thoughts at the moment to process this information.  What I will say is...thank you.  Thank you Neil.  Thank you for your lyrics, thank you for terrific player, thank you for being humble. We love you, and we will miss you Neil.

Streamlined success The dawn of a new decade, and in turn the dawn of a new direction for the Canadian power trio.  By the time 1980 rolled around Rush had almost spent their creative juices on their previous record. While "Hemispheres" was another huge success for the band, Rush knew that if they were to continue down this trajectory that it would only spell doom for their careers. To rectify this potential problem, Rush went into a direction that might seem blasphemous to the hardcore progressive rock fans they had acquired: they streamlined their sound.  Rush were taking notice of the new bands that were appearing around the late seventies to early eighties. Artists such as The Police, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello and many more showed the band that they could still apply their complex gifted talents, but in turn could produce music that was catchy. With this methodology, the band released their seventh album two weeks into the new decade, “Permane

An Indulgent, Brainy Masterwork Cerebral.  If there is one word to describe Rush’s sixth studio album, that is this descriptor.  “Hemispheres” is an album really unlike anything that not only Rush had produced but this style of rock music as a whole at the time.  P ersonally, this is my favorite Rush album, as it takes the ideas that worked on previous albums and expands them to heights that on a technical level never before reached nor reached since.  This is a record that gets into your psyche, one that transports the listener into this different plane of existence. The power trio is at the peak of their musical capabilities on this release, pushing their talents and even their bodies and minds to their absolute limits, a feeling that is wonderfully portrayed on the record as a whole. “Hemispheres” sees the band returning to the format of “2112” where the title track is a side long, multi part epic, and the second side has shorter, punchier tracks, at least for th

Dining on Success The success of “2112” opened the door for Rush; their gamble proved more successful than anyone could have ever foreseen.  Thus, the band’s record company, going off the unorthodox success of the album, gave the band unlimited freedom that would continue unabated throughout the rest of their career.  With this newfound artistic liberty, the band set out to create a follow-up to their surprising success story, a situation that for many artists can prove to be daunting. How could Rush capitalize on this newfound success and artistic liberties?  The answer was given on September 1st, 1977 with the release of “A Farewell to Kings”. The album proved to be a resounding success, reaching Gold in only two months, Rush proved that they weren’t one trick ponies and could expand their sound to greater heights. Opening with an acoustic guitar passage before breaking into a heavy riff on the title track, one fact is made with crystal clarity: this is a very Br

The Trio Has Assumed Control After the disaster that was “Caress of Steel” Rush was in dire straits. Both fans and the record company were not connecting with Rush’s new progressive direction.  A change had to be made and fast, otherwise the trio weren't going to succeed in the industry. To make sure that didn’t happen, their record company advised and demanded them to craft songs that were more single friendly, radio friendly.  Rush’s response: to make the title track of their next album a twenty minute long science fiction epic suite detailing a man going up against a civilization whose rulers detest art. The most insane result of all this, is that this decision should have blown up in their faces, but it didn’t. “2112” cracked the US Billboard Top LPs, reaching 61 in the charts, and sold over 500,000 copies by 1977, reaching gold certification.  The biggest question is how? How and where did this album succeed when “Caress of Steel” failed to reach an audience, even