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Rush - Clockwork Angels review



Reviewer:
9.3

350 users:
8.34
Band: Rush
Album: Clockwork Angels
Release date: June 2012


01. Caravan
02. BU2B
03. Clockwork Angels
04. The Anarchist
05. Carnies
06. Halo Effect
07. Seven Cities Of Gold
08. The Wreckers
09. Headlong Flight
10. BU2B2
11. Wish Them Well
12. The Garden

After 38 years since Rush's debut album, it's impressive how this band manages to stay so fresh. They have the ability to continue playing progressive rock music with so much intent, without emulating their old albums or rehashing their classics. Rush, decade after decade continue playing for their old fan base, but were able to captivate younger audiences. Their music is fresh, heavy, melodic, conceptual and rhythmic? and it is so good!! A great example of these adjectives is their latest album entitled Clockwork Angels.

I'm a huge fan of the band, I have listened their entire discography including demos, bootlegs, cover or live albums. I have been listening to Rush for quite a few years and the band doesn't stop impressing me. Year after year they are better, the Canadian natives made one of the most impressive progressive records of the decade with Snakes & Arrows and my expectation for the next release was enormous. Let me just say that my expectations took a severe beating: I didn't expect anything as good as this Clockwork Angels.

This is a conceptual album centered on a young man following his dreams, he struggles with inner and outer forces. This young man has an enemy: Watchmaker, an evil authoritarian presence who attempts to rule the world. Lyrically, Rush presents one of their best works of the last 20 years, the lyrics are so inspired, and are written by the magical hands of Neil Peart. This album will be novelized by Neil Peart and sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson, which says a lot about the high level of Peart's songwriting. Instrumentally, the band continues the direction of the previous album with great predominance in the amazing guitar riffs of Lifeson and acoustic guitars; Geddy Lee's voice is much more emotional than the previous album, and his bass compositions are the backbone of this album; Neil Peart's drum playing continue as perfect as always, with some heavy moments like in "Headlong Flight" or "The Anarchist".

This album is very complete and features every single characteristic that puts this band as the best band ever alongside Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. It can be extremely heavy in tracks such as "The Anarchist", "BU2B", "Headlong Flight" or "Caravan"; it can be soulful and extremely moving in tracks like "The Garden" or the heavy pop "Wish Them Well"; it can be intelligent and smart in "Halo Effect" or "Seven Cities of Gold". I can't forget the group performance: the band continues to coexist as impressively as 40 years ago, they couldn't be better! This album definitely has epics that will join the band's long list of great. Clockwork Angels's production is so tight, we can hear in perfect conditions Geddy Lee's bass without being topped over by Peart's drums and Lifeson's guitars, it makes a wonderful picture of inspired, heavy, melodic and soulful music.

All in all, Clockwork Angels is the result of musicians that know what they are doing. They don't live through their classics, they prefer to continue playing those classics and making more epics and future classics. The group performance is so energetic and inspired, the songwriting is off the chart and it has a concept that is rare to see in these days. Just like the previous album, Clockwork Angels has the ability "to fill up a room" with all its strength, emotion and melodic themes. The instrumental junction between the three members makes this album one of the top albums of the last decade and decades to come.


"I was brought up to believe the universe has a plan/ we are only human, it's not ours to understand." (The heavy riff of Alex Lifeson's guitar accompanying Geddy Lee's legendary voice makes this moment one of the best moments of the last 20 years of music.)


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 10

Written by AndMetalForAll | 02.12.2012




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 105 users
02.12.2012 - 23:25
Rating: 9
AndMetalForAll
kual21
Highlights: "Caravan", "BU2B", "The Anarchist", "Seven Cities Of Gold", "Headlong Flight", "The Garden".
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greets,
kual21
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03.12.2012 - 00:57
Rating: 8
musclassia

Wouldn't be anywhere near this enthusiastic, but definitely enjoyed this more than I expected, and found it a definite step up from S&A. And The Garden is a lovely track
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03.12.2012 - 11:27
Rating: 9
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Terrific read and thanks. The producer of the album Nick Raskulinecz deserves a lot of credit for guiding the band and keeping the core of the music "fresh" for the younger audiences!
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rekt
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04.12.2012 - 01:57
Rating: 9
AndMetalForAll
kual21
Written by tea[m]ster on 03.12.2012 at 11:27

Terrific read and thanks. The producer of the album Nick Raskulinecz deserves a lot of credit for guiding the band and keeping the core of the music "fresh" for the younger audiences!


Thanks.. Definitely a top album in the next decades, and concept is incredible!
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greets,
kual21
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12.12.2012 - 00:14
Rating: 10
Iron Nostarion
Maiden Whore
"The Wreckers", that track too.. :'( Goddammit this is perfect
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To their tombs the people are immured,
There is their gold, treasure and wealth,
The only condition is to ignore them,
Those who feed on corruption and weave death
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31.01.2013 - 02:38
Rating: 9
AndMetalForAll
kual21
The official lyric videos for "Headlong Flight" and "The Wreckers":


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greets,
kual21
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06.04.2013 - 23:23
Rating: 9
Dream Taster
The Enemy Within
I'm a huge Rush fan. This album is pure magic. You said it all. Your review does it justice. Great job.
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07.04.2013 - 14:55
Rating: 9
AndMetalForAll
kual21
Written by Dream Taster on 06.04.2013 at 23:23

I'm a huge Rush fan. This album is pure magic. You said it all. Your review does it justice. Great job.


Thanks, I'm also a huge fan of the band.. Its concept is incredibly good and not seen for many years..

greets,
AndMetalForAll
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greets,
kual21
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