Snakes & Arrows

First new collection of original material in nearly five years

It is pretty hard to tell what kind of reaction you'll get if you ask any progressive or hard rock fan who Rush are. A person may be astonished with the fact that there are people who don't know this name or he may feel cheer gladness, the reaction may be of any kind but one – you'll never hear an indifferent answer. Rush stay on top of the rock music world for 30 years, their influence is immeasurable and their followers are countless. The peak of Rush fame fell on early 80's when they released their most popular album Moving Picture. However, each record of this restless trio carries inimitable trademark handwriting of guitarassdrums complex interplay. There is an interesting fact: all the Rush's albums received gold, platinum or multi platinum status except two recent studio records released in 2002 and 2004. But this situation is temporary, after longtime stylistic experiments Rush are coming back to the territory of their classic sounding with their 18th album Snakes & Arrows, which contains both elements of late 70's – early 80’s period and new views of musicians upon their artistic work. 

Rush often use acoustic guitar

Snakes & Arrows is the band's strongest work for the last 10 or even 20 years, to say the least, it is another trio's classic album. It is highly melodic, intense, easy to comprehend and exciting to explore. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Superdrag) it offers both new songwriting approach and time-tested musical methods. Rush used acoustic guitar as one of the major instruments. It adds a unique character to the album, as the most of their former works are electric guitar driven. However, the songs sound heavy enough. The first song Far Cry sets the intense atmosphere immediately; heavy accents strike the fast acoustic strumming without mercy during first seconds of intro, which resolves into a great mid tempo prog riff. This melodic hard rock song is actually one of the most accessible tracks of the album; it has a standard structure and never leaves the borders of main tempo. Armour And Swords is the longest track here; hard rock and acoustic parts are constantly interchanging sometimes blending into gorgeous sonic vortex. Larger Bowl is another great track, it is mostly acoustic but it is no less emotional or dense then the heavy songs.     

Snakes & Arrows is worthy of comparisons with best Rush's albums

The album features three marvelous instrumentals. This is especially important because these are first instrumental tracks from Rush for the last 10 years. The Main Monkey Business delivers a feeling of Rush's material of late 70's when they've been making great studio jams. Guitars weep mournfully, bass clangs deeply and drums hit massively – a full band masterpiece. Hope is a short Led Zeppelin-like track played on 12-string acoustic, extremely beautiful and exciting. The third instrumental is Malignant Narcissism – intensive funky bass line is the basic element of the track, it is fast and a little aggressive, the track also features a small part where each of musicians is left alone to play a swift solo cameo. Overall Snakes & Arrows is a thrilling and amazing experience. The production is great; every instrument can be heard perfectly. Each of musicians plays not just irreproachably but tries to enrich the entire sounding with smart details, small and big. Vocals sound emotional and distinct, Geddy Lee is not trying to reach high notes as he did in the past, but he uses great phrasing and his voice still impress with a high range. The material is worthy of comparisons with best Rush's albums and the album as a whole is coherent and conceptual. So what are you waiting for? Take it and enjoy!