Clockwork Angels

Clockwork Angels is a concept album that became Rush’s final studio album, binding precise rhythm, ever-shifting bass, inventive guitar and a grand sci-fi story. Around a story set in a steampunk-like world, the songs move complexly, yet a powerful, band-like drive and a distinctive melodic sense surely breathe in every scene. A splendid culmination of nearly half a century of activity. From the powerful drive of the openers “Caravan” and “BU2B” and the dramatic title track “Clockwork Angels” to the tension of “The Anarchist” and the dashing “Headlong Flight,” every song boasts high polish. The beautiful closer “The Garden” leaves a moving afterglow evoking the band’s long journey. The arrangement supporting the story is astonishingly precise. It is an engaging work where, the more you listen through the album, the more clearly the connections of motifs scattered across the songs come into view. You can savor Rush’s outstanding technique and rich imagination on the grandest possible scale. Fitting to cap the trio’s brilliant career, it is a grand, highly polished, moving masterpiece concept album.