Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rush
Label: Atlantic Records
Released: 2007
Rating: 4/5
As usual, every new album from the Canadian holy trio of art rock (and beyond) spheres, the creators of some of the most innovative and advanced works in the history of progressive rock, is a special occasion that all fans of progressively minded melodies and hard-hitting sounds await with eager excitement. Even though Rush abandoned the complex prog epics a long time ago (and quite decisively), every new album has still been greeted as a bringer of plenty of unpredictability and high-grade atmosphere. “Snakes & Arrows” is their 18th studio album, produced by longtime fan Nick Raskulinecz (Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters, etc.). His contribution yielded one of the best productions in their history and brought a far-reaching improvement over the musically inspiring but production-wise awfully muddy predecessor “Vapor Trails” (2002). The latter was an extremely important album for the band because, despite Neil’s personal tragedy, in which he lost both his wife and his daughter in a short time, and with the band’s future hanging by a very thin thread, it proved that Rush could overcome even seemingly insurmountable obstacles and carry on their musical mission into the new century with undiminished drive. The album was infused with a mix of incredible energy, dynamics, punch and veritable eruptions of undisguised rage at the follies of humankind. Neil, who besides his exceptional drumming skills also has a real knack for writing lyrics, delivered some of his most personal and engaged lyrics to date, shaped not only by his personal tragedy but also by the events of the time (9/11, for instance), which fed the “angry” mood of the album.
Lyrically, “Snakes & Arrows” continues the personally and socially engaged direction of its predecessor. According to Neil, the album’s title comes from an ancient Buddhist game of the same name, as well as from the children’s game “chutes and ladders”. Its central message, and the main theme of most of the lyrics, is the fateful link between religions and wars, which, as we know from history, are all too often the main source of human suffering and delusion. Musically, too, “Snakes & Arrows” continues the sharp sound and fairly direct approach of its predecessor. This time with an important change: a particularly big emphasis on Alex’s guitar, both electric and acoustic. In that respect the album shines from start to finish. Rush haven’t given Alex’s guitar mastery this much room in a long time (the main reason he devoted himself to combining electric and acoustic more than ever is said to be his meeting with David Gilmour). Overall the album sounds pretty consistent without any standout favorites, and the few weaker moments point to a slight shortage of new ideas. Anyone who happened to expect Rush to return to their complex, dynamic prog epics, or to the refined, synth-laden sound that defined most of their music in the 80s, will simply have to accept that they gave up on any intention of “going back to the past” ages ago. What we have here is yet another hard rock-oriented album, marked above all by energetic guitar riffs and an ultra-high-voltage rhythm section built on the still thrilling, traditional combination of Geddy’s intricate bass and Neil’s incredible drum dynamics.
The opener “Far Cry”, which was also released as a single, is the closest of everything on the album to some of their older work. It has the classic Rush sound and all the band’s traditional elements: a very good, sprawling intro where acoustic and electric guitar gradually kick in, booming bass and Neil’s classic dynamic drum barrages. With his frenetic vocal tone, Geddy is still the “real deal”, and his vocal delivery of the lyrics is, as usual, highly committed. Many will also be delighted by a short recurrence of one of the main themes from “Hemispheres” (1978), which quickly morphs, via a dark hard rock riff, into a different, more straightforward direction. Alex’s guitar runs like greased lightning and meshes perfectly with Neil’s cymbal work, which often forces Geddy to sing above his usual vocal register (but forget his legendary screams from the band’s early years). The track also features a solid chorus and melodies. I’d say it’s a good and highly encouraging start to the album, showing that Rush are still damn alive.
“Armor And Sword”, which among other things includes an instrumental reprise, opens with simple but effective cymbal strikes from the drums, a snarling guitar and an intricate bass line that leans a bit toward some King Crimson classic from the “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic” or “Red” era. The main surprise comes from a melodic acoustic guitar that enters before the first verse. The sharp sound keeps nicely leaving room for the melody throughout. Alex wraps things up with a lovely solo. A solid piece whose lyrics revolve around deeply rooted beliefs that people first take on as children (armor) and then, in adulthood, often lead to weapons (sword), once again aiming at religion as one of the main causes of wars and at religious fundamentalism.
The main inspiration for “Working Them Angels” comes from Neil’s book “Traveling Music”, in which he describes how he constantly tests his luck with a lifestyle that is often like walking on a razor’s edge (especially his motorcycle adventures). Seemingly a very average piece, marked by a dirty sound and lifted mainly by Alex’s guitar, which switches excellently between electric and acoustic throughout, plus a good chorus. It’s the first sign of the creative fatigue that shows up a fair few times on the album, and which Rush patch up mainly with their outstanding technical skill and chemistry with each other.
“The Larger Bowl” is, in my opinion, one of the weaker pieces on the album. It centers on Neil’s lyrics, which are built so that the sequence of words keeps looping back in the opposite direction. It opens with just an acoustic guitar and Geddy’s vocals, then slowly builds the mood via the drums kicking in. The sounds, both gentle and harsh, slowly melt together. A short Alex solo adds a bit more dynamics, but despite its remarkably lively sound, the song just never comes to life.
“Spindrift” is a much more noticeable piece, built similarly to “Far Cry” but with an even harsher sound and a few interesting twists. A gloomy guitar intro is followed by interesting melodies and intricate rhythms, plus excellent alternation between electric and acoustic guitar.
“The Main Monkey Business” is the first instrumental on the album. An interesting opening riff and the added keyboards herald one of the best instrumentals they’ve made in recent years. It’s an extremely intense track that, with plenty of interesting twists, will thrill everyone who’s missed more prog leanings in their sound in recent years, as well as fans of heavy metal sounds. Alex once again sails very effectively between gorgeous acoustic melodies and raw riffs, while Neil plays his massive drum kit with great effect this time. Geddy’s bass cuts very effectively through the incredible dynamics and energy that pervade one of the album’s highlights.
“The Way the Wind Blows” is one of the most interesting pieces on the album, serving up a series
of stylistic surprises. After a bluesy intro, Rush deliver their own brand of hard rock melodies that partly hint at some of their roots. Geddy turns in one of his best vocal performances on the album here. His slightly paranoid yet uplifting vocal,
vocal fits deeply with the lyrics, whose chorus is somewhat reminiscent of “Driven”
from the album “Test For Echo” (1996). The lyrics again serve up the fateful link between religions and wars.
That Alex got really fired up about the acoustic guitar again after many years is best shown
by the short instrumental “Hope”, which serves up something we haven’t been treated to in a while. Alex’s solo on 12-string acoustic guitar has a very pretty, slightly medieval theme. Another change of pace that brings an extra dose of freshness to the album.
“Faithless” is another solid track with a chorus that is somewhat reminiscent of “Ghost Of A
Chance” from the album “Roll The Bones” (1991). Here we’re dealing with classic Rush again,
that unique style where the exceptional dynamics between the two rhythm players, guitar and vocals, with the help of a keyboard backdrop, create an extremely rich and penetrating wall of sound. This time they once again managed to intelligently work in some keyboard embellishments, which, with the help of the acoustic guitar, nicely handle the shifting of moods. Fans of prog Rush will get their money’s worth here again.
“Bravest Face” is another one of those fairly interesting pieces that, taken as a whole, don’t achieve the desired effect, even though they promise a lot at first. Still, it will appeal to everyone who supports more modern directions in their music, or the influence on bands that owe their very existence to Rush (Porcupine Tree comes to mind above all), since it contains quite a few elements of so-called modern prog.
“Good News First” is a hard rock-oriented piece without any major surprises. Generally it follows the direction they’ve been nurturing since the previous two albums. Besides the excellent use of guitar and the superb vocal harmonies, you can also hear Geddy’s artful mellotron backdrop in the background (a commendable decision to use it!).
The last instrumental on the album, “Malignant Narcissism”, offers yet another of the album’s best moments and, according to Neil, is meant to be a symbolic cross-section of a terrorist’s brain. They manage to create this paranoid mood very effectively, mainly through a screaming guitar, deep bass sound and Neil’s drum “massacres”. Once again they’ve added a pinch of keyboards. The experiment worked, and despite its limited running time the track manages to combine intensity and raw energy.
The album closes with “We Hold On”, which, with its meaningful, encouraging title, is a nice and satisfying finish. The lyrics refer to all the obstacles a person faces in their everyday life. At the same time it has that classic “anthemic” Rush mood, where the crunchy guitar and dynamic transitions on massive drums are constantly tied together nicely by Geddy’s bass and vocals, which make sure it doesn’t descend into general instrumental chaos.
All in all, “Snakes & Arrows” is yet another very good album that grows with every repeat listen and proves Rush are still full of life, even though it’s of course far from their past masterpieces and not without its flaws. Its main flaw lies mostly in the excessive repetitiveness of some motifs, which suggests we’ll just have to accept that Rush, too, used up most of their “unhinged” ideas long ago. Still, they’ve once again proven they’re much more alive than the vast majority of their peers. Setting aside this lack of a “surprise factor”, it’s another quality piece of work that will thrill above all fans of Alex’s guitar skills (he hasn’t used this much acoustic guitar on any of their albums) and harsher melodies. In this respect Rush still shine in every way and can still openly sneer at all the modern prog metallers who might dare to deny their legacy. Even though it lacks the raw energy of its predecessor, “Snakes & Arrows” is marked by a much more dynamic, breathing sound and even the introduction of some very welcome ideas. So, despite the critics who wrote them off ages ago from the top league of current prog rock innovators, Rush are still a well-oiled engine that keeps moving forward and never looks back.
Lineup
Geddy Lee – vocals, bass guitar, bass pedals, mellotron
Alex Lifeson – six & twelve-string guitar, mandola, mandolin, bouzouki
Neil Peart – drums, cymbals, electronic percussion, tambourine
Production
Nick Raskulinecz and Rush
Track List
1. Far Cry (5:21)
2. Armor And Sword (6:36)
3. Workin’ Them Angels (4:47)
4. The Larger Bowl (4:07)
5. Spindrift (5:24)
6. The Main Monkey Business (instrumental)(6:01)
7. The Way The Wind Blows (6:28)
8. Hope (instrumental 2:02)
9. Faithless (5:31)
10. Bravest Face (5:12)
11. Good News First (4:51)
12. Malignant Narcissism (instrumental 2:17)
13. We Hold On (4:13)
Trajanje albuma: 62:50
