Henry’s Music Blog

Not a lot of Prog bands managed to survive the 80s. Many made softer material, or just plain disappeared after the 70s. But one managed to not only survive the 80s, but have fought their way into the current decade, with their last album released about a month ago. I am of course talking about every metal band’s favorite band, Rush.

Back when Rush started, they were just a typical Hard Rock band, similar to the sound of Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin’s early recordings. After original drummer John Rutsey left due to health issues, however, he was replaced with Neil Peart, commonly argued the greatest drummer of all time. After Peart joined, Rushed moved away from straight-forward Hard Rock and became a Prog band heavier than most at the time. Though Caress of Steel was their first Prog album, the most famous of this time came in the form of its followup 2112. With this and Hemispheres, their other album with a side long medley. But the eighties were coming, and Prog was at an end.

But Rush managed to survive better than most other Prog bands. While most bands would change it up from song to song, Rush changed it up from album to album. Throughout their whole career, Rush has slowly been changing their sound to work with the music landscape, like the Rolling Stones, but more successfully. Their first albums of the 80s Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures managed to be their biggest successes, while not alienating their previous fans. And they continued to go with music, eventually becoming very synthesizer oriented. They even released a rap song in the 90s, in the form of “Roll the Bones”.

And they’re still around today. Unlike most Prog bands like Yes and Genesis, who have essentially turned into nostalgia acts, Rush is still making music today, going back to their earlier Hard Rock roots. And while the constant changing of sound helps in this regard, the real answer is through their amazingly devoted fans. Rush has the most devoted (and male) fan base in music, who have also never really gone away from the start. Unlike other bands *coughclichecoughMetallicacough*, Rush fans never accuse the band of really selling out or how they, in their opinion, have gone to shit. Rush fans seem to just really love the music, and don’t care about the politics in the music. And they even have some big name fans too, such as Metallica, Primus, and even Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Rush has been kept alive through a fan base, instead of with a company,and that’s something to applaud.

So that’s the (VERY) abridged story of Rush, and why they’re still around. Now my opinion? I think they’re very good. I’m not head over heals for them, like their many fans, but I do see where their enthusiasm comes from, and they’re all extremely talented musicians. But they do seem rather silly at times, and the 90s weren’t exactly kind to them. Still, I enjoy their music, and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future. And as the 3rd longest lineup still going, behind Golden Earring and ZZ Top, I say they got more left in them.