2112

2112 is arguable Rush's first true masterpiece, a landmark of music history and the true birth of Progressive Metal. There is a no-looking-back shift from the Led Zeppelin influence sprinkled throughout Rush's first three albums. The mood here is furiously dark, no better expressed than on the Presentation section of the side-long epic title track. The more conventional songs are distinctly Rush now the plodding riff of A Passage To Bangkok, the light-dark contrast of Lessons and the atmospheric Sci-Fi influenced The Twilight Zone up until this point in the band's career almost untouchable. 2112 is, almost undeniably, some of the most intense and overtly heavy music of the 1970s yet at the same time is pretentious, ambitious and characteristically Prog-Rock. From the dystopic magnum opus of the title suite to the hauntingly melancholic Tears 2112 is a flawless masterpiece that deserves mention alongside Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon for its impact on the Progressive Rock world.