CARESS OF STEEL

I got the album last week and, after a couple of spins, I have to say that it's not as bad as I expected after reading many reviews here. It's a pretty moody one, lots of atmospherics, and there is no keyboards at all. The sound is pretty raw and dry. Just guitars, bass, drums. We're still far from AFTK, but there's definitely something very good here, like "Bastille Day", which to me is a classic hard/rock song. "I think I'm going bald" makes me laugh not only for the subject, also because it is an evident nod to KISS, it's kind of a homage to the masked guys, really. It's a good humorous song (and reflective). "Lakeside Park" is a very sweet ballad, makes you think of the good days past and maybe of your childhood. "The Necromancer" is the best part to me, it's very very moody and dark and the main arpeggiated riff is another classic (often copied by other bands). Ther's more progressiveness here, the song is split in sections, all pretty different between them, ranging from the moody beginning to the energic, quasi metal middle part, to the relaxed feel of "The return of the prince". "The fountain of Lamneth" is also split in sections and contains pretty good moments like "Panacea", and personally I like the intro and the outro on the song.

The album is overall enjoyable, of course it is different from other RUSH material, it's dark, it's definitely strange, but it sure deserves to be listened to, and to the expert ear it sometimes can be a surprise.