SNAKES & ARROWS

I've been a huge Rush fan since I first saw them on October 13, 1982 at the University of Illinois during the Signals Tour. I quickly acquired all of their early albums from their first album Rush through Signals and later Grace Under Pressure. I saw them again at the Rosemont Horizon outside of Chicago during their Grace under Pressure Tour and they were still as great as ever live. But, I started to enjoy their new albums less and less and found myself listening to Rush very seldom until I saw the Rush in Rio concert on VH1 and my interest was suddenly renewed. Then a few days ago, I stumbled across this album at a bookstore by chance and I remembered reading some decent reviews here on this album so I decided to buy my first Rush album in years. I must say that I was impressed with what I heard. I'm not going to say its a masterpiece of modern prog, or try to compare it against their great albums of the late 70's and early 80's, because this is not a competition against the past. So the question here is does it live up to the quality of music of its peers today? The answer its most definitely yes. I would put this album up against any Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, or Tool album this decade and it would hold its own by comparison. That is not to say its better than those aforementioned groups, but it is in their class. I like all the tracks on this album, but thereis one track that stands out above the rest. The Main Monkey Business is a five star track that could hold its own against some of Rush's best work from any time period. The Way the Wind Blows and Hope are my next favorite tracks on this album and rate 4.5 stars. I also like the opening two tracks Far Cry and Armour and Sword and the short instrumental Malignant Narcissism and rate those at 4 stars. The remaining tracks rate 3 stars or better. I should add that the overall sound on this album is excellent , but to truely appreciate it this album a good pair of headphones is a must. Overall, this album rates at 4 stars as is a worthy effort that Rush can be proud of and hopefully a sign of even better things to come.