TEST FOR ECHO

This one comes as a sort of a let down after the return to form with the fantastic and nearly flawless Counterparts. However, this one is still filled with enough good material for even casual Rush fans to enjoy. Excluding the abysmal "Dog Years", even the albums low points aren't all the low, suffering the problem of being mediocre rather than bad. You'll find yourself forgetting which track was which but will not walk away holding any grudges.

Overall the album has a much harder sound the previous releases and is played at a bit faster tempo. The use of synths are all but gone which will be a relief to those weary of their synth drenched 70's work. Lyrics here range from very good on "Driven" and "Resist" to pretty uninspired "Color Of Right" but as a whole they're impressive.

The album starts out strong with the frantic rocker "Test For Echo" showing us that Lifeson is still the riff master that he always was coming in the loudest we've heard him on recent albums. The album doesn't let up yet bringing us the best Rush song from the 90s, "Driven." We're then met with some mediocre tracks which I personally get a kick out of but casual fans will probably only give these the occasional listen. Then the album closes out nicely with an impressive instrumental in "Limbo" and the moving "Resist" which features some very emotional drumming on by the hands of Peart.

A very nice album that is somewhat underrated here. This is not the train wreck it's made out to be, but it's also not an essential listen.