MR

RUMOR - New Album Working title: "Snakes And Ladders": Although nothing has been announced officially, there are rumors that the new album's working title is "Snakes And Ladders". Interviews with Neil Peart have stated that religion in American will be the primary lyricial topic. This explaination of "Snakes and Ladders" sheds a bit of light on the revelance of such a title:

"Chutes and Ladders, the popular children’s game, is derived from the ancient Hindu game Leela, or Snakes and Arrows, which charts the ups and downs of the soul’s path toward reunion with the Infinite. Snakes and Arrows was designed by the seers and saints of India as a tool for understanding the relationship of the individual self to the Absolute Self. For thousands of years the 72 spaces on this game board have enabled players to chart the paths that represent the course of their lives. Each space represents a virtue or a vice, an aspect of consciousness, or a plane of reality and is accompanied by a commentary explaining its meaning. The player’s progress on the board is dictated by the fall of a die corresponding to the forces of karma. Repeated encounters with the snakes and arrows on the board reveal the full meaning of the commentaries and can give shape to habitual patterns of the player, resulting in greater self-understanding and even a gradual detachment from the ego’s delusions." - Innertraditions.com

For some reason, I just don't see it. They change album names as often as they change musical direction.

April just won't get here quickly enough

I can not wait for this !!!!!! Rush is my number one band over anybody! The album release is great but i can't wait till mid-Junr for the tour to start! LIVE!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!

Rich Chycki Comments on New Album: "Since the late fall, I've been in the studio recording and mixing a new CD for Rush with Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Stone Sour) producing. Recording was completed at Allaire Studios in Shokan, New York during November/December 2006. I mixed the CD in the Neve 88R room (Studio D) at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles. Experiencing their immense musical talent and personal integrity over the course of an entire CD was truly inspirational. And Nick is such an enthusiastic, focused talent as well -- a rocker through and through too. A small snippet of the first single 'Far Cry' is posted at rush.com .... enjoy the 'hemispheres chord' ... heh heh heh." - Rich Chycki's News Blog, Feb. 18, 2007

Snakes And Arrows News: As reported at Blabbermouth.net, Geddy Lee was recently interviewed by Revolver magazine, where he discussed the new album, Snakes & Arrows.

"'It's hard to describe,' said Lee. 'It's big, it's bold, and I think it's some of the best work we've done in years. I'm really pleased with the quality of the songs, and there's lots of playing on it...Playing those songs [from Feedback] that we loved and grew up on, I think it helped us remember how sometimes it's the simplicity or the directness of an arrangement that really makes a great song,' said Lee. 'And the other thing is, we played all together in the studio for a lot of the 'Feedback' stuff. That's something that a lot of producers had been pushing us to do for a while but which we hadn't done in years. It was great to turn off the click and just play — you know, not worry so much about being so, quote, metronomic — and that definitely carried over into this record."" - Geddy Lee, Revolver Magazine, Feb. 2007

Snakes And Arrows Cover Art and Tracklist Revealed : The official Anthem/Atlantic sales sheet confirms the album cover and tracklist for the new album, to be released May 1st. The apparent album cover is a reproduction of the actual Snakes & Arrows board game, and the album includes 13 tracks (a lucky number!). The press release also confirms the opening track "Far Cry", will hit radio "mid-March". Click here to view the sales sheet. Preorder at Amazon.com. - Mar. 8, 2007

Snakes & Arrrows Tracklist
Far Cry, Armor And Sword, Workin' Them Angels, The Larger Bowl, Spindrift, The Main Monkey Business, The Way The Wind Blows, Hope, Faithless, Bravest Face, Good News First, Malignant Narcissism, We Hold On

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/coverp ... ssheet.pdf

http://www.fmqbproductions.com/epks/2007/rush/

Far Cry Single 45 second teaser now available: Special thanks to The Rush Forum user "Cygnus The God Of Balance", a programming director at a rock station in Michigan who received the promo packet for "Far Cry" which included this 45-second clip of Far Cry (click to play). The artwork is prime Hugh Syme! According to the promo packet, the entire single should be available for download Monday! - Mar. 10, 2007

enjoy!

Man, talk about a major teaser!!! This is just as hard for me as it was back in 1999 when "Star Wars - Episode I" came out!

I've been listening to the 45-second cut and it sounds pretty wicked. I'm sure the little taste is going to be nothing compared to the rest of it. Traditionally, their first radio releases are never the best stuff that comes off of each album, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

I don't know how I'm going to last until May 1st.

Rumor: Snakes & Arrows To Debut Warner Music's "DVD Album" Format
Although nothing has been officially announced, exciting rumors are surfacing regarding the new album! The latest rumor is that besides the standard cd format, Snakes & Arrows, along with the new Linkin Park album, will be the first albums released on Warner Music's new "DVD Album" format. This format will be a 25,000 copy limited edition, and will include a special 26 page booklet.

Announced by Warner Music last August, in an age where fans will spend $3.00 to buy a ring tone but won't spend $12 to buy a cd, record companies are trying to find new ways to entice fans to buy the album. Not to be confused with the DualDisc format, this will be a fully interactive DVD, and will include the album in 5.1 surround sound, as well as a ~43 minute "making of" video, cel-phone ringtones, wallpapers, text, and other digital extras that can only be accessed via computer, including the ability to extract the album tracks onto the users computer for use in mp3 players, etc. The limited edition will retail in the area of $24, while the cd version will be around $12.

The downside is, the limited edition may not be ready in time for the pre-announced May 1st release date. Accordingly, WEA is kicking around keeping the cd release on May 1st while releasing the special edition two weeks later (as some online retailers currently have it listed). The other option is to delay the release of both editions until May 15th, so fans who can't wait do not feel obligated to buy the cd version first, followed by the limited edition two weeks later. WEA would like to avoid this second option, however, as this is the same release date as the new Linkin Park album and would thus compete for sales. More details to follow.

''Early Review'' perhaps. Look in his 23/03/07 entry.

http://www.daveling.co.uk/diary.htm

Yet another review has appeared online:

"Nothing concentrates the mind better than having to review a new Rush album after just one solitary play. And after this playback at Atlantic Records HQ in Kensington I was left breathless, if not stunned by the sheer power of an album that stylistically throws in the proverbial kitchen sink. I suppose after such an enduring and varied musical career, it's not surprising that Rush have gone back to their Proggy musical roots. And with former Foo Fighters Alex Raskulinecz at the controls, the band are given a free reign to indulge their musical excesses, as they stretch out and jam in a post Zeppelin heavy duty deluge that manifests itself in a stunning wall of sound...'Snakes & Arrows' is a powerful album which in striving to be contemporary is possibly a little heavier and a touch more cluttered than it needed to be. Neil Peart's heartfelt lyrics are impressive throughout, and Geddy Lee's vocals suggest a new maturity. Above all the band find room to jam out enthusiastically, but in occasionally over egging the arrangements and sometimes falling in between the Prog Rock, Space Rock and melodic Metal genres, 'Snakes & Arrows' might be a CD that seeks to consolidate rather than break new ground." - GetReadyToRock.com

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news ... 5d&k=57636