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A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Fri, Nov 29, 2024

Rush Clockwork Angels review roundup

Tue, Jun 19, 2012@5:04PM | comments removed/disabled

UPDATE - 6/22@8:18AM: Here's a 4/5 review from Consequence of Sound.

UPDATE - 6/21@4:11PM: Here's a 7/10 review from PopMatters (thanks LedRush).

UPDATE - 6/20@10:21AM: Roadrunner is now reporting that the album has hit #2 with over 103K sold!

Rush's 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels, debuted on the Billboard charts this week at #2, with sales of over 103,000 copies. This is the band's second time hitting #2 (they did it with Counterparts in 1993), and a substantial first-week improvement over their last album, 2007's Snakes & Arrows, which debuted at #3 with 93,000 copies.

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UPDATE - 6/20@10:00AM: Both Hits Daily Double and Artisan News Service (thanks Power Windows) are reporting that Clockwork Angels will debut at #2 with close to 100K units sold, although the official Billboard chart has not yet been released. That said, it seems inevitable since Usher's album has sold an estimated 124K, assuring it the top spot - and Adele's 21 has moved down a bit with around 60K sold. Here's the Artisan News Service story:

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Rush's Clockwork Angels album officially released one week ago today and the glowing reviews keep rolling in. Even Rolling Stone magazine liked it, giving it a 3.5/5:

It's got a dystopian sci-fi plot and lyrics like "All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary." But the first Rush album in five years isn't just one of the band's Rushiest; it's also very good - frenetic and heavy, low on prog thought puzzles, high on power-trio interplay that could put guys half their age in the burn ward. Nickelback-like meathead modern-rock production actually adds power to these ancient masters' gnomic turgidity: Even the seven-minute tripartite title track burns rubber, and Neil Peart's dragon-tailed paradiddles and Alex Lifeson's helix solos make the koanic hokum of Peart's lyrics feel like a sermon from the peak of Mount Nerd.

MetaCritic's metascore for the album is currently a strong 84 based on just 5 reviews from major publications. Here's a roundup of all the reviews we have so far:

[Consequence of Sound] 4/5
[PopMatters] 7/10
[The Objective Standard]
[The A.V. Club] A-
[Musicians for Freedom]
[Zoiks! Online]
[Rolling Stone] 3.5/5
[Toronto.com] 3/4
[ASU's The State Press] 4.5/5
[NOW Magazine] 4/5
[TMR Zoo]
[The Toledo Blade]
[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] 3.5/4
[The Irish Times] 3 stars
[Exclaim.ca]
[Ultimate Classic Rock] 8/10
[The Village Voice]
[Time Magazine]
[Cleveland Channel 5 News]
[The Imaginative Conservative]
[Blinded by Sound]
[Yahoo! Music Canada]
[The Calgary Herald] 3.5/5
[USA Today] 3 stars
[PopDose]
[Buffalo News] 4/4
[Peffer Reviews] A+
[Montreal Gazzette] 4.5/5
[Examiner.com] 9.3/10
[AllMusic.com] 4/5
[Something Else!]
[MSN.com]
[Toronto Sun] 4/5
[Toronto Globe and Mail] 3.5/5
[Audio Times]
[Riff Magazine]
[Planet Mosh]
[The Digital Fix]
[Martin Popoff]
[MusicRadar.com]

Sales of the album have been very strong, propelling it to as high as #3 on the iTunes album chart and #1 on the Amazon Best Seller list for Music. According to both Billboard.com and Hits Daily Double, Clockwork Angels is set to debut at #2 on the US Billboard 200 with close to 100,000 units sold, second only to Usher's Looking 4 Myself. Rush has never had a number 1 album but if the album charts at #2 it will match the #2 debut of 1993's Counterparts. The official Billboard charts will release tomorrow.