Alex Lifeson's Envy of None project with Andy Curran, guitarist Alfio Annibalini and vocalist Maiah Wynne will be releasing their second album later this month. The band's sophomore effort is titled Stygian Wavz and it's slated for release via Kscope Records on March 28th. The entire band made an appearance on Talkshop Live earlier this week for a listening party and interview with host Steve Harkins, and you can watch the entire interview online here. They spend most of the time discussing the writing and recording of the album, but were also asked about the possibility of touring at around the 1:02:00 mark. While not ruling it out, it likely won't happen due to the logistics. Alex also touches on some of his other side projects at the 1:14:30 mark. The band recently released more details regarding the album, along with a video trailer outlining all the available formats, which will include colored vinyl, standard black vinyl, CD, Blu-ray, digitally and as a special deluxe edition box set (more specific details in the official Envy of None store). Since first announcing the album back in October, the band has released three singles off the album including the title track, Not Dead Yet, and Under the Stars. That Was Then had also previously been released as a single back in 2023. The entire tracklist is as follows:

Envy Of None - Stygian Wavz

1. Not Dead Yet [03:29]
2. The Story [04:41]
3. Under The Stars [04:32]
4. Thrill Of The Chase [03:40]
5. Handle With Care [04:14]
6. That Was Then [03:46]
7. Raindrops [03:33]
8. New Trip [03:55]
9. Clouds [04:02]
10. The End [03:58]
11. Stygian Waves [03:37]

Rush announced earlier this year that they will be releasing a Rush 50 Super Deluxe Box Set compilation anthology in celebration of the band's 50th anniversary this Spring. Although we've known about the set since early December, Rush made it officially official a month ago on January 28th, along with a few more details and an unboxing video. From the announcement:

On March 21, UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups celebrate the half-century milestone marker for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame icons with RUSH 50, a wide-ranging 50-track super deluxe anthology that encompasses the entirety of the band's long and storied career for the first time across all the band's label groups, bookended with the first ever reissue of their debut 1973 single and a live recording of the last song they ever performed together as a band at their final concert in 2015 at The Forum in Los Angeles. ...

"50? Is that all?...seriously...it's a cool collection...but look at all those songs - I'm exhausted just reading the effin list!" - Geddy Lee ...

The set will be available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition ($374.98), (2) Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition, (3) 7-LP Deluxe Edition ($249.98), (4) 4-CD Deluxe Edition ($99.98), and (5) Digital Edition ($26.49). The Rush Backstage Store exclusive edition includes an additional four bonus lithos showcasing Rush through time, newly illustrated by FANTOONS from the characters created for the graphic novel depicting the band in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s. As mentioned above, Rush 50 will be officially released on March 21st, and it can be pre-ordered via Amazon and other retailers. You can view all the details regarding the different configurations and what they include, along with the full tracklist at Rush.com.

Back in August of 2022, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone hosted a pair of concerts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The setlist included a number of South Park songs mixed in with Ween and Primus tunes, along with a surprise performance from Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Closer to the Heart with Primus and Matt Stone on drums (video here). The concert was televised and the audio can be found on streaming services, with the only physical release being a special blue vinyl edition made available for Record Store Day 2022. That vinyl edition will now be getting a wide release via Mercury Studios next month, and it is now available for pre-order. You can check out all the details, including the full 22-track setlist in the original Record Store Day listing, and pre-order your copy here.

The ForeBatten Foundation provides funding, support and hope for children with Batten disease, and their annual online charity auction took place over the past 2 weeks, ending this past Wednesday, March 5th. One of the items up for bidding was a golf outing with Rush's Alex Lifeson, and the winning bid ended up being $32,500!

Megadeth guitarist David Ellefson was recently interviewed for the Metal Voice and brought up Rush when talking about bands splitting royalties (thanks Chris P):

... "[Then-Megadeth manager] Ron Laffitte and I talked one day about songwriting, 'cause, look, songwriting, publishing, and how the money is split, that's a sure way to either make a band stay together or split up. [Rush's] Geddy Lee talks very openly about it. He goes, 'Hey, at one point we just decided, let's just split it three ways. That just takes that argument off the table.' And that was always an issue in Megadeth - always." ...

On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel (episode #266), the panel took on the challenge of removing one song on every Rush album, excluding Rivendell, Tai Shan, and BU2B2.

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!