maxdistortion

I've been to about six or seven Rush tours. As a die hard Rush fan who grew up heavily on the 80s stuff....WOW..I was in heaven...great selection.

counterparts.

QUOTE (pedro2112 @ Jun 16 2012, 02:54 PM) Wow. amen, brother! The Anarchist was my favourite of the bunch to listen to

I hardly ever listen to S&A nowadays. If I do its definately Malignant Narcissism. Sometimes Working them Angels and Armor and Sword. I remember hearing those songs and going...wow...the textures/layers and melody are back for sure. Songs on this album that I can't stop listening to -- Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, The Wreckers, Halo Effect, The Garden...and of course Bu2b/Caravan... all have some good melodies. they're generally faster and rock out more than the best S&A songs save for MalNar and Monkey Business.

I never took to much of a liking to Wish Them Well and Carnies. Wish them Well has some good spots but i dont think they tie together very well. Carnies is a bit bombastic. I wasn't too crazy about Headlong Flight either, especially before the albums release when it was being played pretty often on the radio. but that one for some reason took a while to grow even slightly on me.

QUOTE (marblesmike @ Jun 14 2012, 01:12 PM) Brickwalled: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SIifrT-siyE/ST3OeU0X5TI/AAAAAAAABX8/4tfP_GZLIkY/s320/noise.jpg Not brickwalled: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/4018672400_69ebd89499.jpg CwA isn't really brickwalled, but it's pretty close. It sounds like the individual tracks were compressed a lot before being mixed and mastered. Here's the famous example of Metallica's Death Magnetic album, where the Guitar Hero tracks sounded wayyyy better than the actual cd. Top is cd, bottom is Guitar Hero: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Metallica_My_Apocalypse_waveform.png/640px-Metallica_My_Apocalypse_waveform.png dude, your absolutely right. I got so annoyed today by the mix that I decided to import everything into Garageband. The tracks arent necesarily squashed like I thought. Everything IS compressed as far as individual instruments s go. Also, most mixes nowadays are "dull" sounding (not alot of treble). This is probably an mp3 related thing. I upped the mids and cranked the treble above 5k and exported every track with that adjustment. The mix is opened up and you can hear a touch more guitar, more clarity in geds vocal, and more cymbals / attack of the drums. It helps that ive uh just now lol

its mostly the mastering... they squashed the hell out of the entire mix and beefed up the bottom end to an overexagurated extent. I've heard albums mixed worse than this one, sadly. If you guys compare the 2010 version of Bu2b and Caravan, to this one...its sad... Shame too really cus the more I listen to this album the more I absolutely love it...including trying desperately to adjust my ears to the mix if nothing else lol

Some issues. Its not quite brickwalled like Vapor Trails, but its flattened as far as dynamics go. The mastering process is mostly what killed it. Mix-wise the bass is a touch too loud (never thought I'd say that about Geddy!) , and the drums are too low in the mix, they dont have any punch. Me and my brother listened to the whole album in the car stereo. My Ipod randomly went to a song off of Test For Echo and we were in disbelief just how much punchier and organic that record sounds. Im not so much disappionted in this album being mixed poorly as I am with Rush's live releases sounding so much worse than when actually there in concert.

theres alot of compression on that audio stream link. which is the only source we've had to the track. hopefully uncompressed and once the single is officially released it'll sound alot better.

I'm also one of those people that preferred BU2B/ Caravan over this. I love the uptempo feel of this song, it definately rocks...but it just kinda plateaus. Can't wait for the full album..

I would agree with those that are saying the album is inconsistent. Its a personal favourite of mine because its in my opinion a stark contrast to the overtly poppy 80's material. Behind the shine and gloss theres some great songs from that era-- Marathon, Time Stand Still...they sounded better live to me than on record. Test for Echo appeals to me because Rush sounds darker, moodier..yet Resist , Color of Right and Limbo, as meh as the lyrics are, are the among the happiest sounding songs i've ever heard them write. Time and Motion is such an eerie track, it is rather disjointed but in a way that works. My favourite part of that song is actually Alex's guitar solo. You'd think he fell over on his back halfway through, yet it still sounds composed. Its rare we get to hear him like that. Test For Echo was always a good song to me, I've always loved Driven especialy for Geddy's solo live. That one gets my vote if they were to ever play a T4E song again (unlikely...) Half the World I'm iffy on. I personally like it ,but can see why people think its subpar. Its at least comparable to 90 percent of whats on Snakes and Arrows, not counting Far Cry and the two instrumentals. I'm not big on the lyrical content either but it is a very mellow and catchy tune. I would agree this isn't neil's best work. Can't blame him for exploring the internet theme on Virtuality, even if it does sound ridiculous 15 years later. I dono what the hell to say about Dog Years. That being said, T4E is definately an experimental period for them. Some of it worked some of it didn't, and mabe this album didn't particularly age well either, at least when compared to their earlier works. But i'll take this one over Vapor Trails and conversely over Roll the Bones anyday.

chiming in rather late with my two cents but had a week to fall in and out of love with these songs. WOW.. I dont even know what to say. These two songs are better than any two songs off of their previous few albums. Comparing to a few years ago when first heard Far Cry, the melody of the song was what grabbed me but I somewhat felt there could have been something more as far as 'chops' was concerned. Caravan totally suprised me, ... the rhythm section is f*ckin MEAN on this song.. Ged and Neil hadn't sounded this vicious in years! Slight nod towards Caravan. I agree with what some people are saying about the verses not being overtly catchy. but from the split second the first chorus started,-- immediate response was spine-tingling and a deep breath. its PERFECT. Bu2b I love for its up-tempo aggresion. Its kind of a cross between something you'd hear off of VT but more textural like a darker Power Windows or Hold your Fire song (Emotion Detector/Lock and Key). I find nothing overtly catchy about it but i LOVE the lyrical content even though the religious thing might be wearing thin a little, the message is clear. Being an audiophile I have no quips whatsoever about the production. I'm so glad that Nick guy is manning the board and apparently continuing to help keeping the guys fresh and inspired with his enthusiasm that all of us share. SWEET!! Can't wait for the rest of the album. This album might as well have been called Anacondas and Archers cus the sound is so much bigger meaner and the guys are firing on all cylinders.

Snakes and Arrows. its a much superior album. there is way more sense of melody, alex has a few solos, and the album has a very relaxed mood. this was actually the type of album i was expecting when I heard that the vibe from Feedback was inspiring to them. on the other hand, while I initially couldn't dig Vapor Trails, Snakes and Arrows did make me appreciate it just a little more...in the sense that the only thing I believe Snakes and Arrows lacks is a fast rocker tune. Vapor Trails has plenty of these, but its kind of one dimensional...but it was their first album since Neil's tragedies so all they wanted to do was rock out, so it was definately an album for that particular time. also Snakes and Arrows gets an 8 out of 10, and Nick R. probably gave it an extra point or so because of his initiating the start of Malignant Narcissm, excellent production, and pushing the guys a little bit (I love the little segment on his suggesting to Neil to play a more driving beat on TWTWB). my 2 cents. i like reading everyones responses here --good post/good comments. and not a single "horse-beating" emoticon in sight (yet), thankfully...surely some disgruntled veteran must bring one in by now:P

QUOTE (maxdistortion @ Feb 19 2008, 06:53 PM) "the focus is sharp in the ciiiiityyyyyyyyy"....that layering of keyboard sounds, flange guitar...GOOSEBUMPS!!! [the camera eye] . yea

"the focus is sharp in the ciiiiityyyyyyyyy"....that layering of keyboard sounds, flange guitar...GOOSEBUMPS!!!

there are a few, but the one currently on mine that is in heavy rotation is Christ Illusion by Slayer... i also have EVERY rush album on there:D

52 users!!! PARTY ON!!!

QUOTE (Cygnus The God Of Balance @ Mar 9 2007, 02:41 PM) HOLY CRAP>>>>>There's music on this attachment they sent me....about 30 seconds after the HEMISPHERES chord......OMG.....it's AMAZING!!!\ OHHHHHHH MY!!!!! thanks bro, do what u can man we appreciate it!