Lucas Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Without getting into the downfalls and negative side to labeling music, let's toss this out there: Heavy metal, esp in the late 1970s and early 1980s, represented more than just music - it was a form of music that represented an attitude, a way of life, and an outlet for kids and young adults who had confusion, anger, disenchantment or just plain testosterone built up inside .. It was also the music for those kids if they played guitar, bass or drums .. The "metalheads" - as I remember them - were the guys with the painted denim jackets, the guy with the primered Duster who repaired it himself, and the introverted kid who wanted to explode in school because the other 12 year olds liked James Taylor and Billy Joel .... RUSH appealed to all of the above back then . . Edited June 8, 2015 by Lucas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Without getting into the downfalls and negative side to labeling music, let's toss this out there: Heavy metal, esp in the late 1970s and early 1980s, represented more than just music - it was a form of music that represented an attitude, a way of life, and an outlet for kids and young adults who had confusion, anger, disenchantment or just plain testosterone built up inside .. It was also the music for those kids if they played guitar, bass or drums .. The "metalheads" - as I remember them - were the guys with the painted denim jackets, the guy with the primered Duster who repaired it himself, and the introverted kid who wanted to explode in school because the other 12 year olds liked James Taylor and Billy Joel .... RUSH appealed to all of the above back then . .Fair point. We made our own jackets. Even made our own studded wristbands/gloves with nails and rivets. I definitely drove a 73 duster and played in bands. If you saw someone with a band shirt they were basically an instant friend. Found my bass player because I stopped him and talked about his shirt back in high school. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexMike Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Up to Hemispheres, I'd label them as heavy progressive rock. Fine line perhaps between what Rush was doing and what people think of as "heavy metal". Deep Purple is the same. Both of them influenced many heavy metal bands that came later and you could perhaps argue that they were heavy metal relative *to their time*. But like Lucas mentioned above, I think of true metal as coming more from a place of anger. Sabbath were metal because they were pissed off about having grown up in a dreary dead-end place and also because other bands then were only singing about love and rainbows, not about the darker side of reality. And you could feel that anger in their music, which made it more powerful. The members of Rush weren't really angry guys, they just liked to jam. And when Neil came on board, they found a niche in literate philosophical hard rock. OK, maybe 2112 was a product of them being pissed off after being pushed to conform, so I'd say that's the closest they ever came to being metal. :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutlefan Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 ^ Excellent post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union 5-3992 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 RUSH ARE HEAVY METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'll trust this guy. He seems like quite the authority on this subject Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxetnrdrmr Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I have always considered Rush a quintesencial PUNK band really....Why? Because from the start, they were always saying "F it....we are doing what we want". When going from the first album to Fly By Night...they told the rec execs to F off and wrote longer songs with less "freindly" hooks....Caress Of Steel? Total F you to what was being expected, and demanded....same with 2112 To me everythign about them was punk...more punk than the corporate drones of the time like The Ramones or The Sex Pistols.... think of the (often dreaded) "Synth Era".... they wanted to go tha troute...everybody else told them that the yshouldn't...and they did anyway...lost tons of "fans", gained and/or kept true followers they are the Anti-rockstars....when they totally deserve the designation as ULTIMATE rock stars. Not exploiting and abusing "The Limelight"....staying out of the public eye and only lending their time and names to things that the ydeemed important. I HATED it when they got nominated to the Rock and Roll HOF....I was always proud that they were not lumped in with all of that mainstream corporate idiocy... their music definitely crosses some genre boundries, but the yhave always been punk rockers underneath...I got into them in the late 70's when they were in the category of groups like Styx, Kansas, Yes....hard/progressive rock. I was...well, still am, an 80's metal head at heart, and Rush always fit into my listening pallette along side Maiden, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Minor Threat, Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies, Circle Jerks....they all had the same attitude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bard Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satchmothesnowdog Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Um, no I was a punk in the early 80s and Rush weren't them. All of my friends used to make fun of me for listening to them. Cowbell!! Rock is dead!! and on and on http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3_0ZipyHVcA Jello knows Punk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) I have always considered Rush a quintesencial PUNK band really....Why? Because from the start, they were always saying "F it....we are doing what we want". When going from the first album to Fly By Night...they told the rec execs to F off and wrote longer songs with less "freindly" hooks....Caress Of Steel? Total F you to what was being expected, and demanded....same with 2112 To me everythign about them was punk...more punk than the corporate drones of the time like The Ramones or The Sex Pistols.... think of the (often dreaded) "Synth Era".... they wanted to go tha troute...everybody else told them that the yshouldn't...and they did anyway...lost tons of "fans", gained and/or kept true followers they are the Anti-rockstars....when they totally deserve the designation as ULTIMATE rock stars. Not exploiting and abusing "The Limelight"....staying out of the public eye and only lending their time and names to things that the ydeemed important. I HATED it when they got nominated to the Rock and Roll HOF....I was always proud that they were not lumped in with all of that mainstream corporate idiocy... their music definitely crosses some genre boundries, but the yhave always been punk rockers underneath...I got into them in the late 70's when they were in the category of groups like Styx, Kansas, Yes....hard/progressive rock. I was...well, still am, an 80's metal head at heart, and Rush always fit into my listening pallette along side Maiden, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Minor Threat, Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies, Circle Jerks....they all had the same attitude Is this why Neil pathetically ripped-off "Jet Boy Jet Girl" ?? ok, I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree with you on RUSH's sincerity during the 80s ... They disregarded a lifetime of living and influences and in a matter of months were put into haircuts, clothes, and god awful videos to fit into a comfortable, non-threatening niche - and to sell albums Edited June 10, 2015 by Lucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMCXII Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Broading in the tower,Watching o'er his land... I can hear Metallica BROODING IN THE TOW-AAAH!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxetnrdrmr Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I did mean more in spirit and attitude than actual sound. In my wolrd from a sound stand point, they were blues rock (Rush) -> prog-hard rock (Fly By Night - Permanent Waves) -> hard rock (Moving Pictures - Signals) -> new wave (GUP - Roll The Bones) -> hard rock (Presto - Counterparts) -> rock (Test For Echo Snakes and Arrows) and I thought that CA was the closest they have been to hard rock since Moving Pictures minus the over-compressed production They are definitely closer to metal than, say Kansas was in the 70's, but no where near Black Sabbath or Motorhead in that description for the era. I feel like MP was the closest they came to having a metal sound at the time that other strictky metal badns were around..ie Maiden, Ozzy, Sabbath with Dio. I think the biggest thing that kept them out of the metal bin for realz was the lack of the "chugga-chugga", muted E or A string driving rhythmic sound that was common with Maiden, Priest etc. Lifeson is definitely an "open chord" kind of guy. to me the song Driven and Stick It Out were the 2 songs closest to metal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bard Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Even in spirit....uh, no. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one.Being independent does not equal punk, you are correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Even in spirit....uh, no. LOL. you put on a rush record and most people will wanna leave the room. sounds like punk rock to me :D 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bard Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Even in spirit....uh, no. LOL. you put on a rush record and most people will wanna leave the room. sounds like punk rock to me :D By that measure, you could say Rush is also disco, death metal, polka, dixie, EDM, and country for that matter. Nope, Rush is definitely not punk. Sheesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIDE-ANGLE WATCHER Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Maybe after Rush officially retires...the industry will adopt a new genre called Head Rush Rock.... For all the bands the don't fit neatly into Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, Arena Rock, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Na na na Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 :rush: is everything :guitar: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthemic Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 :haz: VAPOR TRAILS :haz: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanadoood Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Even in spirit....uh, no. LOL. Rush are perfectionists. Punk is all about just going for it and " making some noise" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Punk? LOL. That's a good one. he means in spirit, not in sound. LOL Even in spirit....uh, no. LOL. Rush are perfectionists. Punk is all about just going for it and " making some noise" They're about as opposite from punk as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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