SNAKES & ARROWS

Following the darker mood and atmosphere of their previous album, Rush released their follow-up album five years later. With Rush taking long breaks in-between albums, expectations may get rather high. Don't expect the same thing as 'Vapor Trails' though, because Rush never remains the same with their recent releases.

The music differs from 'Vapor Trails', with Snakes & Arrows having more of a variety between heavy rocking tracks and softer acoustic moments. You have, as always, the heavy opener 'Far Cry' with driving guitar riffs, which is probably my favorite song on the album. From haunting yet still heavy tracks like 'Armour & Sword' and 'Faithless' to a great bluesy 'The Way the Wind Blows' and a great finale 'We Hold On', Snakes & Arrows never fails to captivate me.

Unlike other albums, 'Snakes & Arrows' is filled with unique instrumentals. You have an experimental jam 'The Main Monkey Business' with heavy guitar, nice acoustics, space-like sounds, and an ambient guitar solo. The 2nd instrumental 'Hope' is a short but sweet acoustic song. Nothing but acoustic guitar, it's a really unique folk-like song. The 3rd and final instrumental is 'Malignant Narcissism', a heavy track with strong bass. Hard for me not to tap my foot to this song, with the driving bass riffs.

The lyrics are dark, like the previous album. There is a less raw and dark sound to the songs though, making them feel a little more uplifting. Certain songs are in fact empowering, like the closer 'We Hold On' which gives the feeling of hope and is combined with great heavy guitar. The instrumentals, having no lyrics, have to let the music speak. The song 'Hope' is, not surprisingly, relaxing, but the other two are heavy and haunting.

If you are one of the people who didn't like the production on 'Vapor Trails', You'll enjoy the loud powerful production 'Snakes & Arrows' has. Production for me sets a certain atmosphere for an album, and that's why I enjoyed the production for 'Vapor Trails'. For 'Snakes & Arrows' the production fits with matching the powerful riffing, vocals, and drumming.

Overall, 'Snakes & Arrows' is another flawless album in my opinion. It's less raw then 'Vapor Trails', but it doesn't remove the rock and dark mood. It's certainly essential if you enjoy Rush's present century releases.

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