Clockwork Angels
Album Context
Clockwork Angels is Rush's final studio album — their twentieth — and it's a concept album, their first since 2112. Recorded in two phases (April 2010 at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, October–December 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto), it chronicles a young man's quest across a steampunk world of alchemy and clockwork, featuring lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.
Nick Raskulinecz returned to produce after the triumph of Snakes & Arrows. The album's concept grew from Peart's lyrics and was expanded into a full novelization by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson, a longtime friend of Peart's. The two later co-authored additional novels in the Clockwork Angels universe. The steampunk world gave Peart a framework to explore his career-long themes — free will versus determinism, the individual versus the system, the search for meaning — in a richly imagined fictional setting.
Two songs — "Caravan" and "BU2B" — were released in 2010 and performed on the Time Machine tour before the rest of the album was recorded. This unusual approach let the band road-test material while building anticipation. The string arrangements by David Campbell (Beck's father) add orchestral grandeur throughout, giving the album a cinematic sweep that suits its narrative ambition.
Clockwork Angels debuted at #1 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard 200 — Rush's highest U.S. chart position ever, tied with Counterparts. It was their first album released through Roadrunner Records. The Clockwork Angels tour featured a string ensemble on stage. The album arrived between two landmark events: the acclaimed 2010 documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage and their 2013 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As a final studio statement, it's remarkably fitting — ambitious, personal, and musically triumphant. Peart retired from touring after the R40 tour in 2015 and died of glioblastoma on January 7, 2020, at age 67.