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New Rush Album Release Date Confirmed

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Rush have given their fans a date to finally get excited about. After much anticipation, the iconic prog-rockers will release their new album 'Clockwork Angels' on June 12. It will be the trio's first studio album since 2007's 'Snakes & Arrows" and will be the band's first release since joining forces with Anthem/Roadrunner records.

Earlier this week, the band released a short video trailer featuring a short preview of the new single "Headlong Flight". Watch the clip below

Recording began in April 2010 with Grammy Award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) - who also collaborated with the band on 'Snakes & Arrows'. Rush co-produced both records.

The first two songs, "Caravan" and "BU2B," were completed during that first session at Nashville's Blackbird studios and performed nightly during the wildly successful Time Machine Tour, which ran from June 2010 to June 2011.

Work then resumed in the fall of 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto after the tour's finale, with additional strings (arranged by David Campbell) recorded at Hollywood's Ocean Way Studios earlier this year.

Lyrically, "Clockwork Angels" chronicles a young man's quest across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams.

The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

The novelization of "Clockwork Angels" is being written by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson in collaboration with Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

The announcement is the second piece of big Rush news in as many days after the band were crowned lifetime achievers at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards last night. Drummer Neil Peart was the only member of the band on hand to accept the award. Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee was in Japan, and guitarist Alex Lifeson, who Peart claimed is "the funniest man in the world," was in Toronto.

Although known for his challenging and wordy lyrics, Peart was uncharacteristically brief and direct in his acceptance speech. He simply wanted to "express our gratitude. Our lifetimes aren't over, our achievements aren't over, so this is like 'So far, so good,' and we'll keep trying to get better. Thank you."

The ceremony saw Tenacious D bestow the band with the award. Jack Black spoke about the influence Rush had on him growing up:

"Rush was the most impressive band, musically, when I was just learning about rock... Weirdly, they got your body moving in interpretive-dancing ways, but it was still aggressive. Their stuff was just so complex and so tasty!"

The full tracklisting for 'Clockwork Angels' is as follows:

1. Caravan

2. BU2B

3. Clockwork Angels

4. The Anarchist

5. Carnies

6. Halo Effect

7. Seven Cities Of Gold

8. The Wreckers

9. Headlong Flight

10. BU2B2

11. Wish Them Well