For a band like Rush, with both a well-received new album and 40-plus years of material in tow, making a set list can be a daunting task.

Early in their career, Rush shrugged off the image of “prog rock band,” and all that ensues with such a title — epic song lengths, complicated, possibly esoteric storylines, etc.

Producer Nick Raskulinecz describes the sessions for Rush’s forthcoming 2012 release Clockwork Angels as jam-based affairs that then grew into finished songs — capped by a lightning strike moment when the theme came together.

Building off a hard-charging instrumental, the initial single from Rush’s forthcoming Clockwork Angels finds the trio referencing its storied musical past — in more ways than one.

A U.S. release date for Rush’s long-awaited new studio album Clockwork Angels has been confirmed through Amazon: It will be available on June 12, 2012 via Roadrunner Records.

Two separate music sites, Amazon.co.jp and HMV.co.jp, have posted a May 23 release date for Rush’s Clockwork Angels album — the first indications of when this long-awaited project might appear.

Rush’s first album in five years is turning into a multi-media extravaganza: Kevin J. Anderson plans to turn Clockwork Angels into a book, according to a new post on the sci-fi writer’s Facebook page.

If you’re not an audiophile, and not many people are, these discs are not for you. They’re expensive to start with — then they usually skyrocket in price when their limited production runs end.

Drummer Neil Peart has given fans new insight into Rush’s long-awaited new studio album — both in the way that it will sound, and his part in advancing the songs.