RUSH 'COUNTERPARTS' 2LP

Rush’s second album of the Nineties continued to push them away from the synth-styled sheen of their Eighties era, and perhaps no song exemplifies the guitar-based grit of Counterparts more than the absolutely monstrous, drop-tuned and dissonant chunk of “Stick It Out” — undoubtedly Rush’s heaviest single ever, and hueing closer to the groove-based heft of alternative rock than any prog anthem. Partly inspired by Rush’s time on the road with Primus, it can be a brawny and funky affair. But there’s also balladic beauty to the powerful and tributary “Nobody’s Hero.” An exercise in duality, spread out across to classic black platters.

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