Rush release the fiery new song, Headlong Flight

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Rush return with Headlong Flight, a dynamic preview of Clockwork Angels. © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis

Ahead of the release of their much-anticipated 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels, Rush have just unleashed the first official single from the new set, the fiery Headlong Flight.

Clocking in at nearly seven and a half minutes, it's a guided tour of Rush's best assets: Alex Lifeson's expansive guitar playing, Geddy Lee's ever-adventurous bass work and Neil Peart's on-point rolls and lethal snare attack.

"Headlong Flight was one of those songs that was a joy to write and record from beginning to end," Lee told Rolling Stone. "Alex and I had blast jamming in my home studio one day before the second leg of the Time Machine tour, and I did not revisit that jam until a year later.

"Alex and I assembled the song to be an instrumental and its original title was Take That Lampshade Off Yo Head!, but once we saw the lyrics Neil had written, I knew that the spirit of the lyrics matched the instrumental perfectly and it was just a matter of making them fit and writing the melodies."

Clockwork Angels was produced by Rush and Nick Raskulinecz. You can listen to Headlong Flight over at Rolling Stone's site.

Rush fans in the UK can get the album first as part of a special edition fanpack published by our good friends at Classic Rock.

Joe Bosso
Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.