2012 saw the release of Rush's 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels. It debuted at Number Two on the Billboard album chart on Wednesday (June 20th) selling 103,000 copies in its first week of release. The disc marks Rush's highest chart debut since 1993's Counterparts, which also entered at Number Two. The Canadian trio has yet to land at Number One despite having 28 releases make the Billboard chart in the past four decades. Clockwork Angels also beat out the band's previous effort, 2007's Snakes & Arrows, which sold 93,000 copies to debut at Number Three.

The past 10 years have been something of a renaissance for Rush and guitarist Alex Lifeson told us that Clockwork Angels was especially enjoyable to make: "This record was an absolute joy to write. We were so positive through the whole experience. It never got bogged down. It was a lot of work, and I think we all, you know, made a great effort to make the best album that we could, but at the same time, you know, it was a race to get into the studio every day -- we were just having so much fun with it."

Lifeson also revealed that Rush will bring a small string ensemble on tour with the band for the first time ever. The musicians will play parts that appear on Clockwork Angels and may also add string arrangements to selected songs from the band's catalog.

Rush began its North American tour on September 7th in Manchester, New Hampshire.