Rush's new album, Vapor Trails, is due May 14, marking the return of the classic rock veterans. Rush hasn't released a studio album since 1996's Test For Echo, due in part to the personal problems suffered by drummer Neil Peart.
Peart's wife and his daughter died within a year, and it took some time to recover. Peart's bandmates bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson told LAUNCH that Rush could have disbanded if not for the drummer's fortitude.
As Lee explained, "Well I think Neil's recovery was obviously the key to our still being here. Had he not been able to somehow find his spirit again and find a positive outlook after the things that had happened to him in his life, there would be no more Rush. So, fortunately for him, he was able to find a desire to make music again."
Peart has since remarried, and has pieced his life back together. Peart's first wife, Jackie, died in 1998 after a battle with cancer, while their only child, 19-year-old Selena, was killed in a car crash in 1997.
The first single from Vapor Trails, "One Little Victory," stands at Number 22 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Rush plans on hitting the road for a North American tour in late June. Lifeson told LAUNCH the band is meeting this week to discuss itinerary and production.