10 Songs You Didn't Know Were Sequels
1. Venturing Through Cygnus Once Again - Hemispheres
Fans were met with quite a shock when Rush released their prog rock epic A Farewell to Kings. While there were essential rock triumphs like "Xanadu" and "Closer to the Heart," the ending cut "Cygnus X1" left fans on a dour note. With a lyric sheet about a man venturing through a black hole, the album's reaches its conclusion with atmospheric silence.
It may not have tied up the central story of the song, but that ending put an incredibly creative stamp on the album experience. What fans couldn't have predicted though was the band's next record, which went on to build upon the initial "Cygnus" mythology. Without any melodic or lyrical callbacks, the opening track of Hemispheres is actually the official extension of the story, with our hero soaring through the cosmos after coming through the black hole. The song itself is also one of the band's greatest composing feats, as each member proves themselves to be the best at their respective instruments.
After years of being split up, the band eventually released a single package that includes both versions of the Cygnus suite into one continuous track. Given just one epic concept, Rush made two essential prog rock tracks for the price of one.