12 Most Divisive Rock Albums Of All Time
2. Signals - Rush
Rush had always been a band that would go down any sonic avenue they felt like. Ever since their first prog adventure on Fly By Night, the band started to expand upon their sound to put every instrument and the kitchen sink onto their records. Though subtle touches like keyboards and synthesizers were a welcome change of pace in the 70's, fans started to get a bit tired by the early 80's.
Coming off of their 1981 masterpiece Moving Pictures, the band decided to go down the electronic rabbit hole even further on Signals. Armed with songs dominated by keyboards, the entire record marked a change in style that would become a mainstay of the band's sound going forward. While many prog fans went along for the ride, hard rock fans typically look at this era as the time where they stopped buying the band's records.
For all the strong feelings thrown at the "synth period," songs like "Subdivisions" still show that the band hadn't forgotten how to write powerful songs, with Alex Lifeson even delivering some of his strongest solos. Signals may have been the start of overusing the keyboards, but the prog rock titans we know and love hadn't really gone anywhere.