“Not that I was restricted in any way with Rush. I’m very proud of what we did. But this is a whole different kind of experience”: Alex Lifeson on disguised guitars, soloing strategies and finding fresh sounds and freedom with Envy Of None

Former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson hits a note and feels it as he plays a red Gibson Les Paul onstage. He wears a grey blazer and a black T-shirt.

A sense of liberation can do wonders for the imagination. Ask Alex Lifeson. After nigh-on five decades as Rush’s guitarist he is now chasing new creative frontiers with Envy Of None, whose sophomore LP, Stygian Waves, presents Lifeson’s electric guitar like we have never heard it before.

Not that playing in Rush was a rinse and repeat deal. The seminal Canadian prog trio were animated by a restless musical curiosity. But Rush played their final shows 2015, officially disbanding in 2018, and so being “Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson” is a label that could weigh heavily on you after some time. Lifeson had more to give. Creativity is like a muscle; it can waste away, and so he kept on writing.