RUSH have announced their first set of European dates in support of their anxiously-awaited new album, Clockwork Angels, which will be released on June 12th via Anthem/Universal in Canada and their debut for Anthem/Roadrunner Records in the US. The first revealed shows are for next year and include:

May

22 - Manchester, England - Arena
24 - London, England - O2 Arena
26 - Birmingham, England - LG Arena
28 - Sheffield, England - Motorpoint Arena
30 - Glasgow, Scotland - SECC

June

4 - Cologne, Germany - Arena
6 - Berlin, Germany - O2 Arena

Clockwork Angels will be available as a regular CD, digital download and deluxe double-vinyl version. As previously reported, Colorado-based sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson has written a novelization Clockwork Angels, which is due via ECW Press on September 1st. The hardcover novel is 264 pages in length, with author credits going to Kevin J. Anderson and Rush drummer Neil Peart. Check out the cover below. Amazon pre-orders for all are at the bottom of the page.

Clockwork Angels is Rush's first new collection of original material in over five years. Marking their 20th studio album, the album lyrically chronicles a young man’s quest across a lavish and colourful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams. The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

The recording of Clockwork Angels began in April 2010 at Nashville’s Blackbird studios with Grammy Award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES) – who also collaborated with the band on their last studio album, 2007’s Snakes & Arrows. Rush co-produced both records.

The songs 'Caravan' and 'BU2B' were completed during that first session and performed nightly during Rush’s wildly successful Time Machine Tour, which ran from June 2010 to June 2011. Work on Clockwork Angels resumed in the fall of 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto after the tour’s finale, with additional strings (arranged by David Campbell) recorded at Hollywood’s Ocean Way Studios earlier this year.

Clockwork Angels tracklisting is as follows:

'Caravan'

'BU2B'

'Clockwork Angels'

'The Anarchist'

'Carnies'

'Halo Effect'

'Seven Cities Of Gold'

'The Wreckers'

'Headlong Flight'

'BU2B2'

'Wish Them Well'

'The Garden'

Check out a 30-second trailer below:

The official lyric video for 'Headlong Flight' is currently streaming in its entirety (7:20!) on YouTube below:

All dates for Rush's 2012 Clockwork Angels tour can be viewed here.