Listen to the Neal Peart interview

Let’s get metaphysical with Rush, whose new album asks the universal question “Why are we here?” and non-answers it “Because we’re here.” “It seems to me to be the wrong question,” drummer Neil Peart says via telephone from an echoing arena in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where the group was rehearsing for a tour that started last week.

Rush will be at Market Square Arena on Thursday.

Puzzling questions

“It’s not why we’re here _ what can we do about it is the important thing,” he continues. “To me, we’re here because of the process of evolution. There’s no sense questioning that as far as I’m concerned. I’m quite happy to accept that as being the outcome of a random universe.

“The question is, with you and I being born and the society in which we’re in, what can be done about it?”

What should be done, he suggests on Roll the Bones, the Canadian trio’s 18th record, is to try hard, do your best and make the most of what you have.

On Bravado, Peart writes: “If we burn our wings flying too close to the sun/if the moment of glory is over before it’s begun/if the dream is won though everything is lost/we will pay the price but we will not count the cost.”

The subject of most other songs is how random events control our lives. “I’ve been having some good arguments with my friends, I can tell you that,” Peart says.

“Dizzying conversations” They’ve discussed existentialism, argued over whether reality exists and if there’s an evolutionary chain of events.

“It makes for some dizzying conversations,” he says, “because all you end up with is a headache.” The record also has some light moments, notably the infusion of rap on the title cut. That’s a fairly major departure for these progressive rockers.

They debated whether to bring in a real rapper and even experimented with a female voice before deciding to use singer Geddy Lee’s studio-treated vocal.

“I was hearing some of the better rap music and thinking that when it’s creative it’s so much fun to do,” Peart says. “I actually gave the song to the guys without that section and then later came to them and said, `I have this little thing and maybe this is crazy but tell me what you think.’

“Fortunately, they were open enough to be experimental with it.” The record’s best song is Heresy, which looks at the collapse of communism and all the years wasted on “a big mistake.” “People were glad to be free, obviously, and so they should be,” he says. “But I couldn’t help looking at the last 80 years and four generations of people in eastern Europe and throughout Soviet Russia whose lives had been unnecessarily made worse _ or, in some cases, ended _ because of a bad idea.”

“Mother of all medleys” For Peart, who does not like touring, the record was exciting enough to make him want to go on the road again. The new show has been restructured visually and will include “the mother of all medleys,” including pieces of songs the band hasn’t played in years, he says.

The tour will not include eastern Europe, although Peart has traveled there on his own. “Working in a place is no way to see it, for one thing,” he says. “For another thing, if we have to work, I’d rather work under the best possible circumstances rather than make do. I’ll travel under horrible circumstances, but I’d rather work under close to perfect circumstances.”