How ex-Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson ended up on the new Mute Gods album

The Mute Gods frontman Nick Beggs has revealed to Prog how Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson appeared on his band’s new album – and admitted that it was “a gift.”

Lifeson guitarist appears on the track One Day, a song from The Mute Gods’ third album, Atheists & Believers.

“I was a huge fan of Rush and would listen to their music ad nauseam as a teenager,” says Beggs. “And the strange world we both inhabit, our paths crossed on a number of occasions, professionally and socially. When this came around I had the opportunity to ask him if he wanted to do something together and he said, ‘Send me some stuff’. So I did and he went, ‘I really like this.’

Lifeson sent in a 12-string acoustic part, originally composed for the song’s outro section. But it prompted Beggs to overhaul the whole track.

“I liked what he did so much that I re-edited the whole track and put the outro as the intro, just broke everything down. So now the whole thing starts with me singing with his acoustic guitar. It was just a gift.”

Beggs also admits to Prog that he doesn’t know how long The Mute Gods will last. The band have yet to perform any gigs, and the frontman says that the future of the band will depend on whether or not they play live or not this year.

‘I don’t know whether I will. If it doesn’t go out live I might just leave it at three albums. I’m at such a big crossroads with it all, because I don’t know whether it’s going to go live. I kind of feel like I’ve said all I need to say with it. I don’t know whether it will be seen as an important body of work or whether it will just be seen as a piece of fluff.”

You can read the full interview with Beggs in the brand new issue of Prog magazine, featuring an exclusive interview with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. You can buy the latest issue online here or use our store finder to find your nearest stockist.

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