Hear Fu Manchu Team Up with Rush's Alex Lifeson for New, 18-Minute Song, “Il Mostro Atomico”

Southern California hard rockers Fu Manchu are currently gearing up for the release of their 12th studio album, Clone of the Universe, via At the Dojo Records. Today, they unveiled “Il Mostro Atomico,” an 18-minute psych-rock epic that features Rush's Alex Lifeson. You can listen to it above.

"In the summer of 2017, I was approached by the band [Fu Manchu] to add some guitar to the tracks they'd already recorded for IL Mostro," Lifeson told Rolling Stone. "I'd known of Fu Manchu for many years and thought that it would be a fun project to work on, as I typically come from another guitar direction and welcomed the challenge to do something a little different."

"The track was already quite dense with a riffy guitar presence and it forced me to think in terms of rhythm, ambience and edge," he continued. "I really had a lot of fun and my only regret is I had a few other conflicting projects that didn't allow me the time to spend on filling in more space."

“We recorded the full song in 1 take," added Scott Hill, Fu Manchu's guitarist and vocalist. "After listening to the song with all the effects/noises, (Scott) Reeder asked me to try 4 lines of words in about the exact middle of the song. I went home that night and wrote the 4 lines of words and they fit perfectly."

"Then we got word that Alex Lifeson agreed to play some guitar on the song. Holy shit! We sent him the song and said to play whatever and wherever he wanted to. He sent back the song with awesome riffs, sci-fi effects and even some pick slides! He made the song a million times cooler and better. Can’t wait to play this 18 minute song live!"

You can preorder Clone of the Universe here.

For more on Fu Manchu, be sure to stop by fu-manchu.com.