Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, produced by Paul Northfield and released in May 2002. Its release marked the first studio album for the band since Test for Echo in 1996 (the longest gap between Rush albums to date) because of personal tragedies that befell drummer Neil Peart in the late 1990s. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took about 14 months to finish, the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album. Despite controversy surrounding its production and sound quality, the album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career. The album was certified gold in Canada in August 2002.