not sure I would call Rush heavy metal...
Why? Just because Geddy used clothes dryers for amps doesn’t mean the genre wasn’t heavy metal.
Listen to their debut album. The had a different drummer, Neil Peart came after. I don’t know if it was “heavy metal” but it was pretty straight-ahead rock for 1974.
They were consider progressive heavy metal but I agree that metal could have been replaced with rock instead.
Just watched a documentary based on their final tour which was also their 40th year of touring. Geddy Lee’s voice wasn’t the same as the old days of course. Weaker but he hit the notes for the most part. Neil Peart was 73 that year and not missing a beat. That was 2016 and he died last year from brain cancer.
Alex Lifeson had arthritis that made it hard for him to play.
Peart had shoulder problems for the past several years.