The song is so magnificent - Several different vastly distinct parts that are all equally strong, filled not only with strong instrumental and vocal talent and enough energy to keep the interest. It feels like a full performance, more than just a song.
But when I listen to others(most of what I have heard so far is from Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater) the talent is still there, but it sounds more like an overly long song, and just does not keep my interest on the same level.
Suggestions?
-- Joyrock Fresh from my first justified ban. Ever!
Yes. By Rush themselves. Hemispheres is much better than 2112, and I'd consider putting Cygnus X-1 over it too. 2112 has some great moments but it does tend to drag on at times and the transition between parts is occasionally a bit clunky.
For the purpose of suggestions, by "epic songs" do you merely mean in length, or in the multi-part thing, or something else?
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We clasped our hands, our hands in praise of a conquerors right to tyranny In Punk We Trust
Panthera posted... Yes. By Rush themselves. Hemispheres is much better than 2112, and I'd consider putting Cygnus X-1 over it too. 2112 has some great moments but it does tend to drag on at times and the transition between parts is occasionally a bit clunky.
For the purpose of suggestions, by "epic songs" do you merely mean in length, or in the multi-part thing, or something else?
Thanks for the suggestions!
I mean a combination of the three. Basically, when I think of an Epic song, I think of a large, complex song, usually telling a story like 2112 does. I hate the term, but I can't think of any less akward way to describe it.
For instance, I'd consider Queen's "March of the Black Queen" to be something of a small epic; it's one of their longest songs, and highly complex and multi-parted, and also one of their best works.
-- Joyrock Fresh from my first justified ban. Ever!
Symphony X has a couple of good ones if you're into the power/prog metal thing (The Odyssey being the best). Are you familiar with Yes at all? If not, Close to the Edge is a pretty great song (albeit a bit lacking on the "tells a story" side because I have no idea what the hell they're ever talking about in it), and The Gates of Delirium is my personal favourite of theirs, although I know it tends to be pretty hit and miss for people.
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Mistake you're making - overlooking the fact that we might not want to be saved.
The Odyssey is lacking in emotion, in my opinion. As amazing as Symphony X is, it is hard to really connect with their songs - and that's a huge part of epics in my drunken opinion.
That's exactly it; very technically impressive but not a lot of depth or feeling to it, the same issue I have with a lot of Dream Theater's work.
-- Joyrock Fresh from my first justified ban. Ever!
Hmm. King Crimson - Starless is my favourite song ever and I don't really think of it as an "epic" but it's kind of close in some regards. Agalloch - In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion and Summoning - Land of the Dead are incredible songs if you don't mind harsh vocals. I'd put forth Reverend Bizarre - In the Rectory too, just for the hell of it.
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Mistake you're making - overlooking the fact that we might not want to be saved.
From: Rollthebones2 | #015 I've never heard the Reverend Bizarre song, but given your taste in Ulti's BotB and this topic, I'd like to check it out. What's it like?
Very old-school doom metal in sound. They manage to drag everything out to just before the point where it would get to be too much, nothing fancy going on but good riffs and a great vocalist doing his thing.
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Mistake you're making - overlooking the fact that we might not want to be saved.
Dream Theater's Scenes From a Memory is pretty much a single long song that goes on for like 70 minutes, if you're interested. It is of course broken up in smaller sections and subsections, but they're not at all freestanding: some songs just don't work without the previous parts. Here's an example of it, Scene One + Scene Two:
Additionally, there's two other songs by Genesis that deserve serious consideration for this sort of discussion: The Musical Box and Supper's Ready. Neither has a lyrical theme as tight as 2112, but they come pretty close (Supper's Ready is more or less the final act of the invasion of some weird aliens that infiltrate Earth, take over, do lots of wacky stuff, take a man for a time traveling trip, and then the Apocalypse happens and God takes the man back to his girlfriend/wife). Supper's Ready's climax is almost too pretty for words, too - very churchlike, in a way that is intended to evoke the same feeling of ecstasy as a link to a deity without being religious at all.
(Musical Box) (Supper's Ready part I) (part II) (Part III, though the actual song is divided into eight parts)
PS: Oh, and of course, there's Pink Floyd's SOYCD, though it's a very different, much more freeform type of epic.
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Currently playing: League of Legends, Chrono Cross. Current Projects: Fool's Overture, CYOA: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59835001