Epic. Alot of things can be considered epic. The nerds came up with Epic Fail when someone 'fails' miserably, or when we see an awesome live performance on youtube, we go 'EPIC!'. This could be due to their fans singing along in unison which create this special atmosphere or just the band going crazy on stage.
But when I think of epic songs, I think of the songs taking me on a journey. When you listen in the bus, you start imagining the band in your head, with you in the crowd. And when they reach that climax part of the song, you can close your eyes, and smile to yourself. That makes a song epic to me. These songs are also timeless, which means in 5 or 10 years time when you listen to it, it doesn't go out of style. These songs have taken me on a beautiful ride everytime I listen to them.
Epic doesn't restrict to just a particular genre for me, say Post-Rock. It doesn't have to be anthemic and atmospheric to be considered epic, as long as the sound touches somewhere inside you, that's all that matters. Which is why I try to come up with a list as diverse as possible. To come up with only 10 is crazy as there's alot of songs that are special to me, but I love reading and making lists anyways, here you go. My top 10 most epic songs ever.
10. Rise Against - State of the Union (from Siren Song of Counter Culture)
9. Finch - What it is to Burn (from What it is to Burn)
What it is to Burn is one of those tracks where when the song reaches its climax, everything else doesn't matter and you get absorbed so much into the song you can even forget your surroundings and the people around you for a few seconds. I'm talking about that moment when Nate Barcalow screams 'SHUT UP!' in the song. I get chills every single time I hear that scream. Brilliant track.
8. Bloc Party - This Modern Love (from Silent Alarm)
An absolutely timeless romantic track from UK's post-punk darlings, Bloc Party. I love everything about this song, how it started with the guitar, soft high hat playing from Matt Tong, who really shines here in my opinion, Kele's hauntingly soothing vocals, and how Russell added the delightful touches with his lead playing. But most impressive about this track is its lyrics. Masterpiece really. Lines like 'You told me you wanted to eat up my sadness' and 'Do you wanna come over and kill some time, throw your arms around me' are seriously brilliant lines. Beauty redefined.
7. 65daysofstatic - Retreat! Retreat! (from The Fall of Math)
The only instrumental post-rock track in the list, and one of my favorite songs of the genre. The best thing about this track is that it stirs up your emotion without any lyrics at all. The instrumentals really hit the spot in creating the uplifting atmosphere and there's so much hope in the riff. Post-rock usually follow the soft loud soft loud formula (Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai) but I like that this is loud from start till the end. Mind-blowing.
6. Oasis - Champagne Supernova (from What's The Story Morning Glory?)
Running at over 7 minutes, this is arguably Oasis's greatest song in my opinion along with the underrated Don't Go Away. Noel Gallagher showcases possibly his best guitar work in his career with a brilliant solo hook to go along with it. What a shame that he left the band already, but that's beside the point. There's really nothing much to say about this track. It's a beautiful song from start to end. 'Where were you while we were getting high?' Classic.
5. Envy - A Far-Off Reason (from Compiled Fragments 1997-2003)
You may not understand a single word of Envy's songs since they're in Japanese, but you can easily relate to the music. Tetsuya is one of the best screamers I've heard and in this track, you can really hear his pain and sorrow despite the language barrier. Screaming with beautiful post-rock background music? Envy does it best. Love the intensity and emotion of the song. Heart wrenching stuff.
4. Stone Sour - Zzyzx Rd (from Come What(ever) May)
Corey Taylor in Slipknot is amazing, but Corey Taylor in Stone Sour is a whole new beast. Everything about this song is perfect. Beautiful piano playing, amazing vocals, but the highlight would be the ending solo which goes for around 1 min and 20 sec. I love it when guitar solos are not mindless shredding or 'Look, I can play this at 1000bpm, can you?'. It's stupid and it's not music. In my opinion, Zzyzx Rd's guitar solo is one of the greatest, but underrated solos ever written. It seamlessly connects with the rest of the instruments going on in that climatic part of the song, and boy, does it really hit the spot. I don't think they can write another song that can top this.
3. Metallica - One (from ...And Justice for All)
One of the best songs by legends Metallica and my personal favorite. To be honest, I was first introduced to this song while watching MTV Icon - Metallica in 03, and this song left such a huge impression on me that I decided to check out the original and it changed my life forever. 'One' is special to me because this is the song that made me want to listen to Metallica and Metal music as a whole. Everything about this song is perfect. The storytelling, melody, the progression and of course, THAT SOLO by Kirk, which have been named 7th in Guitar World's '100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time'. Immense.
2. Coldplay - Fix You (from X & Y)
This song is absolutely magical. Uplifting and positive, this song has the power to make a bad day seemed decent after a listen. Beautiful vocals by Chris Martin, brilliant lyrics and words can't describe how much I love the guitar riff. Hell, it's such a simple riff, yet it fits the mood like a glove. And when all the members sang together from 'Tears streamed, down your face...', that's the best part of the the song and I feel like everything's gonna be alright for 4.55 min the song is playing. Never a huge Coldplay fan, but this is an ode to how much I love this song that I put it as high as no 2. My go-to song on a bad day.
1. Weezer - Only in Dreams (from Blue Album)
Surprisingly, I didn't have that much of a trouble picking out my no 1. The reason is that from the first time I've listened to this song till now, I am still in awe. The reaction after listening to this song till now is still the same. 'I wish I could write a song like this'. Even though this song is over 7 minutes long, it's not your typical progressive or experimental song. What I love about the song how simplistic it is that I can't emphasise further how simple yet powerful this song is. Rivers Cuomo genius ability is on showcase here on the outro solo. Again, the solo is so simple, yet so melodic that it's orgasmic. There are occasions after the solo ended, my eyes are still closed and I slightly smiled, a satisfied customer. This song is exactly what I was talking about at the start about a song, taking you on a journey. The slow start, the build up, the climax and the ending, leaving you wanting for more. And that's how Only in Dreams ended up being my number 1 most EPIC song ever.