Epic (song)

Infobox Single
Name =Epic


Caption ="Flying Mike" reissue cover
Artist =Faith No More
Album =The Real Thing
Released =January 30, 1990
Format =CD, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded =December 1988 – January 1989, Studio D in Sausalito, California
Genre =Rap rock, funk metal, alternative metal
Length =4:51
Label =Slash
Producer =Matt Wallace
Writer =

Lyrics:
Mike Patton

Music:
Billy Gould
Jim Martin
Roddy Bottum
Mike Bordin
Certification=Gold
Last single ="From out of Nowhere"
(1990)
This single ="Epic"
(1990)
Next single ="Falling to Pieces"
(1991)
Misc = Extra musicsample
filename =FNM_Epic_Sample.ogg
format =Ogg
title =Epic
Type =single"Epic" was a breakthrough hit single by the alternative metal band Faith No More. It was released in 1990 and featured on their third album "The Real Thing". It peaked at number nine on the Hot 100, and was the band's only Top Ten hit in the United States. It is the band's most popular song and a staple in their concerts.

This song features a combination of heavy metal with rap, paving the way for rap metal and funk metal. Some rap and hip-hop artists have cited this song as a major influence in how they shout and syncopate their lyrics with heavy guitar-driven riffs.

"Epic" has been covered both in concerts and on the "Kerrang! Higher Voltage" CD, a compilation of artists covering other songs. Such artists include the Welsh rock band The Automatic; the CD was released 20 June 2007. ["Kerrang!" issue 1164 June 20th 2007] The Metalcore band Atreyu also covered the song on their album "Lead Sails Paper Anchor", and the Swedish indie band Love Is All plans to cover it in their 2008 tour. [cite news |first=Paul|last=Thompson|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Love Is All Cover Faith No More|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/145467-love-is-all-cover-faith-no-more-add-dates|work=Pitchfork|publisher=Pitchfork Media, Inc.|date=September 16, 2008|accessdate=2008-09-19 ] . A master track of the song also appears in the music video game "Rock Band". A shortened version of the song is also featured in the racing game, "Burnout Paradise". The song also appeared in a commercial for the console versions of Street Fighter IV, with the announcer stating about the game's "epic return".

"Epic" was ranked number thirty on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs, ["VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1-4 May 2006, "VH1" Channel, reported by [http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/103446/episode_this_list.jhtml VH1.com] ; last accessed September 10, 2006] and number sixty-seven on their 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders list. ["VH1 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders", "VH1" Channel, reported by [http://www.vh1.com/shows/series/100_greatest/one_hit_wonders/ VH1.com] .]

Music video

The music video for "Epic", which featured surreal images combined with performance footage of the band soaked by an artificial rainstorm on a sound stage, was subject to controversy because of the perceived treatment of a fish, which is out of water and dying on camera—it was in fact slow motion footage; the fish was returned to its tank alive in a matter of seconds.

During an interview, the band joked that the fish seen flopping around in the music video belonged to Icelandic singer Björk, which they claimed to have stolen from her at a party. There are also stories of Björk giving the fish to the keyboardist Roddy Bottum after a poetry reading in San Francisco. [ [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3256 Epic by Faith No More Songfacts ] ]

Guitarist Jim Martin was a schoolmate, close friend and fan of the early Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. In the video he can be seen wearing a t-shirt with a photo of Cliff with the words "A Tribute to Cliff Burton". In addition, Mike Patton can be seen wearing a Mr. Bungle shirt [cite journal |last=Cee |first=Gary |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1990 |month=November 30, |title=Faith No More: Inside the insatiable Mike Patton |journal=Circus Magazine |volume= |issue=#369 |pages=pages 62-64 |id= |url=http://negele.org/db/index.php3?band=2&year=1990&month=11&day=30&id=1531 |accessdate=2008-09-26 |quote= ] that reads "There's A Tractor In My Balls Again".

Reception

"Epic" was the band's most popular single and was generally well-received; according to "Rolling Stone", however, it set a standard that Faith No More did not match with its later albums. [cite news |first=Al |last=Weisel|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Faith No More: King For a Day/Fool for a Lifetime|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/faithnomore/albums/album/233079|work=Rolling Stone|publisher=RealNetworks, Inc.|date=June 1, 1995|accessdate=2008-09-20 ] Both the "Philadelphia Daily News" and "Los Angeles Times" praised the song, citing the song as "radio-ready" and "radical," respectively. [cite news | first =Jonathan | last =Takiff | title =Whaddya Get When Ya Rap on Metal? Faith No More Crosses Over & Under | page =40 | publisher ="Philadelphia Daily News" |date=September 14, 1990] [cite news | first =Robert | last =Hilburn | title =Counting Out Most of the Year's Top Records Pop music: no more than four of 1990's No. 1 songs will be considered significant a decade from now. Here are some that might.
page =12 | publisher ="Los Angeles Times" |date=December 31, 1990] However, the "New York Times" also cited Faith No More as "style-crunching," using "Epic" as their example. [cite news | first =Jon | last =Pareles | title =The Best Show? In the Court, not the Concert Hall. | page = | publisher ="New York Times" |date=December 30, 1990 ]

Track listing

;UK & International releaseThe initial release of "Epic", released in the UK, Germany, Japan and Internationally. The 7" editions only had Tracks One, Two, and occasionally Thre. Track Five was exclusive to Japanese issues.The [http://www.fnm.com/discography/FNMDiscog1.pdf Discography] on the Faith No More website, also available as a [http://www.fnm.com/discography/FNMDiscog1.txt text document] ] tracklist
title1=Epic |note1= |length1=
title2=War Pigs |note2=Live in Berlin on September 9, 1989 |length2=
title3=Surprise! You're Dead! |note3=Live at Sheffield |length3=
title4=Chinese Arithmetic"ref label|A|A|^ |note4= (Live at Sheffield |length4=
title5=Epic |note5=Live)ref label|B|B|^ (Japanese bonus track) |length5=

;American releaseThis version was released in America as a "Slash sticker" labelled 7" and as a cassette with a "Burning Splash" sleeve.tracklist
title1=Epic |note1=Radio remix |length1=3:59
title2=Edge of the World |note2= |length2=4:09

;Australian releaseThe 7" and cassette versions of this release only had tracks 1 & 2, unlike the 12" which featured all 3.tracklist
title1=Epic |note1= |length1=4:51
title2=The Morning After |note2= |length2=3:44
title3=We Care a Lot |note3= |length3=3:50

;UK & International reissueReissue version of the single "Epic". The 7" vinyl and cassette versions only had the first two tracks.tracklist
title1=Epic |note1= |length1=4:51
title2=Falling to Pieces |note2=Live at Brixton |length2=4:45
title3=Epic |note3=Live at Brixton |length3=4:55
title4=As the Worm Turns |note4=Live at Brixton |length4=2:46

Chart performance

Footnotes

1. note label|A|A|^Includes ad-lib from "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ EZ-Rock.
2. note label|B|B|^Recorded in Norwich, 1990. Broadcast by The BBC Radio 1 "Rockshow", march 2, 1990. The profanity is obscured and the songs fade out.

References

{| width=100% class=wikitable style="font-size:95%;margin:1em 1em 0 0;"succession box
before = "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer
title = Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
years = August 25, 1990 - September 15, 1990
after = "Blaze of Glory" by Jon Bon Jovi
###@@@KEYEND@@@###