Epic (Faith No More song)
"Epic" is a song by American rock band Faith No More. It was released as the second single from their third album, The Real Thing (1989), in 1990 in United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. The song was the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two in New Zealand, and number one in Australia for three weeks. It is among the band's most popular songs and a staple in their concerts.
"Epic"
"Epic" was ranked number 30 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs.[1] In 2009, it was ranked the 54th best hard rock song of all time by VH1 and appeared at number 46 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, an Australian music poll.[2][3]
Composition and musical style[edit]
Bassist Billy Gould said, "It was conceived naturally as a riff in the studio between Roddy, myself and Mike Bordin during rehearsal that later got fleshed out into an entire song." He also said that, after the disappointing performance of the album's first single ("From Out of Nowhere"), the record label had low expectations and let the band pick whatever song they wanted as the next music video (and thus, the next single). "So we picked 'Epic' because it just felt the most natural at the time. We had very little expectations of it becoming a commercial hit," said Gould.[4]
The song has been labeled rap metal,[5][6][7][8] rap rock,[9][10][11] funk metal,[12][13] alternative metal,[14] and hard rock.[15]
Reception[edit]
"Epic" was the band's most successful single in the US and was generally well received. According to Rolling Stone, it set a standard that Faith No More did not match with its later albums.[20] Both the Philadelphia Daily News and Los Angeles Times praised the song, citing the song as "radio-ready" and "radical", respectively.[21][22] However, The New York Times also cited Faith No More as "style-crunching," using "Epic" as their example.[23] The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll ranked "Epic" at number five on their poll of the best singles of 1990, tying with Lisa Stansfield's "All Around the World".[24] Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers would later accuse Patton of stealing his style in the form of this video and numerous performances.
Personnel are sourced from Mix.[26]
Covers[edit]
"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 on June 20, 2007.[49] The metalcore band Atreyu also covered the song on their album Lead Sails Paper Anchor,[50] and the Swedish indie pop band Love Is All covered the song on the B-side to their What's Your Rupture? 7-inch "Wishing Well."[51] An arrangement by Mateo Messina was featured in the 2011 film Young Adult. Additionally, Canadian band The Veer Union released a cover of "Epic" in late October 2017. In 2023, The Lucid along with Violent J (Insane Clown Posse) released a re-imagining of "Epic" titled "Sweet Toof"; keeping the music unchanged but re-writing all lyrics and vocal melodies except for a callback to the original chorus during the outro.[52]