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From their studio records, "Terrapin Station Part 1" (16:23) is probably their longest cut, with Weather Report Suite (12:41) and the opening and closing suites of Blues for Allah (Help on the Way/Slipknot!/Franklins Tower, 11:50, and ∻lues for Allah/Sand Castles & Glass Camels/Unusual Occurrences in the Desert, 12:33) not far behind (these are sometimes divided up into separate tracks, though). The Grateful Dead: Their entire catalog.Songs featuring this trope also often feature Uncommon Time, since changing time signatures helps maintain the listener's attention in a longer composition, and modulation (which is the same thing, but for key signatures). When there are lyrics, expect an Epic Instrumental Opener to precede them. Lyrics can appear in these songs, but they're often sparse and the song is mostly instrumental. note There are exceptions, however The Velvet Underground was notorious for building epic-length songs on as little as a single chord.
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This trope is the polar opposite of Three Chords and the Truth: Instead of a short song with lyrics and catchy beat that anybody can play, these bands focus on deliberately complex songs where playing is a matter of superior technical skill and everything else is secondary to the instrumental showmanship and considerations of the sound itself, even lyrics. Also quite common in many forms of Electronic Music, particularly in the realm of Ambient, Trance, and Techno, as well as most forms of Heavy Metal music (seriously, in the metal genre - apart from thrash, groove, and grindcore - long tracks are easily more the rule than the exception). More common in the '60s psychedelic/ acid rock era and in the '70s Progressive Rock period. Epic Rocking is the phenomenon where bands release really long songs that either seem to twist and change gears a million times before ending, or just manage to sustain themselves for their prolonged duration.