Though there are other acts I will briefly mention, I'm focusing on Iron Maiden for how well they fit the criteria set out in previous posts:
1.) The work(s) must possess scope, depth, and/or creative ambition.
2.) There should be a persistent cultural influence on other creative works.
3.) It should interact with and draw upon previous creative works.
4.) The work(s) must comment on the dilemma of being human.
Some of the other acts or, specifically, musical albums that might fit this definition include the following. First, the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a concept album that -- in a very post-modern move -- has the band imagine themselves at the concert of another band, which is actually them playing other roles. (You can even see this on the album cover: the brightly colored quartet is the Beatles dressed as Sgt. Pepper's band, while directly to the left of them are..the Beatles.)
Second, in the early 1990s, Billy Joel released what would turn out to be his last album of original pop-rock material. What is unique about the album, called River of Dreams, is that the songs are arranged in the order they were written, showing the artist's evolution of thought during a difficult period in his life: The songs start out with anger and frustration and eventually become more thoughtful and accepting.
Finally, an even more recent album, the rock/punk opera American Idiot by Green Day deserve an honorable mention for taking the genre of punk to the next level.
When I think of "music" and "epic," Iron Maiden is the band that comes immediately to my mind.
With songs like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (13+ minutes in length), "Sign of the Cross" (11+ minutes), and "Empire of the Clouds" (18+ minutes), Iron Maiden's career has been defined largely by what you might call "heavy metal symphonies" - songs with multiple movements, melodies, and complex key changes. Among Iron Maiden fandom, these songs are even referred to as their "epics." Led Zeppelin has "Stairway to Heaven," Metallica has "Master of Puppets," and Green Day has "Jesus of Suburbia," but none have equaled Iron Maiden's ability at producing intricate, towering musical masterpieces. As such, their influence is undeniable.
The topics of their songs also display a fascinating commentary on a wide variety of cultural sources. They have based works on mythologies ("Powerslave" - Egypt; "The Isle of Avalon" - Celtic; "The Flight of Icarus" - Greek; "The Book of Souls" - Mayan), literature ("Murders in the Rue Morgue," "Stranger in a Strange Land," "Brave New World"), science fiction ("Out of the Silent Planet," "To Tame a Land"), World War II ("Aces High," "Where Eagles Dare"), World War I ("Paschendale"), the Crimean War ("The Trooper"), religious history ("Montsegur," "For the Greater Good of God") and the occult ("Dance of Death," "Revelations," "The Number of the Beast"). The diversity of topics there is perhaps owed to the band's richness of interests. Recently, I read Bruce Dickinson's (the lead singer) autobiography and learned that he nearly went to graduate school to study History, is a talented fencer, and has a commercial pilot's license. (He even flies the band's plane on tour.)
My current favorite Iron Maiden epic (at 11 minutes in length) is "When the Wild Wind Blows," a parable (based on a British graphic novel) about how fear and suspicion can twist a person's outlook. A clip to the song is below, if you have a spare 11 minutes.
My all-time favorite Iron Maiden song, though, is "Powerslave." Rather like "Hallowed by thy Name," it deals with mortality, but from the perspective of an Egyptian Pharaoh who was once attended by innumerable slaves, but now at the end of his life must come to terms that he himself is a slave, to the power of death. The clip is below, and surely you can budget a little more than 7 minutes for that, can't you?
While considering any of these songs or the band itself as "epic" might seem like the most egregious abuse of the concept, let's recall the original traditional definition of the term: "a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero." These were often sung, I'd add, meaning Iron Maiden's lyrics and musics about all of these topics might be the closest things to "epics" (according to the old-school definition) that I have considered over these many weeks.
As one last reflection on this subject after these many weeks, not long ago I was in my basement lifting weights, listening to The Number of the Beast. I first got that cd in the Fall of 1992, when I was having a very tough time as a freshman in high school. Those memories came back as I listened to the songs and remembered how they had motivated me to push through. Things did get better for me (and they've periodically gotten worse then better then worse then better, as is the way of life) and having the music as reference point was very comforting, even cathartic. I think that is what "epics" are meant to do.
Throughout these weeks, the works I've put out for consideration have been ones I connect with personally. In fact, someone could say, "Well, geez, Michael, you just self-indulgently chose to talk about stuff you liked!" To that I would reply, "Welcome to my blog." But seriously, I encourage every reader to sit and think about his/her own definition of "epic" and maybe write out a list, across genres, of what you would consider "epic." I'd be delighted to see what some of you think.
That's all for this series. I hope you enjoyed it! Next time, in honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, I will have a ghost story to share from my very own family. Spooky, huh?
Until then, take care.
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