Fav longest songs

I said I'll post later. But what the hell, couldn't resist :) I'll try and write about the songs which clock over 10 minutes. And this post could be looong.

Where do I start? So many out there. I think its easist to start with the ones that started it all. Pink Floyd. If someone asked me which one of the Floyd albums I liked the most, I wouldn't be able to answer. As I said earlier in one of my comments, it'd be a tie between The Animals, Wish you were here, The Dark side of the moon and The Wall. WYWH wins hands down when it comes to the length of the compositions. Shine on you crazy Diamond features the band in all their glory. Their ability to compose these psychedelic melodies is simply unparalleled. And one such melody which lasts for 13 freaking minutes is pure bliss.

My next favourite would be Opeth. These guys have done it all, from releasing some of the heaviest albums of all time to creating something as beautiful as Damnation (which has only clean vocals and clean guitars). If you aren't familiar with this band, this is how their albums are usually structured.. they have released 8 albums and just one (Damnation) clocks less than an hour. And the average length of each song (I'm guessing) is definitely around the 10 min mark. "The Night and the silent water" (11 mins), "Black Rose Immortal" (20 mins), "Blackwater park" (12 mins) and many others are not just songs, they are mind-expanding epics.

Next "The Doors" comes to my mind. Who hasn't heard the genius of Jim Morrison in songs like "The End" and "When the music's over"? Of course, I'm coming to Porcupine Tree next. This band is the modern day Floyd for me. Some of their songs (read "Voyage 34", which has 4 songs each clocking 13,17,19,13 mins) could be shamelessly Floyd-ish. But who cares! The band has moved on and went on to create some of the most trippy music ever. The band is experimenting more and more with each new release. Steven Wilson (vocals/guitar/effects/etc) is just God. The most trippy bass-lines award goes to this band! With the most laid-back and spaced-out jams, you wouldn't need a joint to get high, believe me. Their songs "Russia on Ice", "The Sky moves sideways" prove this!

Would you believe me if I told you that there's a math-metal/neo-thrash/whatever-the-hell band that made a song 21 mins long? The band's called Meshuggah and the album's called "I". Its pure chaos from the word go. Some of the most insane music to be ever recorded! I totally agree that this is not a band meant for everybody to appreciate, but once you connect with their music, its a whole different play ground with just one player in it... Meshuggah. These guys from Sweden are just mad. I can imagine them going into the studio for recording "I" telling each other, "lets kick the ass of every other band that ever existed" :) If you have any doubts on how talented these people are, I'd just quote Mr. Lombardo of Slayer say Tomas Haake is the best drummer in the world currently and if that doesn't mean nothing to you, go eat your shorts. And the "most extreme music with almost no vocals" award goes to Thordendal's side project "Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects".

There are some more bands on my mind right now, like Edge of Sanity and Green Carnation who have released single-song albums of lengths 41 and 61 mins respectively. I can just go on and on about Edge of Sanity (the band's name is so perfect!), but I'd just suggest you to get hold of the fucking album and a beer. Make sure no one's watching, close the door, switch of the lights and thrash around like a mad dog until you fall asleep.