“Epic” will never go away for Faith No More.
Even after the band broke up in 1997 and then reformed in 2010, that wasn’t nearly enough time for fans to forget about the song, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard charts in 1990. So, after FNM got back together and toured European festivals (and eventually the U.S. in 2015), the band still played the song. But it wasn’t the show closer, and it wasn’t featured in the encore. FNM certainly didn’t open with it. Instead, “Epic” was usually stuck in the early to mid-part of the setlist.
When I saw FNM in Austin in 2015, it was song No. 5 out of 18, and it’s an interesting comparison to how Patton used to sing it.
Considering that tune is 30 years old, it’s not hard to imagine that the band is tired of playing it. But FNM plays “Epic” because it has to (and because the fans demand it). As bassist Billy Gould said all the way back in 1992, via FaithNoMoreFollowers.com, “It seems sometimes kids turn up just to hear that one song. We’re like, ‘Stick around; we’ve written all these other great songs, you just might like ‘em.’”
These days when FNM plays the song, there’s no nasally-voiced Patton. He screams the lyrics a little more. The energy isn’t necessarily the same either. After all, he’s 51 years old now (and in his late 40s in the video above), and not some 23-year-old kid like he was before.
But he still hits the high notes, and you know what? It still sounds pretty damn good to me.
A few days ago, I wrote, “The truth is, I always feel like whenever I’m talking about Faith No More with somebody who doesn’t know much about the band, I have to qualify it with, “Well, most of their stuff doesn’t sound like ‘Epic.’”
For the rest of the 365 Days of Mike Patton, I’m excited to introduce you to the rest of his stuff.
Part 1 of “Epic” is here.
Part 2 is here.
To follow along on the 365 days of Patton, click here for a list of each day’s post.
Josh Katzowitz - Sports Writer/Author/Editor 