The 25 Greatest Epic Songs Over 10 Minutes Long
Sometimes a song needs more than a quick three-minute spin to tell its full story. Long, sprawling tracks that stretch past ten minutes pull you into vivid soundscapes packed with soaring guitar solos, haunting lyrics, shifting moods, and twists you never see coming.
Each one feels like a journey, not just a listen, rewarding anyone willing to settle in and let the music unfold at its own pace.
These marathon masterpieces prove that patience can pay off in seriously powerful ways.
1. Echoes – Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd’s Echoes stretches nearly 23 and a half minutes, making it one of the longest single-track journeys in rock history. Originally filling an entire vinyl album side, this sonic expedition blends haunting keyboard melodies with spacey sound effects that feel like floating through the cosmos.
The song builds slowly, creating tension before exploding into powerful guitar riffs. If you love music that feels cinematic and otherworldly, this masterpiece delivers every single second.
2. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V) – Pink Floyd
Clocking in around 13 and a half minutes, this tribute to former bandmate Syd Barrett radiates emotional depth and musical brilliance. The opening synth notes feel like sunrise breaking over a desert, gradually welcoming guitars and vocals that ache with loss and memory.
Pink Floyd crafted this as a love letter to their lost friend. Every note carries weight, proving that great music doesn’t need words to communicate powerful feelings and timeless stories.
3. Close To The Edge – Yes
Yes pushed boundaries with this 18-minute progressive rock epic that demands your full attention and rewards it generously. Complex time signatures dance alongside Jon Anderson’s soaring vocals, creating a musical puzzle that somehow feels perfectly natural.
Though it challenges listeners with its ambition, the payoff is incredible. How many songs can shift moods five times and still feel cohesive? This one nails it, blending classical influences with rock power seamlessly.
4. The Gates Of Delirium – Yes
Running nearly 22 minutes, The Gates of Delirium tells a war story through pure instrumental chaos and delicate beauty. Inspired by Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the song explodes with battle sounds before dissolving into the peaceful conclusion called ‘Soon.
Yes proves that prog rock can be both wildly experimental and deeply moving. Just saying, if superheroes had theme songs, they’d probably sound this epic and dramatic every single time.
5. Supper’s Ready – Genesis
Genesis delivered this 22-minute-plus monster that weaves together seven distinct sections into one continuous narrative journey. Peter Gabriel’s theatrical vocals guide you through apocalyptic visions, love stories, and biblical references that feel like watching a movie unfold through sound.
Each segment flows naturally into the next despite wildly different moods. Where else can you experience gentle folk melodies transforming into explosive rock climaxes? This track remains a masterclass in ambitious songwriting.
6. 2112 – Rush
Rush’s sci-fi epic runs over 20 minutes, telling a dystopian tale about individuality versus oppressive control. Geddy Lee’s distinctive vocals narrate a future where music itself becomes an act of rebellion, backed by Neil Peart’s thunderous drumming and Alex Lifeson’s guitar wizardry.
The song inspired countless musicians to think bigger. If you’ve ever felt misunderstood or different, this anthem speaks directly to your rebellious spirit and creative soul.
7. Xanadu – Rush
Inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan, Rush’s Xanadu stretches past 11 minutes of pure musical exploration. Synthesizers create mystical atmospheres while the rhythm section drives forward with relentless energy, painting pictures of an immortal man trapped in paradise.
Though shorter than 2112, this track packs equal ambition. Rush never settles for simple when they can build something magnificent and unforgettable instead.
8. Thick As A Brick – Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull went completely bonkers with this 43-minute continuous piece filling an entire album side! Ian Anderson’s flute melodies weave through satirical lyrics mocking progressive rock’s pretensions while simultaneously creating one of the genre’s finest examples.
The irony is delicious: making fun of pretentious music by creating something brilliantly pretentious. However, the jokes never undermine the musical craftsmanship, which remains absolutely top-tier throughout every single minute.
9. Starless – King Crimson
King Crimson’s Starless runs about 12 minutes of heartbreaking beauty and explosive intensity. The song begins with melancholic saxophone and gentle vocals before building toward a frenzied instrumental section that feels like controlled chaos unleashed.
Many consider this King Crimson’s finest achievement, and honestly, it’s hard to argue. The emotional journey from sadness to cathartic release hits differently every time you experience it fully.
10. Achilles Last Stand – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin’s Achilles Last Stand barely crosses the 10-minute threshold at 10:26, but it packs enough riffs for three normal songs. Jimmy Page layers guitar tracks upon guitar tracks, creating a wall of sound that feels like an army marching toward glory.
Robert Plant’s vocals soar with mythological references while John Bonham’s drums thunder relentlessly. If epic battles needed a soundtrack, this would absolutely be playing on repeat throughout the entire war.
11. The End – The Doors
The Doors crafted this nearly 12-minute psychological thriller that still gives listeners chills decades later. Jim Morrison’s haunting vocals explore dark themes of death, family, and existential dread over hypnotic organ melodies and sparse percussion.
The infamous Oedipal section shocked audiences back then and still feels provocative today. Though controversial, the artistic ambition remains undeniable, pushing rock music into genuinely unsettling and theatrical new territories.
12. Desolation Row – Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s Desolation Row runs over 11 minutes of pure storytelling genius filled with bizarre characters and surreal imagery. Einstein disguised as Robin Hood? Cinderella sweeping up? Dylan throws together historical figures and fictional characters in ways that somehow make perfect poetic sense.
The acoustic guitar keeps things simple while Dylan’s lyrics grow increasingly complex. Where else can you find such strange, beautiful chaos captured in one song?
13. Sister Ray – The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground unleashed this 17-minute wall of noise that influenced punk, alternative, and experimental music forever. Sister Ray features one continuous jam session recorded live in the studio, complete with distorted organs, feedback, and Lou Reed’s deadpan vocals describing seedy characters.
It’s chaotic, abrasive, and absolutely brilliant. However, this isn’t background music, it demands attention or it’ll just sound like beautiful, intentional chaos happening all around you.
14. Telegraph Road – Dire Straits
Dire Straits’ Telegraph Road stretches over 14 minutes, chronicling the rise and fall of an American highway and the communities surrounding it. Mark Knopfler’s guitar work tells as much of the story as his lyrics, building from quiet fingerpicking to soaring electric solos.
The song feels cinematic, like watching time-lapse footage of civilization growing and decaying. If patience were a superpower, this track would be its perfect training exercise.
15. Tubular Bells (Part One) – Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield recorded this 25-minute instrumental masterpiece when he was barely 19 years old, playing nearly every instrument himself! Tubular Bells became famous as the theme for The Exorcist, but the full version offers so much more than that creepy opening melody.
The composition flows through countless musical ideas seamlessly. Though it takes dedication to appreciate fully, the payoff rewards patient listeners with something truly groundbreaking and unforgettable.
16. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner – Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden adapted Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic poem into this nearly 14-minute metal masterpiece filled with galloping rhythms and dramatic storytelling. Bruce Dickinson’s operatic vocals narrate the cursed sailor’s tale while the band creates musical waves and storms around him.
The song proves heavy metal can be literary and sophisticated. If your English teacher assigned poetry with this soundtrack, suddenly everyone would pay attention during class every single day!
17. Third Eye – Tool
Tool’s Third Eye runs nearly 14 minutes of mind-bending progressive metal exploring consciousness expansion and spiritual awakening. Maynard James Keenan’s vocals shift from whispers to screams while the band creates hypnotic, complex rhythms that feel mathematically precise yet emotionally raw.
The song references comedian Bill Hicks and challenges listeners to question everything. Though demanding and intense, it rewards those willing to open their minds completely.
18. A Change Of Seasons – Dream Theater
Dream Theater’s A Change of Seasons clocks in at over 23 minutes of virtuoso musicianship and emotional depth. The song explores life’s cycles through seven movements, showcasing each band member’s incredible technical abilities while maintaining genuine emotional connection.
Keyboards duel with guitars, drums perform impossible patterns, yet somehow it never feels like showing off. If progressive metal had a Mount Rushmore, this masterpiece would definitely earn its place there.
19. Coma – Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses closed their Use Your Illusion I album with this intense 10-minute journey through a coma patient’s nightmares. The song shifts between heavy riffs, acoustic interludes, and sound effects creating a disorienting, unsettling experience that matches its subject matter perfectly.
Axl Rose’s vocals range from whispers to screams while Slash’s guitar work remains characteristically brilliant. Though often overlooked, this ambitious track showcases the band’s serious artistic side beautifully.
20. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly’s psychedelic jam runs over 17 minutes, featuring one of rock’s most famous drum solos. The title supposedly came from a slurred pronunciation of “In the Garden of Eden,” which perfectly captures the song’s trippy, hazy vibe.
The organ riff remains instantly recognizable even today. However, the extended instrumental sections take you on a journey that feels both hypnotic and slightly dangerous, like exploring unknown dimensions through pure sound.
21. The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys – Traffic
Traffic’s mysterious title track stretches past 11 minutes of jazzy, laid-back grooves that feel both sophisticated and accessible. Steve Winwood’s keyboards create dreamy atmospheres while the rhythm section locks into hypnotic patterns that make time disappear completely.
The lyrics remain beautifully cryptic, open to endless interpretation. Though it never rushes, the song never drags either, it simply exists in its own perfect, unhurried space and time.
22. Whipping Post – The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band’s live version from At Fillmore East extends this blues-rock anthem past 22 minutes of pure improvisation and emotional intensity. Duane Allman and Dickey Betts trade guitar solos that feel like conversations between old friends, while Gregg Allman’s organ adds soulful depth.
The studio version runs much shorter, but this extended jam showcases the band’s incredible chemistry. If you love guitar solos, this version delivers endlessly.
23. Storm – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Storm opens their album Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven with over 20 minutes of cinematic post-rock beauty. The Canadian collective builds tension slowly, layering strings, guitars, and field recordings into overwhelming emotional crescendos.
There are no vocals, yet the music communicates perfectly. If apocalyptic beauty had a soundtrack, this would be playing as the world ended and was reborn simultaneously.
24. Mogwai Fear Satan – Mogwai
Mogwai’s Mogwai Fear Satan runs over 16 minutes, building from quiet whispers to earth-shaking volume. The Scottish band pioneered the loud-quiet-loud dynamic that influenced countless post-rock bands, creating music that feels both delicate and absolutely devastating.
The song title references dialogue from a horror film, adding mysterious darkness. Though it tests your patience initially, the explosive payoff makes every quiet moment worthwhile and necessary.
25. Impossible Soul – Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens concludes The Age of Adz with this 25-minute epic exploring love, heartbreak, and spiritual searching. The song shifts through multiple movements, incorporating electronic beats, orchestral arrangements, and auto-tuned vocals that feel surprisingly vulnerable and human.
It’s ambitious, weird, and absolutely beautiful. Where most artists would split this into five separate tracks, Stevens trusts listeners to follow his complete, uninterrupted emotional journey from beginning to end.
