Nineteen minutes? You got to be kidding me!

Most of you guys know that I just can't stand overly long songs. Most of the time, I just feel like a band has wasted my time because I get bored by the 5 minute mark and have already hit the skip button if it hits 7. I know--I have a short attention span!

On the new 7 Days CD, there is a 19 minute track. I'm at 8 minutes and I am SO over it. I just don't understand why you couldn't just write 3 or 4 separate songs to express this the same. I'll probably just hit the skip button on either the CD or MP3 player when this song comes on as it is boring. It just goes on and on and on and on for no reason. Why do bands have to do this? Ugh!

I know--I am prepared for the flame war, but I just think songs this long are worthless. I can't stay focused on one song for that long. I find songs this long to be about as interesting as a pastor who preaches for an hour but has to pretty much make his points 3 times to fill the time. To me, it's ineffective communication.

Where did you buy this cd? I have been trying to find it but so far no luck. As far as the length of the song yea 19 minutes is overkill. I can tolerate up to about a 10 minute song but thats as far as I can go.

heath777 wrote:

Where did you buy this cd? I have been trying to find it but so far no luck. As far as the length of the song yea 19 minutes is overkill. I can tolerate up to about a 10 minute song but thats as far as I can go.

Yeah, that's a bit overkill...Somewhere in the area of about 16-17 minutes would have been about right

I ordered it directly from their label.


For me, pretty much anything over 6 minutes is too long.

You have musical ADD.........I do to.

Some longer songs I can handle. But usually only if it has transitions and sounds like seperate songs.
There are some longer Theocracy songs I can handle, but there are some songs that only clock in at 5 or 6 minutes that seem too long to me (especially if they are really repetative, or have long guitar wankery passages).

I love long songs, and I find it really difficult to keep in the flow of an album full of short songs. I like the 6-8 minute window as an average, under 3 minutes is just too short, and I don't really have an upper limit.

I am looking forward to getting the new 7 Days disc sometime in the future, but I have run out of storage space and I have to do something with some of them before I can buy any more.

I like songs to be between 3 and 6 minutes mostly, and I've never had much time for long songs....... that was until Theocracy did Mirror Of Souls. Now I realise that if they're written well and there's enough depth to them they can be awesome. But you've really got to nail it to make a long song work, and most of the time it comes out rather below par.

Fundy

It's not only you who can't stand long tracks.
after a minute or six I wonder what song I'm listening too.
I realized it's the same song and often I forget it's the same song.
Maybe the music can be very cool, but I wonder the same.
Why make bands song longer than 6 or 7 minutes?
Maybe I have a musical ADD too.
If yes, I'm glad I'm not alone in this.
It really helps to know others have the same.

In church I lose my attention when we have to sing again the same song or when the pastor is doing a very long sermon.

Depending on how the song is structured,it can be very cool. There are some that run about 8 to 10 minutes that are cool. Yet I agree ,19 minutes is a bit long.

[quote="nazpastor"]I love long songs, and I find it really difficult to keep in the flow of an album full of short songs. I like the 6-8 minute window as an average, under 3 minutes is just too short, and I don't really have an upper limit.


I agree! But my average preferred song length is closer to the 10-12 minute range.

Depends... a well written and well structured song can go that long or longer. A lame song can't be short enough.

To me, when they get over a certain length, they become lame. I get bored with it. Thank the Lord for skip buttons.

alldatndensum wrote:

I just don't understand why you couldn't just write 3 or 4 separate songs to express this the same.

Most long songs are several smaller ones that continue the story. It would sound disjointed if they actually separated them. In general, I don't like concept albums that are only short songs because they rarely sound like one story. Just like reading a book, the chapters should flow together.

I agree about throwing a mega long and drawn out song on an album.... I only like the rock opera albums that have longer songs. The Pink Floyd style of running songs together and telling stories... some songs are long, some are really short, and others pick up a few songs later. That's when a long song works for me.
With regular 20 minute songs, around 8 minutes I usually end up saying "ok ok, you got your point across" and skipping to the next song.

Tall Tyrion wrote:

Depends... a well written and well structured song can go that long or longer. A lame song can't be short enough.

My thoughts exactly - it's all about what's happening, and whether there's enough distinctive material to carry the composition for its length. I love long (or "epic") tunes, but only if they "earn" their length by introducing new material rather than becoming overly repetitious. I will admit that even if a longer song is well-written and well-structured, it tends to demand more of the listener ...

peace,
rob

I can do long songs if there's enough continuity and such to keep my attention (such as some classical pieces and Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells"), but a 19-minute power metal tune seems a bit overkill. Will have to look into it when I have time though. Right now I'm saving my money for HB's new album which comes out on the 20th.

19mins?

Overkill!

XNilo wrote:

19mins?

Overkill!

Mortification's 'Envision Evangeline' = Masterpiece. No way you could pull it off in just 5 minutes or that it would be anywhere near as powerful as several distinct songs. Same with Theocracy's 'Mirror of Souls'.

topshot rhit wrote:

XNilo wrote:

19mins?

Overkill!

Mortification's 'Envision Evangeline' = Masterpiece. No way you could pull it off in just 5 minutes or that it would be anywhere near as powerful as several distinct songs. Same with Theocracy's 'Mirror of Souls'.

I love Theocracy's "Mirro of Souls" but I suspect it could have been just as "epic" or "powerful" at 12 minutes (and not the 22+ minutes it clocks in at). Still a fantastic song, but my favorite from that album is just under 10 minutes (Laying the Demon to Rest).

I love the 20 minute guitar solo

Oh I LOVE the long epics!  So good!  The build-up, the suspense...  When the song really picks up it's just that much more epic.  And then when it's all done, you have this feeling of accomplishment haha.  (Jeff, where are you?  Back me up on this!)  Makes me think of Virgin Black's (appropriately named song) The Everlasting.  It's super slow and brooding for the first ten minutes... but then it starts going... and then it REALLY starts going.  Ah, so epic.  A ten minute version of this would not have the same effect.

19 minutes? Is that all?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIw7oeZKpZc

Staybrite wrote:

I love Theocracy's "Mirro of Souls" but I suspect it could have been just as "epic" or "powerful" at 12 minutes (and not the 22+ minutes it clocks in at).

Guess I never responded to your suggestion way back when, but I disagree. I was listening to this recently and there's no way you could cut 10 minutes and retain the feel or message. I do think this is one of those exceptions to the rule though. There are some really long ones that I could see being cut down. Length seemed to be a feature of "progressive rock" of the 70s, yet there are some of the side-length Yes songs that could have been reduced. I owned all their albums but some of those really long ones didn't get much play from me. As long as there is a PURPOSE for the length I'm perfectly fine with it. If it is dragging unnecessarily or being repetitive (even radio length songs that are repetitive bug me some) or too much filler than I agree it should be cut. Same can be said for movies. There's no reason the Hobbit needed to be 3 movies instead of 2, for example. Way too much filler. Let's take an album you're familiar with. If Queensryche had done Operation Mindcrime as a single track would you think any less if it? It essentially is anyway so what is the difference?

I have yet to hear a song that I thought NEEDED to be this long.  Yes, I have musical A.D.D.  I think I have real A.D.D.--especially when I eat gluten!

I definitely enjoy some very loooooong and drawn out song.  Others not so much.  Some Within The Torn Apart and Rotting Serpent are really good as well as Entorn.  But I also enjoy Theocracy's 22 minute masterpiece as well.  But I also enjoy VR's Receive Him and The Lead's In The Blink of An Eye.