Epics #3 - V - Spock's Beard

Number three on my list comes from my second favorite modern progressive rock band: Spock's Beard. V is their fifth album, (appropriately) and it may just be my favorite. The whole album is something you could listen to over and over and never get bored of.
It opens with a song of considerable length: "At the End of the Day." The way the opening chords melt together is a really beautiful thing. Then it builds to a drum intro that unleashes the main hook of the song. Criss-crossing instrumental and vocal sections, you see how talented each member of this band really is. Neal Morse, the singer, however, tends to steal the show. You can't blame him, though; his voice is one my favorites in all of prog rock. The song is a thouroughly enjoyable listen, and if you don't have the patience for today's epic, I'd start with this one. "Revelation" is an interesting song for its changes in attitude and emotion. When the refrain kicks in, it's very powerful and heavy, but it instantly switches to the softer, mellow verse and even a vibraphone-esque solo. "Thoughts, Pt. 2" is another really interesting tune. It also switches between those smooth and rough passages, but this time, its got a twisty instrumental line and a multi-part chorus. The sound combination is just awesome. Oh, and if you're wondering, there is a song "Thoughts" that's on their earlier album Beware of Darkness. The other couple of songs on the album are really great as well, but I want to jump ahead to the last track, The Great Nothing.
This track's got it all. With references to Rush, Yes, and even a hip-hop section, this epic represents exactly what epics should be. It's 27 minutes long, but you'd never know it, because it's so involving. You can get lost in the flow of this song very easily. As a tribute to that, I'm listening to it as I write, and I stopped writing for a second because the song will just pull at you like that. As I said before, Spock's Beard is a great modern prog band, and I feel like this song is the best example I can give to the average reader as support for that claim. Mixing classic with modern, this song is not to be missed.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a link to this album, but iTunes does have those little 30 second clips you can listen to.