Grendel (Marillion) cover

"Grendel", is a song by Marillion, it's the B-side to their first single "Market Square Heroes". "Grendel" is typical of the progressive rock style. "Grendel" is a long and complex composition which has drawn frequent comparisons with "Supper's Ready" by Genesis. As Fish himself admitted later:
"We were concerned about the similarity to the lengthy composition by Genesis called 'Supper's Ready' which also meandered and burst into sections, the end one in particular, which would add conviction to the many critics opinions that Marillion were more than influenced by Genesis."
Fish was inspired by the John Gardner novel Grendel (1971), the lyric looks at the Beowulf myth from the perspective of the monster. Neither Marillion nor Fish have ever played the track live after 1983. In spite (or possibly because) of this, it has developed into a cult favourite among die-hard fans; it is not uncommon to hear someone in the audience yell "Grendel!" at Marillion's or Fish's concerts even in the late 2000s.
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (AD 700-1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with Grendel's mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by all in Heorot but Beowulf. A descendant of Cain, Grendel is described as "a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind". He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains the subject of scholarly debate. The character of Grendel and his role in the story of Beowulf have been subject to numerous reinterpretations and re-imaginings.
Grendel is a 1971 novel by American author John Gardner. It is a retelling of part of the Old English poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. In the novel, Grendel is portrayed as an antihero. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.
In a 1973 interview, Gardner said that "In Grendel I wanted to go through the main ideas of Western civilization - which seemed to me to be about ... twelve? - and go through them in the voice of the monster, with the story already taken care of, with the various philosophical attitudes (though with Sartre in particular), and see what I could do, see if I could break out".
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