Different Beast Lyrics – Epic: The Musical

Song Overview

I still remember the first time “Different Beast” blasted through my headphones —one of those jolts that makes you sit bolt-upright. The track, penned and voiced by Jorge Rivera-Herrans alongside Anna Lea and the tireless Cast of EPIC: The Musical, dropped July 4 2024, slot 22 on The Thunder Saga, and has since prowled past 39 million Spotify spins.

The lyrics crackle with sea-spray rage, Odysseus staring down shape-shifting sirens while a cinematic orchestra swells beneath trap-leaning drums. In barely three-and-a-half minutes, Rivera-Herrans smashes myth, metal and musical-theatre bravado into a single, sharp spear-tip. Key takeaway? Odysseus —and by extension the crew, and maybe all of us doom-scrollers —refuses to stay prey.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Genre tags are slippery here; think orchestral pop grinding against prog-metal riffs, then painted neon by Broadway-ready vocal stacks. The opening arrow-shot sound effect throws us straight into Homeric cosplay, but the heartbeat is modern 808 kicks thudding like oars against hull planks. Mood-wise, it’s a storm: starts suspicious, turns carnivorous, ends with full-throated mutiny-against-monsters.

Culturally, “Different Beast” rides the TikTok-era wave of Epic: The Musical, a project critics have compared to Be More Chill in its grassroots virality. The Guardian even called it Gen Alpha’s gateway drug to Greek myth.

Thematically? Power inversion. Odysseus flips the sirens’ own weapon , song back on them, then makes a chilling decision: “Cut off their tails!” The crew’s chorus shifts from we are a different beast to he is, spotlighting how hero worship can curdle into fear when mercy evaporates.

Musically, notice the key change after the first refrain. Strings surge up a minor third while distorted guitars chug, mimicking rising tides. Rivera-Herrans layers a faint underwater gurgle beneath the bridge—blink and you’ll miss it —foreshadowing the sirens’ grim plunge.

“We are a different beast now / We are the ones who feast now…”

That refrain hammers the moral: become predator or remain prey. Some Reddit sleuths even note the pronoun flip as the crew recoils from their own captain’s ruthlessness.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

Introduces the deception: a faux Penelope, thick with dramatic irony. Rivera-Herrans’ delivery starts almost conversational, lulling us the way sirens would.

Chorus

The drums double-time, vocals stack four octaves deep. It’s both rally cry and warning siren.

Verse 2

Odysseus unpacks the beeswax stratagem, flexing cunning over brawn. The rhyme of horizon with island slants just enough to feel uneasy —like the sea under shifting moons.

Bridge

Spoken-word sneer: “So you can kill the next group of sailors?” That rhetorical question shreds the last threads of mercy.

Final Chorus

The “Kill them all” refrain lands like cannon fire. If earlier choruses felt triumphant, this one feels ominously triumphant —a victory too costly.

Annotations

False Penelope Unmasked

[ODYSSEUS grabs his bow and arrow and shoots PENELOPE. "PENELOPE" screams]

The moment the arrow flies, a shriek rings out — unnervingly inhuman, confirming that the figure before him is no wife but a siren in disguise. Odysseus has lulled his hunters into complacency, only to reveal that the hunter was hunted all along. Even the single word “cut” drips with brutality, signposting how mercilessly he will finish the job.

From Odysseus’s viewpoint, the gods watch every move; still, his ego swells, edging past Athena’s counsel to be a Warrior of the Mind. The impostor meant to drag him underwater, yet her ploy merely tightens his resolve.

The Nature of Sirens

Let's cut the charade, you are no wife of mine.

Classical sirens differ from the sleek mermaids of pop culture; earliest art shows them as bird-women, hideous save for their hypnotic song. Jorge Rivera-Herrans chooses the more aquatic image — fitting for theater but rooted in myth. In The Odyssey the crew meets only two sirens on an island. Homer omits their appearance, while Apollonius later paints them feathered. Either way, their true weapon is melody, not looks.

Traditionally, Odysseus stuffs his sailors’ ears with wax and has himself bound to the mast so he alone may hear the song and live. Here Jorge tweaks the tale: beeswax blocks everyone, leaving Odysseus to read lips for intel.

A Different Beast

We are a different beast now.

The lyric echoes Polyphemus’s earlier line

I’ll give you our finest treasure.

Odysseus speaks to one siren yet addresses every threat on his voyage. He once believed every foe deserved a chance; now, ruthlessness is mercy. His personal motif — a faint musical figure — surfaces beneath the verse, signaling that his mind, not brute force, still drives the strategy.

Twelve Years of War and Wandering

A sly self-correction slips in: Jorge once said ten years, then bumps it to twelve. Odysseus’s résumé is stacked — Trojan War hero, Cyclops blinder, favorite target of a furious Poseidon who has already drowned 557 comrades. Each monster faced was divine handiwork; the crew’s new savagery is entirely their own.

The Wax, the Ruse, the Map

By plugging their ears, the sailors nullify the siren’s spell, yet Odysseus studies her mouth to steal knowledge of every route and horizon. In Homer the witch Circe supplies this navigational wisdom; Rivera-Herrans channels it through the siren to streamline the saga.

No More Suffering — For Anyone

We won't take more suffering from you.

The line cuts two ways. First, the crew refuses to endure further torment; second, they will no longer remove monsters’ suffering by sparing them. Each mercy shown — Cyclops, Circe’s beasts — has boomeranged back in blood. Now mercy costs too much.

Spare Us? Why?

The sirens beg. Odysseus scoffs: why spare predators who will butcher the next ship? He recalls the Cyclops debacle — ignoring Athena almost killed him once. Lesson learned.

Cut Off Their Tails

Cut off their tails! We're ending this now. Throw their bodies back in the water. Let them drown.

Sparing a quick death, he orders a slow one. Without tails the sirens cannot swim; their own sea becomes grave. Stage whispers online joke about “The Sushi Saga,” hinting the tails might feed the crew. Whether eaten or discarded, the gesture brands Odysseus as the real monster.

We Turns to He

Early refrains ring with “We are.” After the execution the chorus shifts to “He is,” subtly marking distance. The soldiers will follow, yet they sense the divide. This linguistic fracture foreshadows the mutiny ahead.

Fate and Irony

Some ancient versions curse sirens to die if anyone hears their song and escapes; here, because the wax foils that rule, Odysseus must kill them outright. Ironically, his “man-made” monstrosity was sparked by divine meddling — chiefly Poseidon — yet it is mortals who suffer the metamorphosis.

Closing Chant

Kill them all.

The ensemble chanting Odysseus’s name mirrors how previous villains were introduced, hinting at his future slide. A final flourish of “woah-oh” recalls Remember Them, underscoring the transformation from compassionate hero to feared predator. The message is stark: anyone blocking his path to Ithaca will drown.

Song Credits

• Featured: Anna Lea, Cast of EPIC: The Musical
• Producer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Composer/Lyricist: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Release Date: July 4 2024
• Genre: Orchestral Pop / Trap-infused Musical Theatre
• Length: 3 : 30
• Instruments: strings, brass, distorted electric guitar, 808 drums, choir pads
• Label: Winion Entertainment LLC
• Mood: Predatory, triumphant, morally gray
• Language: English
• Album: EPIC: The Thunder Saga (Official Concept Album)
• Poetic Meter: Predominantly trochaic tetrameter sprinkled with internal rhymes
• Copyrights ©: 2024 Winion Entertainment LLC

Similar Songs Exploring Themes of Ruthlessness & Survival

1. “Warrior of the Mind” – Jorge Rivera-Herrans
   Shares EPIC’s mythic palette but flips focus to Athena. Both songs celebrate intellect as weapon; however, “Different Beast” crosses the moral event horizon while “Warrior” stays strategic.
2. “No One Mourns the Wicked” – Wicked Original Broadway Cast
   Another anthem that reframes hero/villain labels. Where Elphaba claims the “wicked” crown ironically, Odysseus all but embraces monstrousness in earnest.
3. “Be Prepared” – Disney’s The Lion King
   Scar’s carnivorous manifesto mirrors Odysseus’ chorus cadence. Both tracks weaponize chant-like hooks and brass stabs to paint predation as inevitability.

Questions and Answers

Why does the crew sing “we” then switch to “he”?

The moment Odysseus orders mutilation, the crew distances themselves—admiration mutates into fear.

Is the wife impersonation canon to Homer?

No. Sirens never shape-shift in The Odyssey; Rivera-Herrans amplifies the threat for theatrical punch.

What’s with the beeswax lyric?

A nod to Homer’s original deterrent—Odysseus instructs sailors to plug ears so only he hears the deadly song.

Are there official covers?

Yes—Loganne Digma’s duet, Somni’s female-lead flip, and a gender-swap rendition each rack tens of thousands of views.

Will “Different Beast” reach a live stage?

Rivera-Herrans hints an Off-Broadway workshop is in motion, though no dates are public yet.

Awards and Chart Positions

While no major awards have landed yet, “Different Beast” helped push EPIC: The Thunder Saga to #132 on the US iTunes album chart, and the single itself clawed to #30 on Venezuela’s Deezer chart—rare territory for concept-musical cuts.

Fan and Media Reactions

“When Odysseus said we are a different beast now my jaw dropped and never recovered.” Reddit user u/throwin-tridents

“Pronoun swap to ‘he is a different beast’—chef’s kiss storytelling.” u/lyric-lurker

“Crew’s line feels literal: they plan to feast on siren tails. Dark—and genius.” u/beeswax-theorist

“This bridge? Straight-up Marvel villain energy.” u/celestial-strings

“Goosebumps every time he snarls ‘Cut off their tails!’” u/ink-slinger-42