Space Themed Albums You Should Absolutely Listen to!
WORDS BY OLIVER LAND.
The Sword - Warp Riders
As this list goes on, there's going to be talk of metaphors and deeper meaning to be found behind the spacey lyrics of some of these albums. Not with Warp Riders though. This is the third album from the doom metal group The Sword, and it's all guitar solos and singing about a sci-fi tale of good vs evil. Ereth is banished from his homeworld, a planet scorched by three suns on one side, and locked in darkness on the other. This is the setting for a massive adventure through space. This album is a blast of guitar riffs, fast paced drums and vocals straight out of a sci-fi fantasy novel, and therefore absolutely worth a listen to. I recommend the songs Tres Brujas, or Night City in particular.
Jeff Wayne - Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds.
Considered one of the most popular progressive rock albums ever recorded, I couldn't think of a better album to place on this list. To be honest, if these albums had to be in order this would be top of the list every time. A three year project recorded by Jeff Wayne in 1978, many other famous names would help make the album the success it is, such as actor and musical artist David Essex, and Phil lynott, lead singer and frontman of Thin Lizzy. Detailing the invasion of earth by Martians, the album follows the book's story beat for beat, and it has been said is more digestible than both the book and the original film. If you've never heard of The War of The Worlds, a sci-fi novel written by H.G Wells in 1897, I would suggest you go and find a copy to read, as it's one of the most famous books ever written. Really the album should be listened to in order to follow the storyline, but if you just want a sample, I would give Forever autumn and Thunderchild a listen.
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
A personal favourite of mine (so I might be a little biased), this album reached top 5 charts in five countries, and top ten in several others. With the space theme being all but obvious from the title of the album, it’s also an album focussed on introspectiveness and “revelations.” As well as this there are conspiracy theory themes and political themes throughout the whole album, all of which are very relevant today, 16 years after the album's release. The songs “Starlight” and “Knights of Cydonia” carry the sci-fi theme really well, and if you’ve got 5 minutes, I highly recommend the music video for the latter. It’s really something.
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
I know, I know, apart from the title, is there actually anything to do with space on this album? To that I say, do I really need more of an excuse to discuss one of the best albums ever created? Yes? Huh. Well how about the ideas throughout the album of insanity and isolation? “Time” the fourth track on the album highlights how time can drive us all insane and that its passing can control your life, and “breathe” highlights the isolation such a mental state can cause. While the title of the album may set you up to expect sci-fi rock, instead the album focuses on the “space” that isolation can cause. Also the album is really really good and I'm the one writing the article so I say go listen to it.
Holst - The Planets.
While the other albums may have complicated lyrics that evoke the imagination, or hidden themes invoking thoughts of space and time, Holst’s “the planets” uses its orchestral movements to describe our solar system to us with pure music. The pieces are named after the Roman gods, which of course in turn means they are named after our planets. The music evokes the images of the gods perfectly, from the first piece, “Mars, The Bringer of War,” being a dramatic march, to “Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity,” being an exuberant dance. While I may have said earlier that The War of the Worlds would take my top spot, I feel there are many out there that would put The Planets ahead of it by miles… and I might find that hard to argue with anything but personal preference. If classical music just isn't your thing, you should at least give Mars a listen.
Honourable mentions.
While I chose to focus on albums, and tried to find a nice range of music to include, I find it hard to finish this article without mentioning this last thing. If you are after some space themed music, without anything in mind, I actually recommend looking up some space themed video games and movies and giving the soundtracks a go. For example, No Man's Sky has a soundtrack that fits any space theme, and if you're after something a little creepy and suspenseful, I recommend Dead Spaces music. For movies try “2001: A Space Odyssey” or even another personal favourite movie of mine “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (The original movie, not the remake).
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2023.