No doubt about it, the original score of Galaxy on Fire 2™ is really damn awesome in itself. However, there’s still a couple of occasions when I switch my iPhone to mute and listen to some cool tunes over my headphones instead, while racing from star system to star system with all guns blazing. One such occasion, for example, is when I play the game in the subway on my way to work and don’t want to penetrate the other passengers’ ears with a spray of engine bursts, laser blasts and explosion roars… however, to get into the right mood for space racin’, I’d still like to listen to science fiction- and outer space-related songs in just cases and hence I’ve compiled a list of my favourite galactic rock tunes, which I’d love to share with you here on the blog! Of course, I know that this is just a tiny fraction of the huge variety of futuristic music out there, so please help to expand the list by posting your favourite space tunes in the comments. I’m really curious to find out which essential songs I’ve forgotten or which recommendable titles I have totally overlooked so far.[full]

Tankard “Space Beer”
(from the album “The Meaning Of Life” released in 1990)

“The aliens from all over space,
Will come to earth to get a taste,
A new idea, great innovation,
Future beer, it’s a sensation!”

Sure, these German fun thrashers have not exactly incorporated a whole lot of sci-fi feeling into their songs, however, a loud and rowdy up-tempo number like “Space Beer” is good fun to listen to while you’re on your way to Eanya system with a cargo hold full of Union Beer.

Scanner “Warp 7″
(from the album “Hypertrace” released in 1988)

“Still it feels like home, still I am a son,
But I can’t return though I’m the chosen one,
If I touched the ground, I’d lose all might,
Better enter space and dive into the sky!”

Like Tankard, Scanner is another German metal band from the 80s. Ever since their foundation in 1986, the group has put a lot of emphasis on their futuristic image and gimmick and their debut “Hypertrace” is considered one of the pinnacles of science fiction-themed speed metal by many fans and critics all over the world. The opener “Warp 7″ is a catchy, riff-ladden anthem that deals with a genetically enhanced space soldier on a dangerous mission far away from home… this is certainly good stuff to listen to while entering the Voids space and fighting the unknown enemy amidst the nebular vapours of his mysterious home system.

Thor “Megaton Man”
(from the album “Thor Against The World” released in 2005)

“20,000,000 years from the furthest star,
20,000,000 miles in a rocket car,
Glide through the ozone in your time machine,
Ride to other planets on your laser beam!”

Canadian super rocker Jon Mikl Thor has always had a weak spot for fantasy and science fiction and hence he has made these things an important part of his stage shows and music videos ever since the early 70s! His powerful sci-fi rock hymn “Megaton Man” tells the story of an intergalactic saviour in a comic-like, tongue-in-the-cheek kind of way. Being super-catchy, this underrated jewel, which conveys a perfect outer space atmosphere by the use of futuristic synthies and all kinds of other spaced-out effects, will definitely not leave your ears anytime soon once you’ve listened to its memorable verses and hymnic chorus!

Voivod “Forgotten In Space”
(from the album “Killing Technology” released in 1988)

“Hydrocarbonic smog, methane ice crystals,
Ultraviolet rays in the galaxy core,
Rotations and orbits of somebody,
Atoms and molecules through my body,
Just half an hour, not too much oxygen,
You’re forgotten in space… in space!”

Canadian cyber-thrashers Voivod have been around since the early 80s. Over the years, the band which features Jason Newsted of Metallica fame on bass, has gathered a huge cult following and become well-known as one of the world’s most eccentric and unique thrash metal outfits around. Their cold, mechanic and ultra-heavy tunes often tell unrelenting tales of ill-fated technology turning against its makers and the pitch-black “Forgotten In Space” is no exception to this… the next time you meet a shady alien criminal in a Quinerosian space bar and agree to blow up a convoy of Terran jail ships for a good amount of credits, you might wanna give that song another listen and gain a bit more sympathy for the poor souls captured inside the heavily-armoured carrier’s storage areas.

Iron Maiden “Satellite 15… The Final Frontier”
(from the album “The Final Frontier” released in 2010)

“I’m stranded in space,
I’m lost without trace,
I haven’t a chance of getting away,
Too close to the sun,
I surely will burn,
Like Icarus before me or so legend goes!”

England’s oldschool metal heavyweights Iron Maiden have already send their iconic mascot Eddie into outer space several times in the past (most notably on the cover of 1986′s all-time classic “Somewhere In Time”), however, one of my personal faves of Eddie’s journeys into foreign galaxies is “Satellite 15… The Final Frontier”, the opener of the band’s critically acclaimed fifteenth studio album “The Final Frontier”. After the long and slightly odd intro “Satellite 15″, the energetic title track kicks in and immediately catapults the listener into the endless reaches of vast space, where a nameless pilot is stranded amidst the blackness of intergalactic nothingness. The lyrics are really powerful and I’m pretty sure that some of the thoughts expressed by the song’s protagonist have also been present in Keith T. Maxwell’s head the moment he woke up at the far end of the galaxy in the beginning of Galaxy on Fire 2™.

Slough Feg “High Passage / Low Passage”
(from the album “Traveller” released in 2003)

“I am a space pirate, you know my name,
Asteroid mining is a dangerous game,
Imperial navy can’t keep up my pace,
Chasing a rock into Zhodani space!”

Some eight years ago, San Francisco’s Slough Feg have released a concept album called “Traveller”, which in my humble opinion marks the finest example of sci-fi themed heavy metal ever brought into existence to date! Telling the tragic story of the space war veteran and freelance mercenary Baltech Budapest (a guy not unlike a certain Keith T. Maxwell), who is set to save a doomed universe from the reign of terror of a mad professor and his army of genetically enhanced (or worsened) alien minions, the album is a true jewel and absolute must-have for every science fiction fan out there! Stellar musicianship, outstanding creativity and an exciting, action-packed back story leave nothing to be desired and make “Traveller” the perfect album to listen to while fighting back a seemingly unstoppable supremacy of Voids invaders in a war-torn galaxy ablaze with alien terror and extraterrestrial assaults.

Jean-Michel Jarre “Oxygene Part One”
(from the album “Oxygene” released in 1977)

Legendary French composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre’s instrumental album “Oxygene” is not science fiction-related per se, but included in this list nevertheless, as the broad, atmospheric compositions convey a perfect feeling of cruising through the endless nothingness of space, where the next planet or space station is still far out of reach and light years ahead. While the fast paced, hard rockin’ tunes mentioned before are good examples of kick-ass music to listen to during hazardous dog fights and space battles, Jean-Michel Jarre’s vast soundscapes are the perfect soundtrack for your next journey to the furthest outskirts of the known galaxy.

Pink Floyd “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”
(from the album “A Saucerful Of Secrets” released in 1968)

“Witness the man who raves at the wall,
Making the shape of his questions to heaven,
Whether the sun will fall in the evening,
Will he remember the lesson of giving?”

“Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” has first been released on “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, the second studio album of the British psychedelic/art rock masters Pink Floyd, and, just like Jean-Michel Jarre’s “Oxygene”, it marks another marvellous piece of music to listen to while exploring the vastness of known space… just make sure you don’t close your eyes and dive into the hypnotic soundscape too deeply when you listen to this track or you might awake in shock when your driverless vessel all of a sudden crashes into an asteroid…

Hawkwind “Master of the Universe”
(from the album “In Search Of Space” released in 1971)

“I am the centre of this universe,
The wind of time is blowing through me,
And it’s all moving relative to me,
It’s all a figment of my mind,
In a world that I’ve designed,
I’m charged with cosmic energy,
Has the world gone mad or is it me?”

Of course, such a list wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of at least one song by the undisputed masters of space rock, Hawkwind. This truly epic tune makes you want to kick the pedal to the metal and blaze from star system to star system with full throttle! If Keith had a stereo installed in his space ship’s cockpit, I’m sure this is what he’d listen to while activating his Khador drive and setting course for the Unknown!

David Bowie “Space Oddity”
(from the album “same” released in 1969)

“Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles,
I’m feeling very still,
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go…”

Yeah, you got me! David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is a more than obvious choice to conclude a list like this, but who cares!? This is most likely the most popular and iconic science fiction-themed song of all time and a track that every space pilot out there should blast through his speakers whenever he sets out on another long and cumbersome trek to distant worlds and foreign stars…

Well guys, that’s it… my personal little sci-fi playlist! Thanks to all of you who helped me come up with cool titles on Facebook! As honourable mentions, I’d also like to include a number of other tracks you mentioned, such as “Spaceship Landing” von Kyuss, “144,000 Gone” von Agent Steel, “Beyond The Black Hole” von Gamma Ray, “Universal Migrator” von Ayreon, “Abductors” von Judas Priest, “The Tenth Dimension” von Blaze, “Sunshine (Adagio In D Minor)” von John Murphy, “Starman’s Son” von White Wizzard und “Derezzed” von Daft Punk, just to name a few. As always, I’m sure that there’s a million other songs that could have gotten a mention here as well, so don’t be shy and post your personal faves in the comment section!

by Tobias Piwek