Outer space offers a major source of inspiration in the world of heavy metal. Whether it’s through unfamiliar worlds, cosmic horror, or simply adventure, the vast, expansive darkness lends itself quite well to the genre. Bands like Blood Incantation, Gloryhammer, and Devin Townsend have all leaned into the theme and utilized its extensive freedom in 2026.
Outer Space and Its Connection to Heavy Metal
For death metal bands like Blood Incantation, space forms the foundation of the band’s theme. Absolute Everywhere and Hidden History of the Human Race deal with fictional monoliths and space travel, which are all inspired by epics like 2001: A Space Odyssey. They continued this theme with their latest album, All Gates Open, which was released in 2026.
Devin Townsend takes a more casual route with Ziltoid the Omniscient. This album is based around an alien character and combines theatrical storytelling and metal. His latest album takes a different approach. The Moth, which came out in May 2026, is based on transformation and self-acceptance. Even though it explores different themes from his previous work, Ziltoid the Omniscient is still a core part of his discography, and the tracks are fan favourites live.
Gloryhammer explores space with power metal. Their latest release, Space 1993: Wrath of Kor-Virliath, continues the story of Angus McFife as he makes his journey across space to find out what his destiny is while bringing evil powers to their knees. Examples like this show how prominent space is in heavy metal, whether it’s death metal acts like Blood Incantation, progressive artists like Devin Townsend, or power metal acts like Gloryhammer.
Even black metal bands are exploring the idea of space. Gaerea’s latest album, Loss, has a track called Stardust. As the longest song on the album, the track uses space themes to correlate the vast expanse of the universe with human emotions.
Modern Media is Putting a Spotlight on Space
The fact that there is still so much that we don’t know about outer space means there’s a lot of room for creativity. Space is also experiencing a moment in modern media. Planetary Radio is a weekly podcast that features scientists, engineers, and astronauts. Films like The Martian follow astronauts as they try to survive after being left behind. Project Hail Mary follows a science teacher who wakes up on a spacecraft and has to find out how to save the dying sun.
The same fascination with space can be seen in iGaming. Space Invaders might date back to 1978, and since its release, a Slingo casino game has been created. Slingo Space Invaders adopts the same familiar imagery but combines it with slots and bingo.
Examples like this show how far-reaching the theme of space is, and in the world of heavy metal, it lends itself well to numerous genres. Bands in heavy metal all show that there is no single way to use space as a theme, and that there’s plenty of room to explore each idea across different genres.
