Alien Earth has so far been one of my favorite new series of the year. For the uninitiated, it’s the critically acclaimed FX sci-fi thriller series streaming on Disney+ and Hulu that, for fans of the Alien universe of films, situates itself in the timeline between the later prequel films and 1979’s original Alien.
I loved every episode of the show, which takes place on Earth, circa 2120, after a huge transport vessel from deep space crashes, with its cargo of weird, deadly alien specimens being fought over by the world’s ruling elite. Of course, the deadliest of the specimens is the Alien franchise’s savage Xenomorph that’s hunting and killing everyone in its path. The show’s moral compass is Wendy (Sydney Chandler), an experimental synthetic-human hybrid who bonds with the Xenomorph as they’re both being used for the nefarious purposes of others.
The show’s gorgeous cinematic scale makes each of its eight episodes feel like a mini-movie worthy of the Alien ethos. The show’s action and stalking tension has you on the edge of your seat right until the end credits roll … which is when then they hit you with some Black Sabbath. Then some Tool. And some Metallica.
Yeah, as good as Alien: Earth is, I found myself getting just as excited for the end-credits music, which, as it turns out, is a killer playlist of alt-rock and metal bangers from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s that had me pumping my fist in the air. “I mean, classic film, classic rock, right?” the show’s creator Noah Hawley told Decider, stating that the music was used to amplify each episode’s emotion. Well, it worked.
As a board-certified Gen-Xer raised on metal and grunge, I salute Alien Earth with this list of those end-credit songs and how they fit into each episode.
Some of the descriptions below may contain minor spoilers for the first season of Alien: Earth. For maximum enjoyment, hit play on the YouTube videos before reading each write-up.
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Episode 1: The Mob Rules by Black Sabbath
Tony Iommi’s scathing guitar riff rips into the end of Alien Earth‘s first episode, Neverland, as Wendy begins her journey of going against the grain. Even though The Mob Rules isn’t from Ozzy Osbourne’s (R.I.P.) classic era of Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio’s voice had a substantial impact on the band, and this track is one of the best examples of that. From the 1981 album Mob Rules, it’s a thick, sludgy metal track that sets the tone for the rest of the series.
I remember seeing TOOL at Lollapalooza in Toronto in 1993. They were on a small side stage, but their pounding, aggressive brand of dark progressive metal drew a huge number of gawkers from the mainstage to watch frontman Maynard James Keenan stalk the crowd, much like Alien: Earth‘s Xenomorph. Stinkfist, from the band’s 1996 sophomore album Ænima, crashes in at the end of episode two, quite literally as the Xenomorph makes a surprise appearance and all hell breaks loose.
Full disclosure, I’m not a big Metallica fan, but even I have to admit that Wherever I May Roam‘s haunting electric sitar intro riff, blended into the final scene in episode three as Wendy lies twitching on the floor, fits perfectly with the episode’s themes of rediscovery and sense of wandering. Of course, once the credits roll, it’s time for metal horns and headbanging (kudos to Hawley and the editors for finding a way to make us want to watch the credits). The track is from Metallica’s 1991 self-titled masterpiece, known as the Black Album.
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Episode 4: Ocean Size by Jane’s Addiction
From Jane’s Addiction’s seminal 1988 debut Nothing’s Shocking, which also features the band’s first major hit Jane Says, Ocean Size is one of the L.A. alternative band’s most atmospheric tracks, layered with frontman Perry Farrell’s trademark reverb-drenched vocals. Ferrell’s moaning opens the song’s swelling intro, moments after Wendy meets and has a connection with the baby Xenomorph for the first time.
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Episode 5: Cherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins
Episode five of Alien: Earth, titled In Space, No One…, is one of the show’s best. It’s a flashback mini Alien movie that chronicles the events of the final days of the starship USCSS Maginot’s journey, up to its crash-landing on Earth. The episode ends with the show’s main antagonist, the synthetic called Morrow, as he is given the go-ahead from his corporate overlord to take back what is hers (the alien specimens). “Who wants honey / as long as there’s some money?” is one of Cherub Rock‘s most poignant lyrics to this moment. The song, from The Smashing Pumpkins’ epic 1993 album Siamese Dream, turns the intensity up with its wall of fuzz guitars and pounding drums of Jimmy Chamberlain, as Morrow contemplates his task.
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Episode 6: Keep Away by Godsmack
I always thought Godsmack was just a ripoff of Alice in Chains, but even so, Keep Away, from the Massachusetts band’s 1998 self-titled debut, undeniably crushes. Its growling guitar tones are sludgy, messy, and, dare I say gooey, just like the white slop oozing from the skull of one of the other weird alien specimens’ victims just moments before the credits roll.
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Episode 7: Song for the Dead by Queens of the Stone Age
One of my all-time favorite Queens of the Stone Age songs, Song for the Dead, from their 2002 breakthrough album Songs for the Deaf, has one of the most intense guitar and drum intros of all time. Dave Grohl, taking a break from Foo Fighters, played drums on the record, and combined with Josh Homme’s filthy riff, its opening just screams “something really serious is about to happen.” In this, the penultimate episode entitled Emergence, chaos breaks out, people die, alliances are broken, and the QOTSA shred.
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Episode 8: Animal by Pearl Jam
Noah Hawley couldn’t have picked a more fitting track for the season one finale. Animal, the driving second track from Pearl Jam’s sophomore album Vs., crashes in with perfect timing as Wendy and her synthetic brothers and sisters have turned the tables on, well, everyone. With her deadly Xenomorph pal by her side, the classic PJ song’s title leaves you with only one question in your head—which one’s the real animal?
Alien: Earth took the streaming world by storm when it debuted on Disney+ and Hulu in August this year, and currently sits with a 93% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And while word about a confirmed second season of the sci-fi thriller series has yet to surface, if we do get a season two, we can only imagine what its end-credit music selection might include. For your listening pleasure, I’ve created a Spotify playlist with all the tracks.