Alien: Earth is causing a major stir in horror and sci-fi circles right now – and with good reason. The Alien prequel series, which launched last week on Hulu in the US and via Disney+ in the UK and Ireland, has received widespread critical acclaim for producing a story and accompanying characters that feel true to the franchise’s origins, while offering some fresh ideas and surprising twists.
One big surprise has been the series’ soundtrack. While Alien: Earth‘s score, composed by Jeff Russo, offers the kind of drama, tension and otherworldly eeriness you’d expect from an Alien property, the show has also thrown out some delightfully left-field needle drops – including a clutch of metal classics.
Some soundtrack spoilers for Alien: Earth are about to follow, but we won’t spoil anything from the plot, promise.
The end of episode one, Neverland, sees one group of characters about to attempt a rescue mission of sorts, with a beautifully timed drop of Dio-era Black Sabbath classic The Mob Rules sending the ep into its end credits.
It’s a startling change of pace for the Alien franchise as a whole, and it’s not a one-off: the end of episode two, Mr. October, is soundtracked by hallmark Tool anthem Stinkfist, while episode three, Metamorphosis, is played off by a blast of Metallica’s Black Album cut, Wherever I May Roam.
Yep, it’s official: Alien: Earth is for the metalheads – and a recent interview with showrunner Noah Hawley explains why.
“I didn’t go into the filming planning to do that, but as I got into the editorial process, each episode kind of ends on a cliffhanger,” the director tells Decider. “What I’m looking for is to make an arena show, right? It’s something that feels bigger than a small theater. It’s an arena show. And so, you know, I started to put these songs in at the end, these big classic metal or hard rock songs.
“You don’t see a lot of Tool on soundtracks,” he adds, mentioning that he is a “big fan” of Stinkfist before teasing another big, heavy band that’ll be getting a needle drop in the show soon: “there’s a Queens of the Stone Age track in there later on. That’s really great.
“I’m just trying to create a big feeling in the audience as the episodes end and you realise that you have to wait another week to see it,” Hawley says, “but it’s a celebration of what you’ve watched before and throwing you into the future.”
So there you have it. With five more episodes of Alien: Earth to go, we’re already excited to see what other metal bangers get a play before the show wraps up.
Alien: Earth is available to watch on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland and Hulu in the US. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
