List of dystopian music

Artists

The following lists musical artists whose discography prominently features dystopian themes.

• Rock band Big Black with their stark portrayals of the underside of American culture. ^[1]

Albums

The following lists albums that prominently feature dystopian themes.

• 2112, an album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1976. The title track is about a man living in a dystopian society. ^[1]
• The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe. ^[1]
• Diamond Dogs an album by David Bowie is loosely based on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four especially the songs "Future Legend", "We Are The Dead", "1984" and "Big Brother". ^[1]
• Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030 (Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala), is a hip hop album about a future world of battle raps with aliens, government oppression, and space travel. ^[1]
• Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome by Parliament. ^[2]
• In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson. ^[2]
• Joe's Garage , a dystopian concept album by Frank Zappa, set in a world where music is illegal and crimes are punished preemptively. ^[1]
• Kid A by Radiohead. ^[1]
• The Protomen and its prequel Act II: The Father of Death and sequel Act III: This City Made Us by band The Protomen. ^[3]
• Replicas by Gary Numan. ^[2]
• Year Zero (2007) by Nine Inch Nails is a concept album with a strong dystopian theme and an accompanying alternate reality game. ^[1]
• The Body, The Blood, The Machine , an album by The Thermals. ^[1]

Songs

• "1999" by Prince. ^[4]
• "Idioteque" by Radiohead. ^[4]
• "In the year 2525" by Zager and Evans.
• "Karn Evil 9" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. ^[5]
• "The Apocalypse Song" by St. Vincent. ^[4]
• "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan. ^[4]
• "Testify" by Rage Against the Machine. ^[4]

References

1. "10 Essential Dystopian Albums". Treble. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
2. Denney, Alex (18 April 2014). "Disco dystopia: what are the best apocalyptic albums?". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
3. "SFE: Protomen, The". SFE. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
4. Barker, Emily (22 April 2015). "40 Bone-Chilling Tracks That Predict A Dark Dystopian Future". NME. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
5. "Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Karn Evil 9' is being turned into sci-fi movie". planetradio.co.uk. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2023.