The Top 10 Dystopian Songs

Arguably, some of the greatest hits of all time have been created with dystopian themes. It’s probably why they strike a proverbial chord with their audiences. From Prince to Good Charlotte, Imagine Dragons and Bright Eyes, here are a select few I listen to when constructing a scene in one of my books.

  1. Eve of Destruction, Barry McGuire.

The lyrics are bare, the music is raw. One of the biggest dystopian tunes to hit the radio, this protest song invaded our homes in the mid-sixties as a reminder of the things we risk losing. Despite multiple recordings reproducing the war warning, and McGuire’s reluctance to perform the song after he became a born again Christian, the original chart topper still leaves a Dystopian taste in the mouth.

So tell me, are we on the eve of destruction?

     2. Radioactive, Imagine Dragons.

Radioactive’s meaning has been debated since its public release. Both lyrics and clip present a picture of puppets and elites pulling their strings. Staring Lou Diamond Phillips, the clip is one of the more intriguing early 21st century music videos to be released. With 999 million hits on Vevo, the song suggests a place for revolution in our society, reminding us as McGuire does to correct the injustices and pay attention to the inequities of what we call Western civilisation.

  1. Silent Lucity, Queensrÿche

Queensrÿche has bucked the music industry for years. With one of their more popular Empire album hits, Silent Lucidity took on a life of its own as the band touched on more socially conscious issues with their lyrics.

  1. Forever Young, Youth Group

A few versions of this song have been released over the years, but Youth Group’s haunting production brings the story alive. Lyrics like “Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Are you gonna drop the bomb or not,” places humanity’s survival on our leaders shoulders, reflecting on the era of its conception and original release: The not-so-Cold War.

  1. Old Soul Song (For The New World Order), Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes’ incredibly potent song reminds us of our eroding freedoms and truth. From the “old song on the clock radio” to “the barricades” keeping us off the street, the all too poignant lyrics highlight today’s censored world. Bright Eyes’ NWO song has a dystopian warning to it that we’d all do well to remember.

  1. Room of Angel, Akira Yamaoka

The Silent Hill 4 soundtrack’s haunting voice with dark undertones present a piano leaving you wanting for more despite your heart weighing heavily for the things missing in your life.

  1. Another Brick In The Wall, Pink FloydFor any fan of music, this choice from Pink Floyd comes as no surprise. After all, are we all not just “another brick in the wall?”
  1. The River, Good Charlotte


Be it a religious song or one reflecting on the disintegrating morals of society, the listener can’t help but hear the typical angst coming from the singer. The River reflects on society’s promise of beauty and riches delivering on the bare minimum. Will our children return to us unscathed, is the question. Madden’s follow-up song years later, a self-confessed sequel to The River, is equally dark with its confronting biblical tones. City of Sin’s “There’s fires always burning, there’s war out on the street, in the house off evil she told me I could sleep…” reflects on the changing ethos in society today. Judge for yourself.

  1. Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N’ Roses

Is it about drugs or is it about war? With the repetitive theme of money, greed and suffering, does it really matter? Either way, the Gunner’s hit nailed the dystopian darkness that lurks beneath the city.

  1. 1999, Prince

I know. Like me you’ve probably been bopping around to this song in your underwear, singing into a hairbrush since the song’s conception . . . ugh, bad image. But have you ever given some thought to Prince’s party lyrics? They’re quite the dire warning.

“Party like it’s 1999” folks, because according to this song, we’re all outta time . . .

This article is a free and open source. You have permission to republish (The Top 10 Dystopian Songs) under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Aral Bereux and



    1. These are a handful of my favs. It seems to me the very nature of dystopia in music is becoming more prevalent. A sign of the times perhaps, as our nature forces us to reflect?


Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s