Galactic Cowboys are an American heavy metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combine progressive metal with a vocal style influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax. They have been described as "possibly the most melodic metal band ever to exist in Christian or general markets." Although the band members are Christians, they did not consider Galactic Cowboys to be a Christian band. The band has toured with prominent hard rock and metal acts such as Anthrax, Dream Theater, King's X and Overkill. Despite their general lack of commercial success, the band garnered a cult following throughout its existence.

Galactic Cowboys first gained attention through their association with producer/manager Sam Taylor and tours with King's X, and were subsequently offered a major label record contract by DGC Records. Despite being warmly received, the band's debut album, Galactic Cowboys (1991), was overshadowed by the surprise success of Nirvana's Nevermind shortly after its release; this resulted in DGC promotionally neglecting the album, which subsequently undersold expectations. Following the release of the band's similarly unsuccessful follow-up album Space In Your Face (1993), DGC dropped the band from the label. The album is beloved by fans and features soaring three part harmonies accompanied by heavy Metallica-esque guitars. The band subsequently went on a hiatus, and briefly disbanded in June 1995 before reforming two weeks later after being offered a record deal by Metal Blade Records.

After signing to Metal Blade, Galactic Cowboys began transitioning towards a simpler heavy metal/alternative metal sound, starting with Machine Fish (1996); the band would issue three more albums before breaking up two months prior to the release of the band's sixth studio album, Let It Go, in 2000. Following a number of reunion shows in 2009 and 2013, Galactic Cowboys was reformed in 2016 with the original line-up, and released their first studio album in seventeen years, Long Way Back to the Moon, in 2017 through Mascot Records.