My first impression of Orbit Culture is one of complete and total incredulity. I wanted to write this review because I had never listened to a full Orbit Culture album before now. Upon the first listen I pictured myself at a festival with Orbit Culture ringing out, flooding the crowd with a sound that was made for the big festival atmosphere. Not clubs, not pubs, big fucking festivals where 10s of thousands of pulsating people would be blown away by the all-encompassing sound that Orbit Culture has carved out and crafted over a number of years.

The quartet of Swedes hailing from Eksjo, guitarist and vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt have truly honed in on their thunderous sound and take no shit attitude and it’s reflected in Death Above Life. Described by Niklas Karlsson as “an album that represents change and new beginnings, a rebirth” for Orbit Culture, for the listener and outside observer, it absolutely sounds as if they’re heading in the right direction.

Emotional, raw, a heavyweight of the Metalcore and atmospheric death metal scene. Some songs remind me of a young Slipknot, some remind me of some old school (but much heavier) Linkin Park, but all are typically Swedish in tone and texture and obviously written to be performed in front of massive crowds.

The 1st song, Inferna, sets the tone for the remainder of the 10-song album Death Above Life. I didn’t realise the vocal range Niklas has. He pours his heart and soul into this song and brings the fire to Inferna. Just the beginning the Swedish quartet would have been aiming for. Burned into my ears for eternity.

Bloodhound brings the heavy in fucking bucket loads. Drumming that would crush a small planet, guitars playing virtually unplayable riffs and supersonic vocals from Niklas make this track one that deserves multiple plays upon your first listen to this album. Unmissable.

Inside the Waves shows the diversity of Orbit Culture. “I’ll break like you” makes you remember that musicians are just people as well. We all have our own problems and issues, and musicians are no different. Songs like Inside the Waves are written to exorcise your own demons, to heal what is broken inside of you.

The Tales of War will get any mosh pit pumping or circle pit spinning like ants around a picnic. Showing all of the qualities that makes Orbit Culture a band that is ready to take the next step into magnanimous metal magnificence.

Hydra hits like a hammer, reverberating through the ground beneath us like a magnitude 9 earthquake. Blast beats, guitar solos, and a tone that’s evil and dirty. Emerging from a place of pure energy, Hydra will scratch every itch and kick down any door. A song that has it all.

Nerve is a song of broken lives, finding a way through life even when you aren’t yourself. I myself have been in a mental place where I feel as though my final nerve has been severed and I can’t find a way out, initially at least. Many things can cause this but only few things can turn your life around. Metal is my saviour. Metal is the answer to the questions that life presents to us. We make it through one test after another. We are after all, human.

The title song Death Above Life comes in at number 7. Atmospheric to start, soon bleeding into a Slipknot-esque drumbeat, heavy and grinding all the way through the track cutting deep into the psyche. Death comes for us all. We never know when or how; we just know it’s coming. Ending with the same ambience the song started with, Death Above Life is a study into our deepest fear, Death.

The Storm comes in hot with no intention of slowing down. With a typically northern sounding grind, this song hits harder than a rockslide. Heavy all the way through, a consistently sick track from Orbit Culture. I can hear the well-rounded vocal performance from Niklas smashing through every song with an effort unlike any I’ve heard in a long time. The last 2 songs are coming up and I’m damn excited for them both.

Neural Collapse explodes like a nuclear bomb in a crowded area. This song displays everything that I’m beginning to love about Orbit Culture. Fucking sick drumming, guitars thick and fast and vocals that are the shockwave from sed nuclear detonation. Heavy and made for festivals. The guitar solo mimics our coming collapse before the explosion of drums brings back the heaviness of the song, full circle from where it began. Incredible, insatiable and voracious, Neural Collapse is 6 minutes of pure brilliance.

The final song, The Path I Walk is unlike the others. Clean vocals express the pain of the song. A song sung so deeply with emotion by Niklas that it conveys perfectly the sadness of the track and the agony he feels in his heart. An anguish we have all felt at one time or another and tried to hide it away from the ones who we care so much about so that they don’t hurt as well. The Path I Walk is a path EVERY SINGLE METALHEAD out there has walked along too for various personal reasons. I fucking love this song. Sure, it’s not the heaviest instrumentally, but it is sung with the heaviest of hearts. Utterly unforgettable.

All in all, Death Above Life is an album chock full of raw emotion. It cuts like the sharpest of blades and leaves the listener yearning for more. Orbit Culture are reborn, leaving the ghosts of yesteryear behind and banishing the personal pain that haunts them to this day. They are after all just like you and I, and because of that I heard the message and felt the pain they convey in Death Above Life. A wonderful, truly exceptional album that I’m sure will echo in the minds of metalheads all around the world for eternity.

Favourite song, The Path I Walk. Raw and emotional. Also, Inferna-fucking great opening song.

Absolutely outstanding from Orbit Culture. Bravo.