2000 marked a pivotal year for the rise of nu metal. While the genre had already exploded by the mid-to-late nineties, the turn of the millennium felt like its mecca, when bands like Slipknot, Linkin Park, Deftones, KoRn, Disturbed, and System of a Down (to name a few), were breaking through the spotlight, in a significant turning point for heavy music. Slipknot’s 1999 self-titled debut, in particular, redefined aggression with its chaotic sound and live theatrics in orange jumpsuits, winning over even those who dismissed the nu metal subgenre.
Fast-forward twenty-five years, and Sweden’s Orbit Culture are channeling a similar energy. With over a decade behind them, their fifth album feels like a turning point, a rebirth, capturing a similar excitement of hearing something fresh and unpredictable. Orbit Culture blend elements of nu metal, melodic death metal, and cinematic soundscapes into a style that feels fresh and invigorating. Signed now to Century Media Records, they’ve embraced full creative freedom, resulting in a solid album, Death Above Life. Here’s our deep dive into Death Above Life, with an album review and interview with Orbit Culture’s Niklas Karlsson.
Album Review: Orbit Culture – Death Above Life
Orbit Culture have more than proven themselves, led to their signing with Century Media. With their new album Death Above Life, the question is whether they can maintain that momentum. The answer is a resounding yes, and then some. As the follow-up to 2023’s Descent, the record pushes new boundaries, and it doesn’t disappoint. Death Above Life is a true game-changer, both for their career and musical evolution.
The album opens with “Inferna,” a furious and intricate piece that sets the tone from the start. Its pristine production and cinematic elements establish the balance between brutality and atmosphere that Orbit Culture tend to utilize. From there, “Bloodhound” gives a brutal nod to Slipknot’s influence, looking forward to seeing mosh pits erupt when performed live. Continuing to change styles, “Inside the Waves” favors melody and cinematic enhancements over raw aggression, showing just how versatile the band can be.
That blend of heaviness and cinematic approach continues with “The Tales of War,” which highlights film-score vibes mixed with mosh-ready riffs. Meanwhile, “Hydra” and “Nerve” bring the band’s rhythm section to the forefront while merging an industrial edge with Swedish-style growls. Both tracks keep the ongoing engagement of the record, while revealing how Orbit Culture isn’t afraid to experiment, avoiding the use of any dull, repetitive, or filler tracks.
The title track, “Death Above Life,” is where Orbit Culture’s creativity continues to flourish, keeping you on your toes. Built like a horror score, it creeps with unease before erupting into monstrous intensity, giving a glimpse of Slipknot’s “Tattered & Torn” vibes while pushing their own boundaries with explorative electronics. As the album enters its final stretch, “The Storm,” a personal favorite, moves as an anthemic, chant-driven piece with layers of chaotic breakdowns. It adds surprising elements of melodic death and viking metal, all at once.
“Neural Collapse” ensures the energy remains with its ferocious riffs and breakdowns. Finally, “The Path I Walk” is the perfect fit for the final track, swapping relentless heaviness for acoustic textures and Corey Taylor-like vocals. Poetic and haunting, it’s a dynamic finale that elevates the record beyond expectation, proving Orbit Culture’s ability to shift gears without losing quality.
Death Above Life delivers ten solid tracks, clocking in just under an hour at 53 minutes. The record exceeds expectations, and as their first with Century Media, the support behind it proves that nothing is stopping them now. They’ve reignited that same energy and feedback we heard twenty-five years ago with the rise of bands like Slipknot and Linkin Park. There’s no reason Orbit Culture can’t reach that level of success, or even surpass it, in the next decade. Death Above Life is truly a rebirth for the band, a bright new beginning.
Metal Insider’s Interview with Niklas Karlsson
Swedish heavy-hitters Orbit Culture are stepping into a new chapter with Death Above Life, their Century Media debut and most ambitious record to date. We spoke with vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter NiklasKarlsson about the album and how Orbit Culture continues to expand beyond their expectations.
Death Above Life is described as a rebirth. What does this new beginning mean for you as a band?
It means everything. No, but the big rebirth thing comes out from releasing it on Century Media and have a great tour coming up too. Everything just feels so much bigger these days and way more responsibility. I think releasing through a major label now, I’ve already noticed the difference. And yeah, it feels like a rebirth for us.
You guys are definitely taking up a lot of steam happening. And how has creatively, working with Century Media shaped the new record compared to your previous albums?
Nothing really. That was one of the reasons why we signed with Century was due to the fact that they allowed us to still maintain complete creative freedom. When we were free agents there for a while, among the other labels that came up to us and wanted to sign us, didn’t push for that, while Century Media really allowed us to do what we wanted basically with good support and a good budget for sure.
“Bloodhound” was partly inspired by touring with Slipknot. What about that experience influenced you to write that track?
I think it’s also definitely one of the wild cards. When it comes to this album and why it’s in there, we have always written lyrics in all these larger than life metaphors and stuff. But for this song, we thought it would be just, you don’t have to overthink so much. We can just put down on paper what we wanted. And even though there’s a lot of profanity and stuff in there, we didn’t give it a second thought. This is what we felt at the time doing that song. And that was in the time and period when we were out with Slipknot and some time post the Slipknot shows. So, I think that song just happened to come out of that and we learned, yeah, it’s okay to write that kind of lyrics sometimes if it feels right.
For the album, do you feel that there’s a specific track that showcases the band’s evolution the most?
I mean, there’s definitely like the spine of Orbit Culture in there, but we branched out a bit on songs like The Storm and Bloodhound, The Path I Walk, and stuff like that. But I think getting a song like The Path I Walk, which doesn’t have a distorted electric guitar in there, was the first for us. That was something that we didn’t think we could pull off at first. But the more the song came to be, everything just made sense. And I think that song showcases that we can do that stuff, too.
What I really liked about this was that you guys have a lot of inspiration, more so than just from metal. You also have film composers like Hans Zimmer. And how did that shape this album, as well?
Yeah, I think that’s because we played so much these last couple of years now, and we’ve been around metal for so much every day basically. So, I think we wanted to stray away, not from metal, but consuming metal changed us.
Since we are in it all the time, we tend to listen more to movie soundtracks and stuff these days. And the stuff that you listen to, you tend to draw inspiration from. And when Hans Zimmer and Denis came out with the Dune movies, that was the first time I was very inspired by a movie in a sense. And the soundscapes were so incredibly well done. So, that’s where I just drew inspiration from.
And the cinematic stuff has always been kind of a fifth element in our songs. But on this album, it’s not like a lead-driven kind of thing that we do. It’s more like it sits in the atmosphere of the songs. And that’s how we want to keep it basically. But I am so much for including cinematic stuff into our music these days because I listen to it a lot.
No, it is great. It just adds diversity. And from opening up for Slipknot and now the new album, new label, big future ahead. What song are you most excited about to play live from the album?
I think it definitely has to be Bloodhound. But I think it’s going to open up a lot of great mosh pits and stuff. I hope so, at least. Then it’s going to be fun to play Hydra and stuff, which is a bit slower. But it’s a challenge to play and sing at the same time. But that’s what I enjoy. Trying to get better every day at it but yeah, Hydra and Bloodhound, right, right off the bat for sure.
Nice. And you guys always had this do-it-yourself approach. And what is one lesson you learned from the early days from the do-it-yourself mentality that you can still apply today?
I think both negative and positive is that we are in the mix of everything, whether it’s obviously making the music but also some of the managing stuff. We have a very hard time letting anything go, basically. So, we are like a fly on the corner all the time, which is both a blessing and a curse I would say, because sometimes you deal with a lot of trust issues but I think it’s also good that you don’t let away anything that you’re not comfortable letting away. Yeah, we are very protective about the Orbit Culture, I would say. That’s a good thing.
No, that is. And then finding Century Media to support your creative freedom is also a blessing.
Definitely.
You’re going to have a lot more tours coming up and everything’s growing. But within this circle, what other current bands do you feel most connected with musically or personally?
I still barely listen to metal, but when I do, I think it started when we were trying to find the right support bands for our tour that’s coming up. And without selling any of the tour, I have to admit that what Gaerea are doing now is incredible. I’ve never been such a huge fan of black metal, but this is something that’s beyond black metal for me, Gaerea music. So, that’s cool.
And also what the other support band, Atlas from Finland, is doing. I’ve heard their unreleased album and it’s fucking amazing. And I am definitely sure it will be the talk of the town in a few years. Or maybe they have to release it first, but that’s what I’m rooting for. They’ve done something completely unique. And I think the best saying that I have about it is that they mixed Hymn, the Finnish band, with the darkest metal that you could, like Humanity’s Last Breath, like fused together. And that’s fucking so cool and original. So yeah, without selling the tour and those bands too much, it’s the honest truth.
Yeah, I completely understand. Because I mean, everything from creating the album to finding support bands for the tour, you probably just need to rest your ears with something else, so I get it.
Yeah.
Now, if Orbit Culture could be a soundtrack for a movie, what kind of film would it be?
I think if you look outside towards Orbit Culture, because I would say the majority of people say maybe like a Viking movie, maybe some horror movie with some Nordic elements in it, I guess. But for me, my goal has always been to chase the soundtrack for a Saw movie. That would be great. I know bands have done it in the past, like Static Eggs and stuff, so that would be a dream come true. So, they have to make more Saw movies.
This is an interesting, fun question, as well. Which member of Orbit Culture would survive the longest in the desert where you filmed Hydra?
That’s a good one. I think Christopher, our drummer, actually. He uses his body a lot. He is relentless when it comes to using his body. That works great for being a drummer, but I think in a survival situation, he would be the guy for sure.
My last question for you is just, is there anything else that you want to say or add for fans to know about the new album?
I just hope that they will enjoy it and hopefully they listen to it from track one to the last track in one go as it’s supposed to do. Yeah, I just hope that people enjoy it, as much as we had making it. Yeah, it’s only the beginning of something really fucking cool for sure.
Awesome. I mean, I’m very happy of how much you guys have expanded over the last few years. And you have such a bright future ahead and I hope that everybody enjoys the album as well.
The new Orbit Culture album, Death Above Life, is now available via Century Media Records. Order here.
Feature Image Photo Credit: Niklas Karlsson
