Beware of the antlers!
Ahead of their acclaimed and awaited new album, Death Above Life, (3rd October via Century Media), Sweden’s Orbit Culture release new single ‘Bloodhound’.
The band comment: “‘Bloodhound’ is probably the angriest song we’ve written to date. We’ve always been somewhat reluctant to use explicit language in our music – maybe out of habit, maybe out of respect, I honestly don’t know. But when that opening riff came to life, it just had this raw, primal energy that demanded something more. The song sounded furious from the start, and to match that intensity, we knew it was time to break our own rules and let the anger speak freely.
“The lyrics came together faster than almost anything we’ve done before. It was like this outburst – a childlike hammering of aggression onto the page. Usually, we try to keep ourselves in check, to polish things a bit. But this track is the 1% of the time where we didn’t. Where we couldn’t.
“‘Bloodhound’ is about anger – at people, at situations, at an industry that often exploits the very people trying to make it within it. It’s about the cycle of revenge, the moments of acceptance, and then the anger flaring up again because nothing really changes. This song is about reclaiming your voice, your power, your worth. It’s about calling out the bloodsuckers, the manipulators — and making sure they don’t get to take from you anymore.”
Death Above Life is finally out tomorrow, 3rd October 2025. “The album represents change, a new beginning,” says guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Niklas Karlsson. “It brings up a lot of good and bad emotions but it’s a big change for the better. It feels like a rebirth.”
International media feedback has been nothing short of glowing, following selected quotes:
“With an album as strong as this, Orbit Culture really should now be considered as legitimate contenders for heavy music’s next big breakthrough band for fans of modern, but classically inspired, metal, much like Lamb Of God and Machine Head have been in the past.” – Metal Hammer UK
Album of the month! “Orbit Culture have grown from an insider tip to the next big thing in just a few years, and Death Above Life is just the next logical step to success. That aside, it’s also a damn good record. Melodies, heaviness, sophisticated songwriting – simply seductive.” – Metal Hammer DE
“Bigger, heavier, more ambitious: Orbit Culture bulk up and make a bid for greatness on fifth album.” – Kerrang!
“The new songs are even darker, harder and more visually powerful, creating a truly oppressive atmosphere with their heavy industrial grooves, cool modern thrash and subtle death metal harmonies with a Gothenburg influence. Orbit Culture offer innovative, contemporary metal that has a breathtakingly high standard.” – Rock Hard DE
Purchase Death Above Life here: https://orbitcultureband.lnk.to/DeathAboveLife-Album
Celebrating the release of Death Above Life, Orbit Culture will be meeting fans to sign copies of the album at HMV Vault, Birmingham on 3rd October at 5pm. Click here to reserve for space and for information: https://hmv.com/Live/Orbit-Culture
Orbit Culture have already released three songs and videos taken from Death Above Life, Hydra, the album title track, ‘The Tales of War‘ and ‘Nerve‘.
Following their triumphant main stage set at Download Festival, Orbit Culture return to the UK this November on the Death Above Life tour. Catch them on the following dates, with Gaerea and Atlas in support:
08 Nov: Damnation Festival, Manchester
10 Nov: NX, Newcastle
11 Nov: SWG3, Glasgow
12 Nov: Stylus, Leeds
14 Nov: KK’s Steel Mill Wolverhampton
15 Nov: Electric, Bristol
16 Nov: Electric Ballroom, London
Hailing from the small town of Eksjö, Sweden (located between the revered metal cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm), the quartet (guitarist and vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt) have grown into a global force, melding together riffs that are equal parts thrash, death metal and industrial with arresting hooks and a layered atmosphere that invites comparison to Gojira, Metallica and Static-X while carving out something that is uniquely their own.
Orbit Culture‘s 2023 album Descent and their subsequent EP release The Forgotten topped many year-end lists in 2023, including Metal Hammer who described the album as: “a formidable entwining of modern metal’s most effective and exciting strands into an impressive milestone.” Exhaustive worldwide touring and a steady stream of crowd-pummeling festival slots across the globe, have set the stage for something much larger.
Orbit Culture are a band poised. They are the sound of metal in the most modern sense.
Track list:
1. Inferna
2. Bloodhound
3. Inside The Waves
4. The Tales Of War
5. Hydra
6. Nerve
7. Death Above Life
8. The Storm
9. Neural Collapse
10. The Path I Walk
Death Above Life comes in various formats and is up for pre-order:
Ltd. CD Digipak
Gatefold black 2LP
Ltd. Gatefold greenish ReVinyl 2LP (600x) via cmdistro.de & selected Indie retailers, Orbit Culture & MerchCare
Ltd. Gatefold transp. red 2LP (500x) via Levykuappa Äx (FIN), HMV (UK) & in France
Ltd. Gatefold neon yellow-black marbled 2LP (500x) via EMP
Ltd. Gatefold Sparkle Starlight 2LP (500x) via Orbit Culture & MerchCare SOLD OUT
Ltd. Gatefold transp. light blue-black marbled 2LP (500x) via Orbit Culture live on EU tour
Gatefold fruit punch 2LP (US version)
Ltd. Gatefold transp. coke bottle green 2LP (US version) (1000x) via all US Indie retailers
Ltd. Gatefold white 2LP (US version) (300x) via Revolver Magazine
Ltd. Gatefold metallic golden 2LP (US version) (500x) via centurymedia.store, Orbit Culture & Night Shift Merch
Ltd. Gatefold black-grey marble 2LP (US version) (500x) via Orbit Culture & Night Shift Merch
Standard CD Jewelcase (Japan)
Digital Album
Orbit Culture are:
Niklas Karlsson – guitar / vocals
Richard Hansson – guitar
Fredrik Lennartsson – bass
Christopher Wallerstedt – drums
Orbit Culture online:
https://www.orbitculture.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OrbitCulture/
https://www.instagram.com/orbitculture
twitter.com/orbitculture
https://www.youtube.com/user/OrbitCultureOfficial
https://www.tiktok.com/@orbitcultureofficial
