Orbit Culture (SE)

About

Orbit Culture have been quietly building one of the most compelling catalogs in modern melodic death metal since forming in Eksjö, Sweden in 2013. The four piece, led by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Niklas Karlsson, blends groove metal muscle with melodic death metal atmosphere in a way that hits hard without losing nuance. Their 2016 song "Sun of All" cracked a million YouTube views and gave them real momentum in the underground metal world, and the 2018 EP Redfog kept that going, with all three of its singles racking up over a million streams each. Their 2020 album Nija, which Karlsson described as "a fist on your skull," drew inspiration from Metallica, Gojira and Behemoth, and earned strong reviews across the board. Their 2023 album Descent pushed things into darker, more ambitious territory, with praise from Revolver and Metal Hammer among others. The band followed it up almost immediately with the three song EP The Forgotten, which included tracks left off Descent plus "While We Serve," written on the road during a tour with Avatar. It was meant as a direct thank you to their fanbase, which says a lot about how Orbit Culture operates.