Orbit Culture

Unexpectance – Solus Ipse

Unexpectance – Solus Ipse

“Spanish metalcore/melodeath quintet Unexpectance lived up to their name when I encountered them for the first time in 2022, boasting a remarkably meaty and riff-packed assault on their sophomore effort Vortex. After recruiting a new drummer, a new vocalist, and a new lead guitarist, their upcoming salvo Solus Ipse threatens to sound quite a bit different, despite tapping similar Dante-centric philosophical wells for its theme. This potential shift didn’t hamper my interest, however, as their chunky, groovy songwriting held up quite well over time.” No one expects the unexpectance.

Orbit Culture – Death Above Life Review

Orbit Culture – Death Above Life Review

Orbit Culture is a stellar band, so 2023’s Descent should have been an AOTY contender. An all-killer, no-filler blend of melodeath and thrash with a dark industrial edge sounds like a hodge-podge in the worst ways, but the Swedes have made it their brand with a fluidity that has defined them from the beginning. In this way, the quartet showed their songwriting prowess, with tracks like “Black Mountain” and “The Aisle of Fire” leading the charge in the death/thrash riffage that we’ve all come to know and love. But while the claustrophobic mix provided 2020’s Nija a bloodthirsty darkness, it made Descent impenetrable in its compressed muck – sinking it from formidable to forgettable.” From orbit to stuck in the mud.

Lightchapter – Where All Hope Begins Review

Lightchapter – Where All Hope Begins Review

“Death metal generally dabbles in the dark, the grisly, the violent, and the brutal. With the aid of ’80s-style synths, Lightchapter plays a version with a lighter, more hopeful touch. The aptly-named Where All Hope Begins marks album number two for this quartet out of Denmark. The band’s mission is to merge “despair and hope” and also “pain and joy” through not only their sound but their lyrics. Even on a blog that celebrates the angry and still makes fun of the brief Happy Metal Guy stint, I imagine something that infuses joy and lightness would find a welcoming audience.” Joy in the metalverse??

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

“Sweden’s Orbit Culture became a poster child for extreme metal with their 2020 full-length, the formidable Nija. While undeniably heavy in neck-snapping thrash grooves, ferocious roars, and an unforgiving edge of industrial atmospherics, the band showed its roots in the lush forests of melodic death metal. Soaring clean choruses and earworm melodies assemble in the darkness with an often unmatched colossal quality, creating a sound both catchy and devastating. Orbit Culture became the “it” band, not forsaking any of their uniqueness. After 2021’s solid EP Shaman, we are met with 2023’s Descent.” Culture rot.