Orbit Culture’s “Death About Life” is the golden standard of the unapologetic brutal gloom

Сinematic. Unapologetic. Dark. It’s probably the best way to describe the new Orbit Culture album that is about to be released on the 3rd of October via Century Media Records. This album is a solemn manifestation of the band finding their own true sound that makes them stand out among all the nowadays metal scene and writing their name down in the history of metal. The decent line of metal blockbusters, started in previous albums, continues, and, for instance, “Neural Collapse” would fit perfectly well next to “North Star of Nija” and “Alienated” in your playlist without bringing any disturbance in the force. C is for consistency, except for here in “Death Above Life” it feels like the goal was to enhance all the distinctive features of Orbit Culture to the maximum and deliver the perfect golden standard with even thicker sound, even more enveloping avalanche of the haunted noises, even more rageful shreds and riffs and fiercer drum -rolls, and of course, even more smashing vocals, perfectly balanced between monster growls and clean passages.

Lyric-wise the album is almost totally hopeless, yet with the title “Death Above Life” what did you expect? The released singles “Hydra”, “Nerve”, “The Tales Of War” and “Death Above Life” represent the album most perfectly. This album is like a monolith rhythm-driven piece of raw, dark emotions, with no complicated accents or twists, but organized in such a way that every song portrays an image in your mind, an image that hardly leaves room for any hope, yet its power and magnetism enchant you so you can’t help but let it draw you in. The album is truly the face of this record, like you have a unique chance to hear the story of the creepy creature, maybe participate in some monster gatherings, or dive into a complete, cold, sometimes forceful solitude just to figure out that this gruesome creature carries a burden and deep at a heart craves for sympathy.

In order to introduce the rest of the songs, it’s better to group them by the level of wildness. In this case, “Bloodhound”, “Neural Collapse” and “Storm” would be the top grinders of the album, blasting inhumanely. In Bloodhound we also witness how Orbit Culture have mastered the art of half-second pauses in their most smashing songs. These pauses truly enhance the effect of what may come after them. While “Storm” is a bit more predictable in terms of the rhythm, it’s definitely not a bad thing (my personal fav on the album, btw). Meanwhile, “Inside The Waves” and “Inferna” are a little more measured by tempo (but not by energy!), with the first one being more monotonous and straightforward, and the second possessing a more enveloping, volumetric, multifaceted structure. “The Path I Walk” stands alone here; it’s the song that makes me remember the album cover again, as it could really be the confession of the creature of cold and darkness that started as a quiet and gentle acoustic with a slight shamanic touch and developed into the powerful cry from the heart. A very special piece that calms down the furious pace we’ve held during the whole album and finishes the album as a story on a very sad note.

Breaking all the unspoken canons of symphony by finishing not in key major so to seak, Orbit Culture‘s “Death Above Life” makes you fully embrace the solemn beauty of the gloom blended with the might and rage of high quality metal. Unhappiness probably has never sounded so damn awesome.

Tracklist:

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