NEW ALBUM DEATH ABOVE LIFE OUT VIA CENTURY MEDIA TOMORROW, OCTOBER 3
Beware of the antlers!
Sweden’s ORBIT CULTURE have released the video for “Bloodhound” ahead of tomorrow’s release of the acclaimed new album Death Above Life.
Watch the nightmarish, horror movie-influenced video, shot by their longtime partners Riivata Visuals, here.
The band comments “‘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, we honestly dont 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 child-like 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 arrives tomorrow, October 3.
“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
Death Above Life comes in various formats:
*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 – last copies
*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
Catch Orbit Culture on their “Death Above Life” UK/EU tour this fall with Gaerea and Atlas in support. The band is also playing Japan for the first time in October. More info on Orbit Culture’s upcoming shows here.
The band is already confirmed for various European summer festivals in 2026 including Leyendras Del Rock (ES), Reload Festival (DE), Rockstadt Extreme Fest (RO), Alcatraz (BE), Bloodstock (UK), Wacken Open Air (DE) and Summer Breeze (DE).
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 its 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 is a band poised. They are the sound of metal in the most modern sense.
