By Georgia Smith
Swedish quartet Orbit Culture follows hot on the heels of their latest album Descent with this blistering new three-song EP. The EP is at its core a thanks to their die-hard fans for the unwavering support across 2023, a year that saw them not only release the bold and unrelentingly heavy album Descent, but embark on tours with metal giants such as Meshuggah and Trivium. An experimental continuation of the album, ‘The Forgotten’ EP serves as a reminder of the prowess of Orbit Culture, and a short, sharp promise that this success will follow them into 2024.
Frontman Nicklas Karlsson tears across the EP; following themes of horror, social commentary, and experimentation. The tracks on ‘The Forgotten’ were initially written and recorded for inclusion on their earlier album, until the band decided that the sprawling landscapes of these three tracks, the experimental elements and core themes were complimented better when they were allowed to stand alone. At once a continuation of ‘Descent’ and an independent offering, the EP is a triumphant display of Orbit Culture’s impressive metallic range and innovation into the genre. It explores a new ground, whilst staying close to that which fans have come to expect and revere.
Opening track ‘While We Serve’ is immediately atmospheric, employing a range of experimental tone and style. A bold, clean sound showcases the vocal skills of Karlsson, while the relentless pace and depths of the guitars create a rhythm that is shifting, almost liquid. From the start, the EP emits a sense of building power; a climbing, lofty richness to their melodies and rhythms. Orbit Culture possess a very accomplished, confident sound- and the track rises and falls from sprawling metallic choruses to tighter melodic bridges and pre-breakdowns. ‘While We Serve’ sounds full, rich, well-backed and layered, and it is a sound that carries ceaselessly through the following tracks.
The clean sounding guitars and cleaner vocals of ‘The Upheaval’ are a testament to the range of Orbit Culture, and their fearlessness in their experimentalism captured notably rapidly on such a short offering. Relentlessly heavy bass guitar feeds into the thick, almost tempestuous sound that this track follows; it comes alive with its own power. It is a confident, assured track, with Orbit Culture’s success and skill permeating through each rich musical layer. It is an excellent midpoint; a reminder on the short new musical journey that the band could feasibly follow the disciplines of metal into very far-flung, creative new places, whilst staying true to the already established power and success of the preceding album.
The final track, ‘Sound Of The Bell’, is a sprawling, multifaceted 8 minute offering that drags listeners through tight twists and somewhat unpredictable turns. It possesses a moodier sound, a darker and more melodic style- fitting to the core themes of the track regarding school shootings and social violence. The track opens up into itself, blooming into experimental and almost electronic riffs and cleaner vocals atop organ-like, lofty sequences. It is a rising, inspired sound; collapsing into heaviness and rising into melody almost without pause. Orbit Culture have proven a range of skill on this EP that is impossible to underestimate.
‘The Forgotten’ is an EP of sweeping melodies collapsing into chunky and foreboding rhythms. Long experimental sequences give way to time-tested metal style. It is a self-assured offering, a confident testament to the reaches of Orbit Culture’s skill, and a promise that no time soon will see the decline of their popularity.
- ‘The Forgotten’ is released on Friday (1 December).
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