Orbit Culture is standing at a crossroads in their career, and frontman Niklas couldn’t hide his excitement as we sat down to talk. The Swedish metal band has been building momentum for years, but after a summer of packed festival crowds and the upcoming release of their new album ‘Death Above Life’, it feels like they’ve reached a new chapter. “Maybe we’re here to stay,” Niklas admitted with a smile, reflecting on the surreal moment when massive audiences turned up just for them. The band’s journey hasn’t been overnight. They’ve been grinding for over a decade, but things truly started to snowball after 2020, when online buzz began translating into real-world recognition. By 2022, Orbit Culture was no longer just another support act, they were rising fast. “We just keep on playing and playing,” Niklas said. “And obviously the band is rising too at a steady pace. We’re just enjoying the ride so much.”

That ride has now brought them to ‘Death Above Life’, a record Niklas describes as a rebirth. The album captures a sense of shedding weight, cutting ties, and moving forward with purpose. “This whole album has the red thread of letting go and accepting stuff in the past that we really couldn’t accept,” he explained. “Instead of dwelling on that stuff, we wrote this album just as a therapeutic thing to get it out of our system.” The title, while intentionally heavy, reflects that process of release. “At the end of the day we’d rather choose life above death, but it would be weird to name a metal album Life Above Death,” he laughed. “It was cooler with Death Above Life.”

That balance between intensity and reflection carries into the band’s songwriting. Niklas admits he soaks up influences like a sponge, from touring with Slipknot to even the sweeping worlds of film scores. “We are not afraid to experiment,” he said. “But we know when we should step back into the Orbit Culture realm again. If it doesn’t flow with the DNA of the song, then it’s not going to work.” It’s a philosophy that gives them freedom to explore while still keeping their identity intact. Fans will hear that in tracks like ‘Bloodhound’, a song Niklas acknowledges carries Slipknot’s shadow but remains uniquely theirs. He writes with the live stage in mind, imagining the chants and chaos that will erupt when the crowd shouts along. Still, the focus for this album was to craft something massive in the studio. “I wanted to build the album foremost as a studio album,” he explained. “But being, you know, playing so much these days, it just naturally comes in that we’re going to have to play it live too.”

Cinematic flourishes have also become central to Orbit Culture’s sound, what Niklas calls their “virtual fifth member.” The samples and orchestral touches add depth and atmosphere, but never overshadow the raw foundation of guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. It’s easy to see how the idea of a full orchestral collaboration tempts him, though he laughs nervously at the thought: “I would be too scared to play guitar in front of 50 string players because they are so fucking good at what they do.”

All of this leads to their next big move: a European headlining tour with Gaerea and Atlas. Niklas is thrilled about the lineup, calling both bands unique and boundary-pushing. “Gaerea has black metal stuff in there, but they are doing something completely new, which tickles our balls, I would say,” he chuckled. “Atlas is like a Nordic dark metal hymn-infused thing that’s fucking great.”

As the conversation wrapped up, Niklas left fans with two simple recommendations: get your tickets early, and make sure to listen to ‘Death Above Life’ with good headphones first before blasting it in the car. It’s advice that perfectly sums up Orbit Culture’s approach: attention to detail, respect for the experience, and an unapologetic love for going all-in.

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