ORBIT CULTURE

“Thanks for coming out on a Sunday night to listen to some shitty Swedish metal”.
– Niklas Karlsson – Orbit Culture

Another grey Pacific Northwest evening settles in, rain coming down as I make my way along one of Canada’s most destitute stretches—East Hastings Street in Vancouver. I’m headed to the Rickshaw Theatre, planted right in the middle of a neighborhood where the street population battles addiction, trauma, and the daily grind of survival. It’s far from the city’s most welcoming corner, but the Rickshaw remains one of the best venues anywhere to catch a truly heavy show.

Tonight’s stop is one of several we’re hoping to hit this year: Sweden’s crushing export, Orbit Culture, supported by Atlas and Ov Sulfur—a band we last saw in November. If you remember, back in January 2024 we caught Orbit Culture twice with Machine Head, and I mentioned in that write‑up that they’d be headlining soon. Sure enough, that prediction didn’t take long to come true. Here they are, topping a sold‑out Sunday night bill at the Rickshaw Theatre.

So what’s changed for Orbit Culture since we last crossed paths? Quite a bit. Their previous album, Descent, earned them a wave of well‑deserved attention and took them on extensive tours around the world. Then 2025 hit, and they doubled down with another killer release, Death Above Life—an album that somehow gets better with every track. There isn’t a weak moment on it.

The four member band consisting of Niklas Karlsson (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Hansson (Lead guitar), Fredrik Lennartsson (bass) and Christopher Wallerstedt are still intact since their last appearance which has been since about 2016.

They storm the stage at roughly 9:10 p.m. and immediately dive into the new record, opening with “Death Above Life”—a bold move considering it sits all the way down at track 7. Its ominous, hammering intro riff feels like it’s designed to cave in skulls, and judging by the pit, it was doing exactly that. Full headbanging mode activated.  The backend Christopher’s drum hits combined with Fredrik’s badass bass on this song were absolutely ground shaking.

The Swedes keep the momentum surging with another fresh cut, “The Storm” (track 8), and by this point anyone’s neck that wasn’t already threatening to detach from their spine was about to be tested even further. Then comes “Tales of War” (track 4), and the place erupts again.

What’s striking about this album is how many of its strongest tracks are buried deep in the sequence. I wasn’t exaggerating—the record genuinely gets better the further you go.

You can tell immediately that the band has levelled up their entire stage production. The setup, the design, the overall presence—it’s all a noticeable step forward. If I had one small gripe, it’s that the front lighting ran a bit too dark, but the rest of the light show more than made up for it with some genuinely striking moments. And the sound? Absolutely pulverizing. Hearing them in a full headlining slot instead of buried third on a support bill makes a massive difference—their mix finally hits with the weight it deserves.

You can also tell they’re way more comfortable onstage these days. With the extra breathing room that comes with headlining, they finally get the chance to actually talk to the crowd instead of rushing into the next song. You start to see their personalities come through—who they are, what they’re about—and they’re clearly not shy about having a bit of fun with the packed audience. It makes the whole show feel more connected and alive.

Aside from the five new tracks they rolled out tonight, the familiar cuts—“Saw,” “North Star of Nija,” “From the Inside,” and “Shadowing”—all sounded noticeably clearer and better mixed than on past tours. It honestly makes you want to dive back into their five‑album catalog and see what other gems you might’ve overlooked.

For longtime Orbit Culture fans, though, the setlist might have felt a bit predictable. They only pulled out one song they’ve never played in Vancouver before: “Open Eye,” the ninth track from 2020’s Nija. A welcome surprise, but definitely the lone deep cut of the night.   Nothing was played from the first 2 albums such as In Medias Res (2014) or Rasen (2016)

The 12‑song setlist absolutely delivered, especially in the final stretch with “While We Serve” and another heavy hitter from the new album Death Above All with “Hydra.” When the band teased “ok, one more,” the crowd actually groaned—everyone wanted like five more, and honestly, I was right there with them. They were that locked‑in.

We did get one last blast with the catchy, leg‑slapping “Vultures of the North” from Descent (2023), and it was a perfect closer.

So now the real question is: when are they coming back. Because after a night like this, the wait already feels too long.