Courtesy: Seek & Strike
Independent metal band Orbit Culture is working hard to make a name for itself within the bigger metal community. The band released its new album Nija aug 7 through seek & Strike Records. The 10-song album is a powerful entry that will appeal to the band’s target audience. That is due in part to its musical arrangements, which will be addressed shortly. Its lyrical themes do their own part to make the album appealing to the noted listeners. The record’s production is just as much of note as its overall content. When this item is considered along with the album’s content, the album in whole proves to be a presentation that the band’s target audience base will agree is worth hearing at least once.
Orbit Culture’s new album Nija is a strong new effort from the band that the group’s target audience base will appreciate. That is due in no small part to the record’s collective musical arrangements. From beginning to end of the 45-minute record, its riffs, seething vocal deliveries, bass and drums will appeal to a wide range of listeners. Each arrangement exhibits touches of groove metal joined with death metal, thrash, and even a bit of black metal. At the same time, there is also a hint of melodic metal and hard rock added to the mix for a result that is truly interesting. The heavier arrangements will appeal to fans of bands, such as Whitechapel, Humanity’s Last Breath, and Gojira. The album’s more melodic moments, such as in ‘Open Eye’ and ‘See Through Me’ take listeners in a completely different direction. ‘Open Eye’ conjures thoughts of early Metallica at various points while the whole of ‘See Through Me’ is more of a metalcore presentation. In the exact same breath, there are plenty of other moments in ‘Open Eye’ that are more akin to the noted heavier acts. The two elements are very well-balanced here and make for quite the interesting composition. ‘Sun of All’ is another of those arrangements in this record that balances the noted death and black metal elements with a distinct melodic hard rock sensibility. It comes later in the record’s run. The two sides are so well-balanced, too, that one can’t help but listen. Add in the hypnotizing string arrangement and metalcore elements, and audiences get in this song what is musically, one of the album’s most standout moments. It’s just one more way in which the album’s musical arrangements show their importance. When it is considered along with the rest of the album’s arrangements (noted and not) the whole of the album’s musical body becomes a presentation that in itself makes the album well worth hearing. For all that the album’s musical arrangements do for its whole, they are just one of the album’s notable aspects. Its lyrical content is sure to generate its own share of interest among audiences.
The lyrical content featured throughout Nija is intriguing to say the least. While the record’s musical arrangements guarantee far-reaching appeal, its lyrical content feels much more targeted with its dark, nihilistic overtones. Case in point is the lyrical content featured in ‘North Star of Nija.’ The song’s lead verse states, “Combust/The opulence of all the human faults in flames/You’ve killed/But you see yourself for real in here/The serpent/Black god/The north star of Nija.” The song’s second verse adds in, “Adjust the ornament/To fit the true king of our realm/You bow to a darker power that’s real in here…I’ve lived through some grey days/But I’ve never really given it a thought/How I live/How it’s feasting on me/How it’s taking me.” The song’s third verse is just as heavy, stating, “I’m the leader of all that’s dead/I’m the crows that you witness next/I’m the leech that steals from the mother’s breast/I’m the serpent in Hell.” The song goes on in similar fashion from here with the only real seeming glimmer of hope coming later in the line, “You’ll stay here for a long time/You’ll dry your tears from off your face/But you can’t look back now.” Even that is questionable in its delivery. It could be positive, but considering the next lines, it is difficult to say. Ultimately the song ends with the line, “I’ve sent down the crows to Hell/To gather the bones of you/I’ve given the piece of skin/To the gods of the broken man/I am complete.” So maybe, just maybe this is meant to send a sense of overcoming adversity. It leaves even this critic bewildered. Even with all of this in mind, that it has the potential to create so much discussion makes it stand out as just one example of what makes the album’s lyrical content important. ‘Behold’ is another example of what makes Nija’s lyrical intriguing.
‘Behold’ comes across as a deeply introspective work in its own right. Front man Niklas Karlsson sings in the song’s lead verse, “In the essence of the fire/I’m realizing that this is life now/I’ve tried so hard to keep this feeling/Of feeling sane/Mind and body/I tried so hard to keep the demons/The fallen society/The downfall of you and me/in the white halls we are searching.” He continues in the song’s second verse, “In the presence of the higher/The mesmerizing colors/I’ve tried so hard to find the healing/Being sane/Tired body/I tried so hard to keep the demons in me.” At this point, it can be inferred that this is someone facing that age old battle with self. Things don’t get much brighter from here. As a mater of fact, the nihilism continues right to the end, with Karlsson stating in the end, “Death is certain/Nothing else more can be/No light in the tunnels of this force spinning wheel/The white robe ideal.” Simply put, this is not the happiest of songs musically or lyrically. It will appeal to a very targeted listener base. Keeping that in mind, it is just one more way in which the record’s lyrical content proves its importance to its whole. ‘Rebirth’ is just as nihilistic as ‘Behold’ and much of the album’s other songs in its lyrical presentation.
Much like ‘Behold’ and the album’s other songs, this is a work that will appeal to a very targeted audience. That is because it is just as lyrically heavy as those works. The song’s lead verse proves that as Karlsson sings, “My sun/It’s time to leave this world/It’s time to leave the daylight stream/It’s time to feel this rain/Through the fire hail/This is all I have to say/This is all that’s left of me/In this shell I’ve lived through Hell/Walking icy plains/I cannot take what this world gave me/I cannot live through this hell/I cannot take this life that I’ve been given/I’ve always sung the words and songs of death.” Once again, things don’t get much brighter from here. To that end, there is not a lot of need to go on from here about this song’s lyrical content. Again, it is a presentation that will only appeal to a very targeted audience. In other words, it’s one more example of why the lyrics play their own role in the bigger picture of Nija. Needless to say the album’s lyrics require audiences to be in a very specific mindset in order to be appreciated. To that end, whether it detracts from or adds to the album’s presentation all depends on the listener. Regardless of which side one takes in that discussion, one thing on which everyone can agree is that the album’s production rounds out its most important elements.
The production of Nijia is important to note because it is that work that made the album sound so good. As noted already, there is a lot going on throughout this record in terms of its arrangements. There are moments in which the guitars and vocals roar alongside the bass and drums. There are also moments throughout the album that are more controlled (for lack of better wording). There are also moments in which both are incorporated into one song. Regardless of which song is chosen, it can be said that the utmost attention to detail was taken throughout the album. Each instrument is expertly coupled with its partners from start to end. The result is a record that is worth hearing just as much as it is for the depth of the arrangements themselves. Those two elements together make the album worth hearing even despite the issues raised by the album’s lyrical content.
Orbit Culture’s new album Nija is an intriguing offering from the independent metal outfit. That is due in part to the record’s musical arrangements, which blend together so many different metal genres from one to the next and even within themselves. They make the album worth hearing if only for themselves. The album’s lyrical content poses a bit of a problem for its presentation. That is because in looking at this aspect, it will appeal to a very targeted audience, unlike the album’s musical content. Even with that in mind, the lyrical content does not detract so much from the album that it is not worth hearing. The record’s production partners with the arrangements to make up for the problem posed by the album’s lyrical content. The production and music work together to make Nija worth hearing at least among the metal masses. It is available now through Seek & Strike Records. More information on Nija is available along with all of Orbit Culture’s latest news and more at:
Website: http://www.orbitculture.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OrbitCulture
Twitter: http://twitte.com/orbitculture
To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 