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Concert Review – Orbit Culture (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 03/03/2026)

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Fans in Toronto witnessed a night of absolute heaviness and electricity at a jam packed The Opera House together with some of the must-see bands of the current scene.

OPENING ACTS: Atlas and Ov Sulfur

Temperatures are finally starting to rise in Toronto after one of the coldest and harshest winters in decades, and this Tuesday the mighty ORBIT CULTURE, supported by guests OV SULFUR and ATLAS, brought the heat to the cozy The Opera House during their North America 2026 tour. The venue was absolutely packed, and if I’m not mistaken my sources told me the whole event was around 16 tickets of being absolutely sold out, so we’re talking about almost 900 people taking every single space at the venue with no room for much movement. Not only that, Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi had to “fight” for space with other 11 photographers also covering the event in a tight area (with five security guys, by the way), and the merch line went from the bar next to the entrance all the way to the floor section. I have no idea when exactly merch became more important than the show itself, as I’m tired of seeing lots of people missing one or more attractions just to grab a shirt. Anyway, it is what it is. Event shirts are super cool, and buying them is extremely helpful for the musicians, so maybe we could all find a better or faster way for the merch line to move as we want to keep supporting all bands.

The first attraction of the night was Tampere, Finland-based Metalcore band ATLAS, often stylized in all caps, who self-describe their sound as “Northcore,” which is basically a mix of heavy, melodic Metalcore with atmospheric, immersive soundscapes. Having recently released the album Sunder, available on Spotify or any other streaming service, the band formed of vocalist Patrik Nuorteva, vocalist and bassist Leevi Luoto, guitarists Kevin Apostol and Tuomas Kurikka, and drummer Aku Karjalainen put on a solid performance for an already packed venue, working as a more-than-effective warmup for Ov Sulfur and Orbit Culture. Well, as I like to say, wake me up when a metal band from Finland sounds boring or tiresome onstage. They always kick ass, ATLAS included, and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more from those guys in the near future.

Setlist
Sermon of the Dying Light
Tower
Coven of Two
Anodyne
I Whisper Your Name Like a Curse
Uni
Ukko
Salt and Sulfur
Outro

Band members
Patrik Nuorteva – vocals
Leevi Luoto – vocals, bass
Kevin Apostol – guitar
Tuomas Kurikka – guitar
Aku Karjalainen – drums

The whole place was already swarming with fans when Las Vegas, Nevada’s own Blackened Deathcore beast OV SULFUR hit the stage with their pulverizing performance, making The Opera House tremble to their undisputed heaviness. Spearheaded by the unstoppable frontman Ricky Hoover, the band has just started touring to promote their fresh out of the oven album Endless (available on BandCamp and on Spotify), and let me tell you that the new songs from the album worked extremely well live. Ricky and his henchmen Christian Becker and Chase Wilson on the guitars, Josh Bearden on bass, and Leviathvn on drums were on fire from start to finish; however, the fact the venue was jam packed made it a bit hard for fans to start any circle pits. There was a lot of headbanging and horns raising, of course, and the lights also helped turn their show into a multi-sensorial experience. It’s really nice to see Ov Sulfur hitting bigger stages every single time they visit Toronto, not only because they’re awesome, but also because Toronto loves that type of Deathcore, blending sheer savagery with tons of different emotions.

Setlist
Endless//Godless
Seed
Stained in Rot
Befouler
Death Ov Circumstance
Wither
Forlorn
Vast Eternal
Evermore

Band members
Ricky Hoover – vocals
Christian Becker – guitars
Chase Wilson – guitars
Josh Bearden – bass
Leviathvn – drums

ORBIT CULTURE

Another quick break (while countless fans were still braving the massive merch lines), and it was time for Eksjö, Sweden-based Melodic Death/Groove Metal titans ORBIT CULTURE to crush our souls with their breathtaking performance. Having recently released the excellent Death Above Life, which you can find on BandCamp and on Spotify, the indomitable Niklas Karlsson, Richard Hansson, Fredrik Lennartsson and Christopher Wallerstedt put a huge smile on the faces of their avid Toronto fans, with absolutely no room to breathe during their entire concert. Songs like Death Above Life, Bloodhound, Hydra and While We Serve sounded insane onstage, and after the closing song Vultures of North was over the happiness on everyone’s faces was outstanding. This was not only the band’s first ever headlining concert in the city, but by far their strongest and most dynamic one as well, proving they’re becoming a reference in the style and, therefore, gaining more and more attention from fans worldwide. I doubt it will take long for those Swedish rockers to return to Toronto, and I bet next time their concert will be even bigger, heavier and more electrifying.

Setlist
Death Above Life
The Storm
The Tales of War
North Star of Nija
Saw
From the Inside
Bloodhound
The Shadowing
Open Eye
While We Serve
Hydra
Vultures of North

Band members
Niklas Karlsson – vocals, guitars
Richard Hansson – lead guitars
Fredrik Lennartsson – bass
Christopher Wallerstedt – drums

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Album Review – Orbit Culture / Death Above Life (2025)

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Sweden’s own Melodic Death and Groove Metal titans return from the frozen north with their incendiary fifth full-length album.

Beware of the antlers, as Eksjö, Sweden’s own Melodic Death/Groove Metal titans Orbit Culture return from the frozen north with their fifth full-length album aptly titled Death Above Life, following up on their critically acclaimed 2023 opus Descent. Produced, mixed and mastered by Buster Odeholm at Odeholm Audio, and adorned by a Stygian artwork by Miroslav Pecho, the new offering by vocalist and guitarist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson, and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt offers more of their trademark fusion of Thrash, Death, Groove and Industrial Metal 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.

The band wastes no time and kick off the album on a violent mode with Inferna, where Niklas and Richard steal the show with their utterly metallic riffage in its almost seven minutes of first-class Swedish melodeath. Christopher then sounds like an out-of-control stone crusher in Bloodhound, adding endless aggressiveness to their sound while also matching perfectly with Niklas demented roars; whereas Inside the Waves offers a more modernized version of American Metalcore, an excellent option for setting fire to their live performances. In The Tales of War we face poetic lyrics declaimed by Niklas (“Chasing a dark storm, no reason to be here / Escaping the temple of fear / I forfeit, the summoning time, the chasing of healing shrines / Through darkness I was led through the lanes”) amidst a pure headbanging extravaganza, and again venturing through contemporary Groove Metal we’re treated to Hydra, while of course staying true to their roots. Furthermore, the bass by Fredrik will hammer your skull mercilessly.

It’s pedal to the metal in the high-octane melodeath feast entitled Nerve, led by the striking vocals by Niklas and the band’s spot-on backing vocals, all spiced up by the killer guitar solos by Richard. Death Above Life brings forward another round of their pensive yet acid words (“Alternation / Stuck in a war / No path to follow / Through chaos made up / My mind is done / In this cave of black dust, kill / It aims for the heart”), a neck-breaking tune that flirts with modern Death Metal at times; and get ready to be caught in a mosh pit storm to the sound of The Storm, where their riffs sound brutally awesome supported by the pounding drums by Christopher. More of their ass-kicking guitar lines will penetrate your mind in Neural Collapse, all boosted by Niklas’ vicious guttural, whereas lastly we have The Path I Walk, and I have no idea what their goal was with this tune. They sound like the more modern version of Metallica, which is never a good choice to be fair.

“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.” Hence, if just like the guys from Orbit Culture you also want to experience such a metallic rebirth you can follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram, staying up to date with their news and tour dates, stream their already dense discography on Spotify, and of course grab your copy of the excellent Death Above Life from their own BandCamp, as well as from the album’s special website, or by clicking HERE or HERE. There’s a thin line between life and death, but in the end death always prevail, in special when the soundtrack to it is as exciting and heavy as the new album by one of the torchbearers of the new Swedish melodeath scene.

Best moments of the album: Bloodhound, The Tales of War and The Storm.

Worst moments of the album: The Path I Walk.

Released in 2025 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Inferna 6:45
2. Bloodhound 5:04
3. Inside the Waves 4:39
4. The Tales of War 5:10
5. Hydra 4:49
6. Nerve 5:54
7. Death Above Life 5:31
8. The Storm 4:16
9. Neural Collapse 6:21
10. The Path I Walk 4:55

Band members
Niklas Karlsson – vocals, guitars
Richard Hansson – lead guitars
Fredrik Lennartsson – bass
Christopher Wallerstedt – drums