Orbit Culture and Bite Down - Metal Drummer Magazine

Plan B, Malmö, 240328
Behind the camera: Peter Reimer

Drove down to Malmö this Maundy Thursday evening to do the first coverage for Let There Be Drums and Orbit Culture and Bite Down were on the menu. Orbit Culture is on their first headline tour and their first stop in Sweden was Malmö and Plan B. The opening act of the evening was Bite Down from Jönköping which I had no experience with. A metalcore band that gave everything on stage and sounded and was really tight.
I will admit that I have not listened super duper much to metalcore, can have a little difficulty when it’s just screaming and no finesse. I think Bite Down offered both finesse and weight. I really like these ”breakdowns” that are almost gravity-free, they float freely in empty or heavy nothingness and with a precision of a few hundredths.
Of course I kept an eye on the band’s drummer Joaquin Rojas Rodriguez who did a fantastic job behind the cans. In every tempo change, he had great timing and hung on to the beats just the right amount.

It was my oldest son who introduced Orbit Culture to me about a year ago. I haven’t listened to them much but over the past few weeks I’ve been studying the songs they’ve been playing on this tour.
With a thunderous intro a la Messhuggah for probably 10, it went on to the intro from the latest album with Descending and then on to Black Mountain.
The two following songs Strangler and North Star of Nijas make you wonder if this is what Metallica would have sounded like if they hadn’t let Bob Rock into the studio, who knows?
I like it, hard but at the same time melodic.
The mosh pits followed each other and during Alienated even Richard Hansson participated when he jumped down from the stage.
After the conclusion of Vultures of North, I experienced something that I have not experienced in my nearly fifty years of life, no extra number, the audience didn’t scream – one more time. A bit disappointing that it just ended without a ”real” ending.
Maybe a generational issue.
There was a lot of backlighting and strobe lights on stage and the drummer didn’t have much light on him. That’s quite a challenge for a photographer. But as I always say, you have to work WITH the light, not AGAINST it.
Speaking of the drummer. Christopher Wallerstedt is a straightforward drummer. At times it is robot-like but with a nice swing. Could it be the jazz lessons from childhood that shine through the metal? I noticed that he played without shoes, not quite usual. The only person I know who plays barefoot is Niko in Maiden.

Peter Reimer

Orbit Culture