Rockfreaks.net

support Bite Down
author AP date 27/03/24 venue Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN

Public holidays are about to commence and this puts people in a celebratory, bordering on rowdy mood for tonight’s festivities, which include a headlining set from the progressive death and groove metal band Orbit Culture, and their metallic hardcore pushing, Swedish countrymen in Bite Down. On their latest studio album, 2023’s “Descent”, the former outfit really stepped up and established their own signature sound, and as such, I have been looking forward to watching them live again on this first headlining tour of theirs. When the group previously visited us as the opening act for In Flames in 2022, the main hindrance was the fact that almost no one in the audience seemed to have any knowledge of their music, and as such, their valiant effort went largely unanswered that night. Now that people are here to watch Orbit Culture first and foremost, it seems certain that the level of energy will be very different tonight.

Bite Down

Although Bite Down are not blessed with a particularly impressive sound mix or lighting (much to our photographer’s dismay), one is able to hear just enough to determine that the band’s music is not particularly impressive either. Unless breakdowns and basic chug riffs constitute the apex of musical expression in your book, that is. And with outbursts like “You’ve got five seconds to get this moshpit going!” and “Alright f***ers, let’s go!”, the group’s vocalist ticks all the boxes of a dime-a-dozen hardcore frontman as well, exuding feigned machismo as he paces across the stage in hopes of inciting some kind of authentic response from the audience. No one seems keen on reacting to his demands, however, with people awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other as the final breakdown in the opener hits. As the following “Imposter” off the band’s 2022 EP “Damage Control” also proves, much of the appeal of Bite Down’s music stems from the broad spectrum of harsh vocal styles mastered by the aforementioned front-figure; during the half an hour or so that the quartet’s show lasts, we are given samples of high pitch shrieks, deep guttural growls, pig squeals, and even some swine-like snorting noises that result in some amusement in the crowd. “Give me something!”, the vocalist continues, and although my first impulse is to scream it right back at him so as to receive something else than yet more meathead metalcore, the audience reluctantly forms a half-hearted pit for “Nothing’s Forever”. A wall of death eventually follows, and seeing this, the frontman commands: “I want you to kill someone in this wall!”. I don’t even know how to respond to that. A brief moment of eerie melody in this song, as well as some rapping in the final track “Decolorized” (or possibly “Decolonized”?) provide the only semblances of variety in a concert that, at only half an hour, feels far too long.

Orbit Culture

After the lights have remained dimmed and eerie, ambient sounds have been resonating through the venue for 25 minutes or so, the vertical LED bars towering on either side of the drum kit finally start pulsating to the tune of “Descending”, which seamlessly takes over the backing track. Ample smoke and light shone exclusively from behind veils the emerging figures in mystery, and conjures an abstruse atmosphere that suits the opening track “Black Mountain” perfectly. The sound mix still leaves a lot to be desired, but even so, it is not long before the snarling bass of Fredrik Lennartsson and the powerful growls of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Niklas Karlsson result in the eruption of a large and intense moshpit. The crowd has showed up at last, and the following “Strangler” is well-received with thundering reciprocations of the “Get out, get out, get out!” gang yells of this almost danceable early pleaser of a song. The pit continues to rage unabated, and just about all of the heads that are not involved in it are banging with gusto, underlining the incredible rise of this band in the space of only a few years. A lot of that owes to their conscious decision to reduce the complexity, and increase the groove and catchiness of their material, something that both “North Star of Nija” and “Nensha” off the group’s 2020 outing “Nija” are good examples of. The alternating Joe Duplantier-style harsh vocals and strained, baritone clean singing by Karlsson help to render songs like these simultaneously hard-hitting and extremely memorable.

Another obvious benefit of writing less demanding songs to play is that Orbit Culture are now able to focus on their stage presence to a greater degree as well. While the four musicians are not the most extreme of acrobats tonight either, the esoteric lighting coupled with the synchronicity of their movements nonetheless produces a hypnotising show, not unlike what Meshuggah are renowned for. Dozens of crowd members are thus possessed into crowd surfing during songs like the proggy “Shadowing”, and the almost balladic “See through Me” off the band’s 2018 outing “Redfog”. All of them are directed away from the stage by the tour manager, as there is neither a barrier, nor any security personnel to receive them instead of the axe-wielding musicians. As if to underscore the epic, anthemic nature of this song, Karlsson invokes a sea of waving phone lights for its crescendo, before the titular “Redfog” delivers what sounds to me like a super heavy take on Metallica. I note it down as one of the least interesting moments of the set, an observation that is only strengthened when lead guitarist Richard Hansson decides to play the following “Alienated” from the centre of a circle pit. “Please don’t kill him”, Karlsson implores, to which Lennartsson responds, in jest: “Please do!” Fortunately, no one is hurt, and instead, one of the consummate highlights of the evening, “From the Inside”, sets the room ablaze in its wake, both by virtue of its ridiculously engaging groove and its infectious chorus.

The only thing that bothers me about Orbit Culture’s show tonight is the completely unnecessary collapse into random banter and adolescent drinking songs by the audience that occurs before the final portion of the setlist. Several minutes of this nonsense, with the houselights turned on, serves only to deflate the intense atmosphere that has governed the concert thus far, much to mine and surely also others’ frustration. Luckily, the sheer power of the penultimate track “While We Serve” off the band’s latest EP “The Forgotten” does a fine job at repairing the damage, before the Gojira-influenced “Vultures of North” brings the proceedings to a conclusion with a stellar performance by drummer Christopher Wallerstedt, who has been a commanding force behind his kits throughout the evening. Orbit Culture has well and truly transformed into an imposing band not just on record, but especially also in the live setting.

Setlist:

• 1. Black Mountain
• 2. Strangler
• 3. North Star of Nija
• 4. Nensha
• 5. The Shadowing
• 6. See through Me
• 7. Redfog
• 8. Alienated
• 9. From the Inside
• 10. Saw
• 11. While We Serve
• 12. Vultures of North