A Tuesday night out, filled with melodic death metal? Say no more. The best way to recover from the Monday blues is to hit the fucking mosh pits.
Calling all metal girls who find therapy in tatted, middle-aged men screaming directly in your face—this is your tour. And metal dudes—don't worry, there's room for you too, but there are only a few more tour stops left.
Orbit Culture, Ov Sulfur, and Atlas made a Dallas stop on the Death Above Life North America tour, and I'm here to tell you all about it.
Atlas
Atlas started the night off and only deepened my love for all things European metal. This Finnish band blends atmospheric, almost sensual melodies with heavy modern metal. Their music reminded me a bit of Muse + modern metalcore. The room filled with ambient pulses as the guitarist Leevi Luoto danced effortlessly to the rhythm. His fluid moves added to the hypnotic presence of their set.
"Tower" was one of my favorites of the night, from their new album, Sunder. The crushing beats and guitar riffs paired with the vocals by Patrik Nuorteva had me banging my head while trying to capture photos of their incredible set. "Salt and Sulfur" was the song that made me think of Muse. It has a fun mix of beautiful yet heavy—those soft sensual melodies pull you in before building tension into a heavy release.
I brought my 8-year-old to the show, and he was able to meet Kevin, the bass player, at the merch table, snap a photo, and even pick up a Sunder CD. As I'm writing this, I can hear it playing bright and early in his room at eight in the morning.
New album Sunder out now!
Ov Sulfur
I had the privilege of chatting with guitarist and vocalist Chase Wilson in an interview before the release of their new album. Endless, and their heavy death metal has been on repeat in my headphones—especially for workouts, gym sessions, or full-on cleaning mode. I had been looking forward to seeing them on tour for a few months, and the day finally came.
The mosh pit really came alive during the Ov Sulfur set, and the energy in the room picked up fast. Drinks were flowing, bodies were moving, and the crowd really had a great energy and camaraderie in the mosh pit.
The dynamics between Chase Wilson's gravelly vocals and Ricky Hoover's intense black metal vocals create a powerful contrast, and the melodies on this album take it beyond the standard deathcore sound. Drummer Leviathvn was front and center, and witnessing his incredible talent live was amazing.
A special moment was seeing the band play "Wither," also from their new album Endless. This song leans into the slower melodic side of metal music, expressing feelings of loss and expressing the band members' grief after losing loved ones. I know it isn't an easy song to play live—the emotions hit every time they play it.
Ov Sulfur's new album Endless out now.
Orbit Culture
Honest moment—I went to the show for the openers, and as often happens, the headliner band absolutely crushed their performance, making me even more of a fan of Orbit Culture's music and their undeniably incredible live performance. They are one of those bands that are phenomenal while listening to the album at home, but live is a completely different experience, and you can really feel the music in your entire body.
After photographing the first three songs, I got my ass in the mosh pit and let loose for a few songs before grabbing my camera and catching some unforgettable crowd moments.
Coming from Sweden, they only reinforce my theory that Europe produces some of the best metal. Sorry, American bands, you don't stand a chance. Niklas Karlsson's vocals are so commanding, and his deep growls are full of tension that he builds upon for those crushing moments throughout each song. They have a perfect balance of melody and groove woven into their death metal. I hate using the word "cinematic" because it feels overused in the scene lately—but I can't think of a better word to describe their tight and clean sound.
Two of my personal favorites from their setlist were "The Tales of War" and "Hydra." The pit went absolutely wild for Orbit Culture! We saw a bit of everything during their set: the "Row Pit," with everyone sitting on the ground and rowing like they're in a Viking ship; circle pits; a wall of death; crowd surfing; and even two-stepping. At several points throughout their performance, strangers linked arms and headbanged in sync, turning chaos into camaraderie.
I may have come for one of the opening bands, but I left a complete fan of Orbit Culture. Loud, heavy, melodic, and personable—they're a band you can't just watch; you feel. And of course a quick shout-out to the band for donning Dallas Stars shirts and hanging our local hockey team's flag across the drum set for the final two songs.
If you can catch one of the last few days of the tour, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Set List: The Storm, Tales Of War, North Star of Nija, Saw, From The Inside, Bloodhound, The Shadowing, Open Eye, While We Serve, Hydra, and Vultures Of North
Crowd shots throughout the night, featuring my cutie son.
