In August 2023, Swedish metal band Orbit Culture released their fifth studio album, Descent. In December of the same year, they surprised fans by dropping an EP, The Forgotten. The band has since been touring worldwide, but they have been silent on the new music front. That changed on May 7, when they released their latest single, "The Tales of War". They also released a music video for the song, which you can watch here:
The song starts soft and quiet, with the listener unsure what they are in for. Then, at the 35-second mark, the guitars kick in. Six seconds later, Niklas Karlsson delivers a classic growl and the song kicks off into what fans know as a quintessential Orbit Culture song. With heavy guitar riffs and an air of melodic metal, Orbit Culture continues to tease us as the song builds.
Almost a full minute after the first growl, Karlsson delivers another and the band takes off. His lyrics kick in and so do Christopher Wallerstedt's classic double bass kicks.
At the pre-chorus, they kick off with the name of the title, stating "You've been warned/The tales of a war". Once we hit the chorus, Karlsson hits us with clean and unclean lyrics, delivering a powerful chorus Orbit Culture is known for.
After the second chorus, we are hit with a great, groovy guitar solo layered on top of the beat that we have been hit with the entire song. As the chorus closes, the layers within the song continue, closing out with both clean and harsh lyrics, driving home the meaning of the song; the band is bringing forth a warning of what they have seen. The song closes with Karlsson stating the title three times, with the song building each time he states it. As he states "war" on the last line, the instrumentals cut out and the song fades to an end.
This song is the embodiment of Orbit Culture. This song is both a great introduction for new fans and a warm welcome to old fans alike. For those who have been following the band for a while, this feels like a nice segue from their last release, The Forgotten.
On social media, Orbit Culture took to Instagram to share this single as part of a more ambitious project. This project is part of the "next chapter of Orbit Culture," with more to be released soon. "The Tales of War" is just above five minutes in length, but it just makes the listener want more. If this single is any indication of what is to come, Orbit Culture is continuing to elevate their craft with each release.
