MUSIC REVIEW: Orbital Decay
This is a paid impression
Once again, I’m catching up on very long-overdue reviews, with today having a look at Sweden’s fairly new Orbital Decay. I was in touch with these guys back in the early summer, so it goes without saying that I forgot a bit of what was pitched to me, sound-wise. When I finally settled down to delve into their music, I was not remotely prepared for what I was about to hear. When you think about Swedish metal, you usually imagine Gothenburg/melodeath; however, that assumption proved to be quite wrong per what Orbital Decay have on offer.
So, Who’ve We Got Here?
Echoing the sentiments in my last review, I was really pleased by how Orbital Decay reached out to me. Apparently, one of them caught me at Archipelacon this summer and enjoyed my talk about Do We Need a Better Fantasy?, and then went on to browse my website, where my history of music journalism became immediately apparent. Once again, there was no bloat or pomp in the introduction, but they reached out to ask me if we could have a chat sometime about the industry, and were likewise interested in a review with some genuine feedback. I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate a humble and friendly introduction. And if you happen to be a musician looking for some advice on getting attention from medias, pop by this article.
Orbital Decay is a Swedish act, made up of:
Sina Khaknezhad – guitar
Jimmi Wimmersjö – guitar
Jörgen “The Voice” Wimmersjö – vocals
Svante Sjöberg – drums
Thomas Bjelkeman – bass
Now, as I said, I had expected Orbital Decay to sound like Dark Tranquillity or In Flames or Soilwork… or at least Evergrey. So you can imagine my absolute shock when I put on the first song in their popular streams and was immediately struck with the sound of Paul Di’anno -era Iron Maiden (AKA ‘80s Maiden). There’s something about their sound, in general, that really brings to mind specifically the song “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which is interesting because it’s not one that I know well, or at all really. Either way, it’s clear we’re working with lovers of the classics!
The Music
Now, Orbital Decay do not actually have a full-length album out at the moment, but they have been releasing singles over the past 5 years: “Bound by Blood” (2020), “Madness” (2020), “Thousand Times” (2021), “White Lies” (2021), “Afraid to Die” (2021), and most recently—yet still a ways back by now—“Lost in Time” (2023). Of those singles, “Madness” offers two tracks, its title track and another called “One God.”
Beyond that, you can find a few other tracks on their YouTube channel, like “Cold Wind in Heaven” and “Tears from the Sun,” in case you’re looking for a live impression on top of a little bit more music selection.
The first one that came up when I hopped online was also their newest: “Lost in Time,” which is strong with the classic Iron Maiden flavor. Well, all of them are, really. But I don’t mean that in the cheesy derivative sense—Jörgen Wimmersjö doesn’t sound even remotely like Bruce Dickinson or Paul Di’Anno. He’s got a raspy, grungy sound, with a reasonable dose of that slurred semi-drunk mumbling that fits well with the old-school style. There’s a punchy riff in this track too.
Musically, I hate to confess that I actually know very little of Black Sabbath’s material on the whole, but I nevertheless recognize its influence quite readily. It’s usually in droning low-end sounds, which is no more present amongst Orbital Decay’s released music than it is in “Afraid to Die,” which sounds like old-school Maiden was put in a blander with classic Sabbath, heavier on the Sabbath this time around, particularly in the rolling, slow bass parts. And who doesn’t love a little Sabbath influence?
“Bound by Blood”—a cover from Guild Wars 2, I believe—has a hint of the classic thrash metal in it, without devolving fully into blastbeats and screaming. The guitar line almost has a heroic action movie feel to its sound as it drones a bit more slowly in the start, but then it picks up into a blissful chaos of soloing. The sound shifts to a more rockin’ and less thrashing metal at this point, but still dares to drop into a grungy groan a second time before more guitars get let loose.
“Thousand Times” has a bit more of a laid-back groove that would surely appeal to the folks who like that droning stoner-y rock music, at least in the music. The vocals feel… I want to say pungeant. They’re sharp and… rank? I’m not sure what word I’m looking for, but it’s an evocative one, and they stand out against the mid-tempo rhythms. The ‘thousand times’ refers to having one’s name called as many times… a context clue emerging from lyrics that are truly tough to make out.
Gritty and creeping could describe “Madness,” at least in the beginning before it kicks up in energy with some playful riffing. The vocalist is showing off some higher notes, though I couldn’t tell you what he’s saying to save my life. Granted, classics like The Hurriganes have never been comprehensible, so whether or not that clarity matters is entirely subjective.
“White Lies” is like a whiskey-soaked eulogy set to what I have to assume is a bass line—which I appreciate, bass is always under-used and under-appreciated as an instrument—with guitars occasionally stepping in to help carry the melody along. The chorus doesn’t even hit until halfway through, making this stand out for being rather nonstandard. That bass line seems to carry most of the song and I find myself drawn to it again and again because the guitars seem quiet for so long… what a rarity!
For a more mid-tempo piece, “One God” follows a more traditional structure, but allows the guitars to play around in the bridge to shake things up. I miss when bands let the guitars just mess around for a while here and there, as they do again after the chorus.
What really stands out in Orbital Decay’s music is, despite the deep ‘garage rock’ sound overall, the mix is wonderfully clear. Don’t get me wrong, there is some murk there, but it feels intentional because the guitar solos and bass melodies are extremely crisp and the drums come through strongly, it’s just the singer’s enunciation that’s a bit murky. There’s nothing more tedious than over-polished modern metal, and there’s nothing more frustrating than a gnarly mix with today’s technology. Orbital Decay seem to have found a really nice way to maintain the classic ‘garage rock’ sound without it sounding like it was literally recorded on a cassette tape in a garage.
I can imagine that the singer’s voice could be hit-or-miss for people. Some folks like their vocals to be clean and clear, while others don’t mind some grunge and grit and mumbling because it suits the music style. I could see this being a point of contention, a source of debate for geeks, but on the whole, I feel like it works with what they’re trying to do.
All-in-All
If I say this is the sort of music that metal dads would appreciate, I’m not sure if that paints quite the right picture. But you might know the guy I’m talking about… probably wears a leather jacket and has a lot of opinions on music and cites Black Sabbath as the greatest band ever. This is the sort of music that a metal dad would listen to and actually accept as good music—and metal dads are extremely hard to please, when it comes to modern music.
So with that in mind, I’d be curious what they young metal buffs would think. Admittedly, I’m hitting the point where I’m becoming the grumpy old stereotype that hates everything, so perhaps that explains why this music feels nostalgic in a good way. It’s not competing with the newer metals, per se, because they aren’t doing the fastest lixx ever heard or trying to jump through hoops to show off. They’re playing with familiar tools and doing a solid job of it, and even flipping the script here and there to shake up some tired musical tropes once in a while. And in a scene where everything’s pretty oversaturated these days, music that brings you back to the good old times is really something to sip like a nice wine. The influences are clear, so if you’re into classic metal, circa the ‘80s-’90s, Orbital Decay might very well scratch an itch
Singles
Bound by Blood (2020)
Madness (2020)
Thousand Times (2021)
White Lies (2021)
Afraid to die (2021)
Lost in Time (2023)
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