It’s under the pouring rain that fans of Orbit Culture headed to a nearly sold-out Kavka Zappa in Antwerp last Tuesday. The band invited Defects to join them on their first-ever headline tour through Europe and the UK.
Opener of the night: Defects
The doors of the venue opened at 19:30, as there were only two bands on the line-up that night. The opening act was Defects, a British metal core band – fairly unknown but with a tremendous amount of potential. The band came on stage at 20:00 and kicked off with their latest single ‘Lockdown‘, which set the tone for the rest of their set: heavy guitar riffs and catchy tunes.
To conclude their set they played ‘Recurring’. Vocalist Tony Maue and guitarist Luke Genders came off stage and blended into the crowd in the middle of a circle pit. Tony rejoined the stage, crowdsurfing, to sing the final notes.
Sometimes, an opening act is just an opening act which we directly forget about after they’re finished. But not this time. We enjoyed every minute of their performance, and so did the crowd. We can’t wait to see what the band has in store for us with their upcoming debut album MODERN ERROR, that is set to be released on the 24th of May. They will play at Graspop festival next June in Dessel.
Setlist: Lockdown – End of Days – Scapegoat – Dream Awake – Broken Bloodlines – Recurring
Descending into Orbit Culture’s madness
The front row was packed with fans, awaiting to see Orbit Culture. A few minutes before 21:00 the lights were dimmed and the first notes of ‘Descending‘ resonated through the speakers. The normally short intro lasted longer than expected, leaving us wondering when the concert was about to begin. And then finally, the lights went on and the band came on stage around 21:05. From the moment they hit the stage, it was clear that the audience was in for a treat.
The band unleashed a torrent of heavy metal anthems, each song delivered with more passion and power than the last. The intro ‘Descending‘ was followed by ‘Black Mountain‘, ‘Strangler‘ and ‘North Star Of Nija‘. The bands energy was infectious, and it wasn’t long before everyone was singing along to the thunderous riffs and pounding drums. It didn’t last long before the first mosh pits were formed and the crowd surfers appeared.
There wasn’t much time to rest in between songs. as they continued to play numbers bangers from their latest album and also from their previous EP and albums, such as ‘The Shadowing‘, ‘Alienated‘, ‘Saw‘ and ‘While We Serve’.
At the end of the night, vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson, and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt ended their first headline show ever in Belgium with ‘Vultures Of North‘, while the crowd gave everything they had, one last time.
The concert wasn’t sold-out, which is hard to believe when you know that 90% of their concerts were quickly sold-out in other countries. Perhaps attending a concert in the week on a Tuesday night in Antwerp discouraged many fans from coming… Too bad for them.
The bands setlist was a powerful showcase of their musical prowess. The crowd’s response was overwhelmingly positive, with fans fully engaged, participating in mosh pits and even crowdsurfing like there was no tomorrow. Highlights of the night included fan favorites that had the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs, like ‘From The Inside‘ and of course ‘Vultures Of North‘.
Full gallery HERE
Setlist: Descending – Black Mountain – Strangler – North Star of Nija – Nensha – The Shadowing – See Through Me – Redfog – Alienated – From The Inside – Saw – While We Serve – Vultures Of North
