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Orbiter Premiere “To the Crows” from Resist, Submit, Repeat

orbiter (Photo by Olya Lavrik)

Oslo-based heavy rockers Orbiter are set to make their full-length debut on March 1 — two days from now — with Resist, Submit, Repeat on Negative Vibe Records. The offering runs a brisk 28 minutes, and for most of its seven tracks, the operative word there is “runs.” The album’s promo materials, part of which you can see below, tag Clutch and Motörhead as key influences, and listening to the sprinting verse of opener “To the Crows” give way to a more weighted groove in the chorus, I can hardly disagree, but there’s a metallic underpinning of chug in the bridge of “To the Crows” before the gallop resumes that not only foreshadows what will cap the record and serve as its crescendo in the mammoth stomp of the instrumental “Voyage,” but hints toward some of the aggression heard in punkish centerpiece “Dave” or in the brisk 2:44 rush of “Fratican Shitty,” which would seem to be about more than a downer tourist experience. It’s only hard to say for sure because by the time you’ve caught up to the hook, the track is already en route to beating you over the head with the next verse.

Even the vocal patterning there, though, could be argued as derived from Clutch, but that comes more forward in mid-paced swing-rockers like “Six Line” as guitarist Kim Rune Johansen complements the riffing with a gruff, dudely shout that stays on rhythm and ultimately helps set the brash mood of Resist, Submit, Repeat on the whole. In the only two songs that top five minutes long, “Misery Season” and “Mt. Fuzzo,” there’s a little more room to flesh parts out, but that dynamic serves Orbiter well — particularly as “Mt. Fuzzo” directly precedes “Fratican Shitty” — and the overall burl factor is well met by Ivan Reigstad‘s bass and Pål G Sivertzen‘s drumming, which provide the bounce that makes cuts like “Six Line” and “Misery Season” the highlights that they are, as well as being a bit of a drawback from the all-go spirit of the faster material. It’s not an unfamiliar blend on the whole, but Orbiter bend it effectively to suit their purposes, and the chug they dig into periodically throughout becomes a kind of secret weapon waiting to be fully unleashed in the finale.

The stated theme of the album is the process of coping with — or at least losing to — one’s demons, and whether that’s substance abuse, mental illness, etc., it’s fair enough ground for them to trod. Still, listening to the fueled shuffle of “Dave,” I wouldn’t call Resist, Submit, Repeat a downer in the slightest. Its brazen take hints at future melodicism in their sound and it’s less than a half-hour of absolutely pretense-free, high-energy riff-led heavy rock. There’s plenty to get down with if you’re up for it, and really, the bass alone on the closer is right there in gotta-hear status. I’m a sucker for rumble anyway, but that’s the good stuff.

Before that, however, there’s there punch in the face of “To the Crows,” which you can hear premiering on the player below, followed by the aforementioned PR wire info.

Have at it, and please enjoy:

Negative Vibe Records has announced the March 1st album release of Resist, Submit, Repeat. This is the debut full-length from Norwegian muck-rock merchants, Orbiter. Composed of Kim Rune Johansen (guitar/vocals), Ivan Reigstad (bass) and Pål G Sivertzen (drums) this trio splits the difference between the stoner grooves of bands like Clutch and the amphetamine riff fury of Motorhead.

In the three years between their debut EP Crooked and the new full-length the band has become a super-tight live fixture on the Oslo music scene. Practicing and refining some of the new tunes through years of rehearsal and performances. Johansen said of the difference between releases “there’s a filthy rawness to much of the music which we draw in from the nature around us, however the energy is much more refined on this release, the riffs are bigger and the production is huge!”

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