Apocalyptica

The famous Finnish band Apocalyptica was formed in Helsinki in early nineties and it gained popularity due to its original sound that can be hardly mixed up with someone else’s. The musicians perform metal (some people call their style the “symphonic metal”), but they play not typical for that genre instruments: cellos. In the beginning of their career, Apocalyptica played cover versions of famous bands’ compositions, but later the quartet started creating their own material, which turned out to be very interesting as well.

The idea to play music that was untraditional for the classical instruments came to the band members in early nineties. Soon, after several performances they realized that such experiments were interesting not only for them, but also for the listeners. It is worth mentioning that the name of the group was created by mixing two words: apocalypse and Metallica, one of the quartet’s favorite bands. Apocalyptica started playing in clubs in Helsinki, gaining popularity, and later they were invited to play the opening act for Metallica, who were touring in Finland. Moreover, in 1996 Apocalyptica released the album Plays METALLICA By Four Cellos, consisting of the legendary rock band’s songs played by Finnish quartet.

Apocalyptica's second studio work titled Inquisition Symphony was issued in 1998 and that record included not only cover versions, but also the band’s own material. Third album Cult (2000) presented the new sound: Apocalyptica began using much more distortion, and only two Metallica’s songs and Edvard Grieg’s piece Hall of the Mountain King were presented: other compositions were created by Eicca Toppinen. That record got fair reviews from the musical experts and was really enjoyed by the listeners.

In 2003 the musicians released the strong album Reflections, which was followed by Apocalyptica (2005) that proved to be as interesting as its predecessor. It included the powerful composition Betrayal/Forgiveness, recorded jointly with Slayer’s ex-drummer Dave Lombardo. The sixth studio work titled Worlds Collide was released in 2007 and that long play pleased the listeners with the number of invited musicians. While creating that album, Apocalyptica collaborated with Till Lindemann, Corey Taylor, Adam Gontier, Dave Lombardo and others, and finally they got the strong album that will be definitely enjoyed not only by the symphonic metal fans, but also by the lovers of other heavy rock genres.

The quartet’s seventh album was quite logically titled 7th Symphony, and this time Apocalyptica recorded several songs with invited musicians, which made the sound even richer and more diverse. There is no doubt that the quality of 7th Symphony is very high, because Apocalyptica’s members created the reputation of extremely talented artists who create honest and interesting music, and 7th Symphony proves that perfectly.