Apocalyptica
Since 1996 and the release of their debut album ('Plays Metallica By Four Cellos'), Apocalyptica - graduates of the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Finland - have been developing a style that is tough to put a name to... 'Heavy Cello Mayhem'? 'Rock'n' Resin'?!... The possibilities are vast, but whatever the latest tag, the fact remains that never before had a group of classically-trained cellists, metal fans to a man, attempted to fuse together the seemingly disparate worlds of classical music & hard rock...of Prokofiev & Pantera... Shostakovich & Slayer... to seek out the middle ground between the mosh pit & the orchestra pit, the dinner jacket & the denim jacket, whilst being 100 percent respectful to both camps...
But then rock'n'roll at its best has always been about breaking the rules, and the success of the first album (now pushing 800,000 sales worldwide) showed that what had started out as a bit of fun had swiftly found a connection with classical followers and HM fans alike. By adding pre-amps & pick-ups to an instrument dating back to the sixteenth century, and by throwing in extra-tough strings and a healthy dash of elbow grease, mainman Eicca Toppinen & Co. had hit a rich vein of form that saw two of the 'Plays Metallica...' tracks featured in US movie 'Your Friends And Neighbours' (1998) and a host of headline & festival appearances added Europe-wide. Three further studio outings and a couple of line-up changes down the line, and Apocalyptica stand (or, more accurately, sit!) as a major force in the world of popular music; a trio - now enhanced by drummer Mikko Siren - who have sold almost two million albums worldwide, played in well over 20 different countries (Mexico, Russia & Japan included), recorded with guest vocalists such as German 'punk godmother' Nina Hagen, picked up high-profile awards for video & export achievements, remixed/reworked tracks for other name artists (Bush - Letting The Cables Sleep), Special Guested with Metallica (twice!) and still found time to record a new album, set for release through Universal Music Germany in late January/early February 2005... Self-titled, self-produced and featuring 11 new tracks of all original material, 'Apocalyptica' The Album sees these Cello-Rockers From Hel(sinki) taking their exploits of the past 10 years to a whole new level of success. On previous recordings, they had either kept the songs as instrumental pieces, pure an' simple, or else worked in the vocals down the line, with Sandra Nasic (Guano Apes), Linda Sundblad (Lambretta) & the aforementioned Nina H. all stepping up to the mic. at various points; when it came time to compose the latest material, however, Eicca was of the opinion that vocals should be involved - at least in part - from day one. He wanted the fifth album to be as complete a body of work as possible, a new chapter in the Encyclopaedia Apocalyptica; this is why first single 'Bittersweet' (supported by an Antti Jokinen-directed promo) sees two of the rock scene's fastest rising frontmen, Ville Valo from H.I.M & Lauri Ylonen from The Rasmus, sons of Finland both, going head to head and heart to heart while the band hang like bats from the ceiling! Result: the finest record of their career.