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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy Metal Symphony, March 25, 2004
What happens when you take four classically trained cellists who have a love for heavy metal? You get the group Apocalyptica. This group crosses the metal sounds of Metallica, Faith No More, Sepultura, and Pantera with the classical sounds of strings. I've always believed strings would make a good addition to a heavy metal group, and Apocalyptica did just that running their four cellos through distortion. The amazing thing about "Inquisition Symphony" is that there are no other instruments. The full, heavy and thundering sound is just four cellos. The ability to take true head-banger music and play it on the cello without losing any intensity is truly incredible. Eicca Toppinen, Antero Mannienen, Paavo Lotjonen, and Max Lilja are great musicians. There is a great sampling of heavy metal on this album that is more than just a tribute to the heavy metal bands. The classic Metallica "Fade to Black" is so well played. The haunting melody carried on the undistorted strings of a single cello before the others join in bringing the weight of the song. This proves that Metallica does belong in a symphony hall. Another good example is "One". The song almost sounds like a classical piece until the crescendo of distorted strings mimic the staccato bursts of lyrics. But this album is just more than covers as Toppinen takes his hand at penning three songs here. There opening track, "Harmageddon" shows that Toppinen can head-band with the best of `em. Opening with an airy beginning, he turns up the volume with a heavy rhythm and a clean melody playing over it. The two make a startling counterpoint. Later, "M.B." is another heavy song, which slows down in the middle for a slow, haunting movement as it slowly picks up speed back to heavy metal land. Add in the great "Toreador" and you would be hard pressed to realize that any of these songs were not written by a great heavy metal band. This is always a great album, half classical and half heavy metal. I love to introduce it to people, and everyone who hears it finds they love it enough to buy. The idea is unique and may have started the orchestral arrangements for other groups, like Pink Floyd's "Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd". If you like heavy metal and classical, this album is a must have.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DARK . . . BRILLIANT . . . BEAUTIFUL, July 19, 2001
Every now and then comes a band that totally changes the way people look at music. Enter Apocalyptica. Who would have thought that cellos and heavy metal could work so well together? Another thing that I find interesting is that Apocalyptica manages to take one of the largest, most bulky instrumental pieces, yet make it sound as if they're playing something more managable. Secondly, I don't think the inventor of the cello had heavy metal in mind, but Apocalyptica plays their cellos as if they were meant for that all along. Just look at the artwork on the front--you have a skull seamlessly blended in with the cello, symbolizing how the two were meant to be together. In short, I'm impressed. In this CD, there's a little something for everybody. For those who like calmer music, there's "Nothing Else Matters" and "Fade to Black." The latter is particularly good. For those of us who like more speed and power to our music, there's "Harmageddon", "Inquisition Symphony", and "Toreador", just to name of few of my favorites. To me, the best music is the type that puts pictures in your mind. Whenever I hear one of these songs, I can't help but think of Vikings, the Dark Ages, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft. If you're a fantasy/horror writer, this is EXCELLENT stuff. Even the name "Apocalyptica" sounds like a word H.P. Lovecraft would have created. If you've never heard anything by this group before, let me say this: I envy you, because you get to discover this gem for the first time.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just Metallica, December 11, 2002
Apocalyptica's first album was great, but I like this one even better. It's a little more electronic and heavier than the first and includes covers of three other groups in addition to Metallica. The best part, though, is the three excellent original compositions. These demonstrate real song-writing ability and allow the music to be tailored even better to the cello quartet. My one very minor gripe about the cover songs is that the voice part can become repetitive since there aren't any lyrics to provide variation. The original compositions eliminate this issue.
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