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The fire and finesse which the
decendents of the ancient Norsemen
can express can be breathtaking.
Blending lithe, almost brutal
physicality with the schooling
of European High culture creates
a heady mixture that's perfect
for infusing rock music, to
create a dark, intoxicating
sonic brew. The beautiful valkyries
of the Swedish all-girl band
Drain STH had it, and the classically
trained cellists from Finland
who comprise Apocalyptica flaunt
it with a vengeance.
Once a cello quartet, now a trio,
Apocalyptica began with a set
list of songs by Metallica, ripping
through instrumental covers of
Master of Puppets, Enter Sandman
and One. But the former students
of the Sibelius Academy have evolved
and expended their repertoir to
become far more than a novelty
or a tribute band. An Apocalyptica
concert now includes passionate,
intricate, original compositions
as well as an occasional classical
piece, like their irreverent reworking
of Edvard Greig's "In the
Hall of the Mountain King."
Anything less would prove tedious
to Eicca Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso
and Paavo Lötjönen,
the three current members, who
find the continuous bombast of
speed and heaviness to be ultimately
deadening. In the words of Paavo,
"The problem with many heavy
metal bands is that all the songs
are too heavy, they don't have
those beautiful melodies to contrast.
If you have only aggression all
the time, it loses the power,
because you have nothing to compare
it to."
Indeed, the most unforgettable
moments of an Apocalyptica concert
are evenly balanced between
the awe inspiring beauty of
flawlessly played melodic passages
as Eicca, Perttu and Paavo sit
focused on their instruments,
and the sight of the musicians,
stripped to the waist and wet
with sweat, long hair tossing
to the rhythm, standing at the
edge of the stage and sawing
relentlessly away with frayed
horsehair flying from their
bows. Drummer Mikko Sirén
adds even more energy to the
live set as he did on the most
recent CD entitled
The power that Apocalyptica
uses to perform their music
live requires using different
techniques and instruments than
strictly classical players,
sometimes trading cello bows
for double-bass bows, and relatively
inexpensive cellos for their
old and revered ones which remain
at home when the band tours.
They use non-traditional holds
on their bows to attack the
strings, and rely on pick-ups
and effects to create a desired
sound, rather than through the
acoustics of the cellos themselves.
In 2005, Apocalyptica toured
the U.S., performing to large
crowds as the opening act on
the Rammstein tour, while also
headlining in small showcase
theatres to wildly enthusiastic,
sold-out audiences.
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