Apocalyptica bring 'Cello Rock' to the big time and the mainstream with their 7th Symphony

Promotional Apocalyptica photo

Apocalyptica

 

Related articles

Hard-rocking quartet The Generals keep death 'n roll alive in their native Sweden

Sweden's Hellsingland Underground echo a simpler-and very American-classic rock sound

Desert rock pioneers Karma To Burn retain their instrumental cred on Appalachian Incantation

The Devil's Blood unleash their own, unique brand of horror soul

Audrey Horne fire walks with Cape Cod Rock

Six years ago, Apocalyptica cellist Perttu Kivilaakso and his Finnish bandmates decided to take their brand of classical-based ‘Cello Rock’ to the big time, devoting all of their energies to making this one-shot-deal work in their favor. Though the project started out as a fun experiment doing Metallica covers in 1993, it wasn’t until the band’s third album Cult where Apocalyptica started writing their own songs, abandoned the homage game (and their orchestra jobs), and went to work at blasting out the most bad-ass stringed noise this side of Wagner’s ‘Ritt der Walküren’.

“The beginning of the band was very experimental,” explains Perttu, “and we didn’t expect ANYTHING. We all had different jobs—whether it was teaching or the orchestra—and we didn’t really plan anything. It was more a matter of doing something we liked, and it turned out that people shared our thought that ‘Cello Rock’ was a necessary part of music! Step by step, it’s been turning towards this point that we’re at now. I was playing in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, but eventually there was simply no time to do both. We decided to devote all our efforts and time to Apocalyptica, but we never planned or hoped it would actually WORK!”

Work it did, though…to the chagrin and good-natured ribbing of some of their classically snobbish colleagues.

Downplaying a bit, Perttu positively thinks that, “Most of them, more or less, at least ACT like they support us! I think my father would be the best example—he’s also a cellist, and we played in the same orchestra—because he’s not the biggest rock fan—he actually HATES it—but when we listens to us and sees our shows, I think he understands we love this kind of music, and sees our passion. Of course, there will always be those people who think we sold our souls…”

I finish his sentence, ‘To rock and roll!’, and Perttu laughs. Apocalyptica has indeed come a long way from covering the likes of Metallica, Faith No More and Sepultura, honing an act of their own which combines bombastic orchestral know-how with the extravagant fury and strength of extreme metal. The band’s latest LP for Jive Records, 7th Symphony, is a testament to that fact, a varied and engaging listen which ranges from tremolo-picked, blastbeating instrumentals (‘2010’ features the pounding percussive talents of Slayer’s Dave Lombardo) and radio-friendly hit singles.

Perttu is more than a little stoked on the project, gushing, “Of course, at this moment the album feels closest to my heart—because it’s the latest record and things are always like that—but I honestly have the feeling that we were able to reach a similarly revolutionary attitude we had with the Cult album. In some ways, that third album determined the entire band: we changed to original music, and we concentrated on making Apocalyptica our main priority and life’s work. With this seventh one, we wanted to capture once again the original idea of Apocalyptica, and bring the music into more progressive, and maybe brave, avenues. We wanted to surprise ourselves, and really be wicked on this album.”

He continues, “Actually, I think it’s been a really wonderful past couple of years, because the last album, Worlds Collide, was the first to have proper release in the States, and we had the possibility to tour really intensively for it, and it’s been really cool to see that people share this same enthusiasm we have about our music, as well. Bringing this music to a U.S. audience, and seeing they love it too is such a wonderful feeling; I’m really looking forward to coming back with this new album. The American audience has been so supportive and encouraging…it’s brilliant!”

What’s most shocking about 7th Symphony is how head-scratchingly close these cellos sound to legit, rocking guitars; the sound is almost uncanny. What’s Apocalyptica’s secret?

“This time,” reveals Perttu, “we really concentrated on finding different sounds and effects for the cellos, so in this sense it was great to work with the producer Joe [Kyuss, Melvins] Barresi, because he’s really into anything disturbed and strange. He encouraged us to try anything and everything with the cellos, so there were many funny moments when we realized that—during a fourteen hour recording day—that I hadn’t yet played a SINGLE clear cello note, but rather screaming, vomiting and hitting the cello, searching for the right effects...just to reach something which is not of this world!”

The Finn laughs, and adds, “We’re able to almost do any type of music we want, and still have it sound like Apocalyptica, because the tone of a cello is always melancholy, whether we play classical or traditional metal. We felt that we wanted to have thrash metal elements along with the songs which are your typical singles. It’s a contrast, doing these beautiful songs which have NOTHING to do with popular music, with legitimate classical basis, as well. We concentrated on bringing even more songs together. Basically none of the songs were fully composed before we began to arrange them, so I think this way they actually gathered a bit more life, and the influence of all of us together. We all have different musical taste, and I think it’s good to combine all of that; it was really cool to work as a full band. We’re probably having the greatest time of our career!”

The fact that the Apocalyptica machine has been gaining effervescent steam as of late hasn’t been lost on American audiences, who gravitated particularly towards the band’s last album, Worlds Collide, and its single ‘I’m Not Jesus’, which featured Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on vocals. With 7th Symphony featuring another diverse lineup of singers eager to step up to the Apocalyptica plate—including Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, Brent Smith of Shinedown and Joe Duplantier from Gojira—it seems that the unlikely group of Finnish cello rockers just might make a huge dent here in the States.

Kivilaakso is hopeful, saying, “It’s really huge fun to play a new town, where you know that most of the people have never seen you. It’s a special feeling where we have to convince them to our side. The response has been amazing, though, and we’re happy to see that people over here have the same feelings about music as this little country between Sweden and Russia. It’s amazing that we all understand what it means to have fun with this strong music, even though we may not speak the same language, or have much else in common.”

“When it’s come down to working with singers,” he adds, “there’s been every possible combination. Some we may have met at a festival, or we may have sent potential vocal tracks to singers we thought we sound the best. I think we’ve been extremely lucky to have these particular singers on our albums, because they all bring something new and exciting. For example, I think the way Gavin sings on ‘End Of Me’ might remind fans of our older rock tracks, but Gavin is telling the story in a really exciting way. I think it makes the feeling that you really believe in what he’s saying. We also fell in love with Brent’ song, because he’s simultaneously sexy, strong and harsh in his vocals, and in his ability to sing both rock songs and ballads so well, while Lacey of Flyleaf sings in a more fragile, tempting and seductive kind of way. I think one of the coolest things about Apocalyptica albums is how we have the possibility to have all these kinds of vocalists to bring something different to people’s ears, which I feel gives each album a much longer life with the listener. Hopefully it doesn’t get boring—I’m sure that’s the main reason why some people want to work with us; they have the possibility to experiment and do something different than with their own bands. Also, it’s a playground where the vocalists aren’t stuck with their own brand, and they can try different kinds of singing.”

With yet another North American tour planned for the Fall, and 7th Symphony due to hit stores August 24th, the future looks fairly bright for Apocalyptica, with the inevitable American fan madness not far behind.

Video for Apocalyptica's 'End of Me', featuring Gavin Rossdale of Bush