Apocalyptica
Pulling classical strings now and getting tough!
Their new album Reflections (release date: February 10, 2003) will
catapult Apocalyptica, the heavy cello thunder from the darkest depths of
Finland, straight out of their image of being the most unique cover-band in the
world. Where once Metallica, Slayer, and Sepultura ruled the world of the
classically-trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu
Kivilakso, it is now their very own musical self.
Apocalyptica has always been very creative project definitely rooted in the
here and now, is how Perttu Kivilakso, at 24 the youngest of the now down to
three riders of the apocalypse, explains the philosophy behind the new album.
Once, creativity for us meant imitating the typical Heavy Metal guitar sound
on our instruments. Now it means exploring our own musical vision. We simply
wanted to employ our instruments on a much wider scale and also got interested
in developing new techniques for the cello.
Hundreds and hundreds of lonely hours were spent in the studio searching for
their own sound. The result, plain and simple: We created a new musical
style, cello-rock.
On their predecessor Cult, Apocalyptica had first dissolved musical
boundaries. Back home in Finland, the album was consequently reviewed by
journalists from the classical terrain and whats wrong with that?
is all Paavo Lötjönen (at 32, the oldest member of the band) has for a
comment. We are professionals, we are very serious about what we are doing
and we approach our music with sincerity so wheres the problem?
Well, there is none. Apocalyptica is simply in the front line of an indigeneous
Finnish music culture where artists strive to mix and match the most varied of
musical styles.
Rarely, though, is the resulting effort as seemlessly perfect as on
Reflections.
Apocalypticas musical influences range from the Russian composer Dmitri
Shostakovich to Heavy Metal and opera and are so multifarious that bridging them
takes more than a simple balancing act. The mastery of such monumental sounds
requires ability and exceptional flexibility. Eicca Toppinen, the groups main
composer and at 27 still too young to be in any way affected by the Heavy Metal
adage If its too loud youre too old proudly takes stock:
Faraway, the the most important ballad on the album, ends with a baffling
phat groove and throughout the song thoroughly finishes off any traces of the
effete in cello-playing which the sound-heavy Finns find rearing its ugly head
all over the place (except on their own album, that is). Cortčge is
similarly complex: We combined classical orchestration with reminiscences of
Dmitri Shostakovich and added some Slayer-styled really hard and dark metal on
top. Quite convenient, then, that Dave Lombardo, drummer of said trash legend
Slayer, was the hired hand on four additional songs on Reflections as
well,Prologue, No Education, Somewhere Around Nothing and
Resurrection.
Perttu Kivilakso wrote three songs for the new album, Resurrection,
Pandemonium, and Conclusion. "Conclusion was a wish come
true for him and the other band-members: A beautiful song as a showcase for
classical cello at its best. We had been missing out on the pure classical
beautiful cello sound on our previous albums this time we wrote a song where
we could play out that longing.
Other longings were also given vent, because Apocalyptica does not just feed on
Heavy Metal which, although, according to youngster Perttus credible
assertions, it has accompanied them since cradle days. They mostly feed on the
beauty of Finnish nature. The shockingly dark woods, the enormous space and
beauty of Lapland, the breathtaking lakeviews all of that is inspiration for
us. Evoked quite wonderfully in Cohkka, a mountain named in the Samish
language. Rather lively instead is Somewhere Around Nothing. The best
groove ever on an Apocalyptica album, enthuses Perttu. Big thanks should
go to Mr. Lombardo!
Eicca Toppinen also wrote the last song on the album which takes the band beyond
their new philosophy: He wrote Epilogue (Relief) originally for the stage
version of Fjodor Dostojevskys Crime And Punishment. The last act
revolves around the redemption of Raskolnikov. The song found its place at the
end of the album immediately. We had nothing more to say now...
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