Warthur The Apocalyptica cello quartet felt like a bit of a gimmick for their first couple of albums - an impression not helped by the fact that both mostly consisted of covers - but on this first album of mostly-original material their sound matures appreciably. Having spent two albums adapting metal to cello instrumentation, here they masterfully adapt cellos to metal, using distortion effects more extensively in order to transform the sound of their cellos much as in more conventional metal bands guitar distortion is used. The end result is a unique sound which is explored very capably by the group, who have learned the lessons of the various thrash tracks covered on their first two albums well.

aglasshouse Ah, Apocalyptica. Never will you ever degrade, only will you get better.

Apocalyptica is a three-piece cello metal piece that, in all reality, pioneered the symphonic metal genre in it's purest form. This is literally the definition of a metallic symphony accept without the orchestra.

The instrumentation of these guys is absolutely awe-inspiring. I've never been a cello enthusiast myself but when I did hear them for the first time a few years ago it almost made me want to learn the damned instrument. This one of the many albums that Apocalyptica has released, and most likely the most complex and innovative for the band. They combine insane string shredding to make up for background noise and having a melodic front-leading cello to pull of the more loopy and almost solo-style quaverings. 'Fight Fire with Fire' is an excellent example of this.

Another style that these geniuses incorporate is soundtrack-style symphonic metal, in the sense that if you slapped Cult on the big screen for some Michael Bay flick (or not probably), then it would go perfect. And as for me, I've always loved the majesty of soundtracks, especially ones that go great on their own as well as being spectacular for the film background music. The great thing is that Cult isn't a soundtrack but sounds like one and seems to have an escalated level of achievement and skill.

If you are a fan symphonic, chamber, soundtrack, or even classical music you will at the VERY LEAST find this one intriguing.