martindavey87 Here’s something that I imagine nobody asked for, and I imagine not many people are interested to listen to, but here we have it anyway; ‘Plays Metallica by Four Cellos’ by Apocalyptica. An album of Metallica covers played by, well… four cello players.

I give them kudos for originality, I mean, surely there’s not much else out there like this, and in their world of classical instruments, this might make them stand out quite a bit (it sure must have, because they’d go on to become a legit metal band), but overall, this is just kind of boring to listen to. I don’t care much for cellos, although a full-blown orchestra covering Metallica would have been more exciting. But cellos? No thanks.

Still, it makes an interesting novelty listen I guess. But after one or two plays the novelty wears thin. Why would anyone want to listen to this over the actual Metallica versions? Perhaps classical music fans that want to dabble in something different than the usual Bach or Beethoven? Who knows?

The end result, however, is that it put them on the map, and now they’re in a successful recording and touring band, and I’m not. So maybe I need to take up the cello instead!

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.

Vim Fuego Apocalyptica are an odd proposition. The outfit made their name covering Metallica and Sepultura songs on the cello, and by and large made an excellent fist of it. But where to from there if a band wants to be taken seriously?

While the albums of cover versions were gimmicky, they caught the attention of many a metal fan who had probably never considered classical instruments or chamber music. Since the beginnings of psychedelic rock, many musicians have tried, not always successfully, to combine rock with the classics.

What Apocalyptica did with album was assemble a backing band of highly capable metal musicians, including Dave Lombardo on drums, and replaced vocals and guitars with strings. The overall sound is something very similar to the melodic death coming out of Scandinavia. Fellow Finns Children Of Bodom come to mind immediately, but there are also shades of Soilwork, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity.

The tracks within are more compositions than songs, equal parts classical and metal. Many of the songs take on a similar structure, starting with a simple musical theme as much classical music does, builds on it, develops the theme, and revisits it several times before building to a conclusion and then an anticlimax.

"Faraway" holds the listeners with tones of melodrama, building slowly from a single instrument, adding a movie soundtrack backbeat, and slowly the track fills with emotion and feeling. "Somewhere Around Nothing" harkens to Celtic Frost's oft-neglected album `Vanity/Nemesis' in the mid-tempo chunky riffing. It's not particularly heavy in a traditional death metal sense, but builds from such a gentle, soulful introduction, the crescendo seems like a crashing tidal wave. "Cortege" is the heavyweight on the album, unexpectedly injecting a huge riff akin to something from `...And Justice For All' into a solemn orchestral piece.

By no means is this a headbanging throw-up-your-horns-and-drink-beer metal album. It is far too subtle for that. It lives up to its title, with many tracks mellow and reflective in mood, and has a sombre, almost mourning tone. There are no leads or vocals, and is definitely not for those who like their metal straight forward- Deicide fans need not apply. However, those who enjoy the more atmospheric aspects of Opeth, Emperor and Amorphis would be well pleased with this sometimes challenging but ultimately satisfying album.

Vim Fuego This is one of those hard ones to decide on. OK, so it's Metallica tunes, but played by a cello quartet? Have Monty Python gotten back together? Surely, this takes the piss!

But no, here it is, and it doesn't sound half bad. Four Finnish guys, looking like Amorphis' roadcrew, sawing away at antique instruments (one was made in 1738!), and producing some of the most bizarre interpretations of these songs you will ever hear. And it's just cellos — no percussion, no guitars, no singing, and no amplification.

Without the drums and the amps, some songs, and parts of songs, simply do not work. "Enter Sandman" is a prime example. It is too simplistic to do cellos justice. The introductory riff to "Harvester Of Sorrow" also sounds wrong. However, as that particular song progresses, each instrument plays a different guitar line, while one follows the vocal harmony. The end product is something which sounds like a modernist avant–garde classical composition.

However, Metallica did include classical guitar elements in some of their songs, which do work with cellos. The intricacies of the middle passage of "Master Of Puppets" are given new life. The plucked strings and melancholic introduction to "The Unforgiven" also work well, but then go down the toilet once the vocal melody kicks in. "Sanitarium" is probably the best of the bunch, as Apocalyptica's interpretation is sensitive at times, but then also as heavy as you're ever going to hear four cellos get, unless they fall on your head.

On a whole, this is a novelty album, plain and simple. It also shows that no matter how good they are/were at penning memorable metal anthems, Metallica and classical music just don't mix. It also shows Apocalyptica are incredibly talented at what they do, as some of the material they have to work with is decidedly mediocre. This is an album for Metallica enthusiasts who enjoyed 'Load' and 'Re–Load', and can stomach 'S&M'. For everyone else, it is of curiosity value only.

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.