Apocalyptic Cellos

Apocalyptica's debt to metal's most successful outfit Metallica is hardly hidden. The Finnish cello crew began life as a tribute band via 1996's Plays Metallica By Four Cellos, featuring reinterpretations of favourites from James Hetfield and company. However, being invited to be part of Metallica's 30th anniversary celebrations last December was a surreal moment for them. Besides their own set, Apocalyptica were invited to join Metallica on-stage for a few songs. Despite having previously played several support slots with the metal titans (the first being in Helsinki in 1996) this was the first time the two bands actually played on-stage together.

Drummer Mikko Sirén (aka the only fully-fledged member of the band who doesn't play the cello) sounds like he's still stunned by the star-studded company they kept when opening the week-long residency at the famous Fillmore in San Francisco. The guest list featured a staggering collection of performers, from Black Sabbath, Rob Halford, Glenn Danzig, King Diamond, Marianne Faithfull and Lou Reed to long since departed band alumni.

“Yeah, the backstage there is like the tiniest room next to the stage. You do your own stuff, warm up and check that everything is alright,” Sirén explains. “Then there are people who are walking in and out of the room, these famous people. All of a sudden you realise, and it's like, 'Oh my God, that's him, and that's him, and they are here as well,'” he chuckles. “It was absurd. We tour on all of these festivals and you get to meet all your biggest idols, and somehow you still are seeing yourself like a little boy when you get to meet your idols. I think that's good though, because when you become cynical and you don't feel that way anymore, then I think it's time to call it a day.

“That was such a huge honour for us to be asked to play on that occasion. They had four shows in a small club and they had the idea that they would like the bands who have been in some way important during their career [there]. To be named among them was of course like the highest possible credit you could get. They have always been really supportive of us and the whole time we got to spend with them, going to rehearse with them and to be part of that show was really something to remember. What can I say? The band wouldn't exist without them, so it was really remarkable for us. Also to work with them as musicians; they're great musicians who love what they are doing and it's great to do that with them.”

Rather illustrious company for the Finns, but then they're used to that by now. Although initially dismissed as a novelty by many, they've forged a sizeable career. The band, which is also comprised of classically-trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen and Perttu Kivilaakso, have since expanded into predominantly original material spanning classical, traditional folk and world music alongside heavy metal. Recent albums featured an array of guest musicians and vocalists too, including Corey Taylor, Dave Lombardo, Cristina Scabbia, Till Lindemann, Max Cavalera, Gavin Rossdale and Ville Valo.

Despite all this high-profile peer approval and several million records sold, we ask the tub-thumper whether he feels there is still a perception among some punters that they're merely a classic metal covers act. “I think people have kinda accepted us now as we are,” he suggests. “There are always people that have opinions about what you should do and what you should not do. Especially when the band started because the original band, it was an instrumental band playing covers. But now I think the main thing is to be inspired by our own music, to be excited about it. For us it means that we can't have rules, we can't repeat ourselves and that's been the way from the very early days on. Of course when the band started writing original material, there were some people who said they should not to do it.

“When the first songs came with drums, there were some people who said we should not do it. But I think we should not listen to that. We are doing what we are doing because of what our heart and what our mind decides. Of course we are doing it for the fans as well, but it needs to come naturally and purely from our hearts, so we need to be honest to ourselves. We do what we do; we do our own material, vocal tracks, instrumental tracks, we do covers every now and again. But the whole idea of the band is to be exploring.”

He also has some curious – and ambitious – collaborations in mind for future records. “There are so many great vocalists or musicians that we would like to work with. Sometimes you can try to write something with somebody and maybe it works out, maybe it won't. I have always been most excited about the projects which are unlikely to happen, where it's coming from somewhere people don't expect. To make something together with Emmylou Harris or Bob Dylan or something totally uncharacteristic and totally strong in their own field, but they come from a different genre… To combine those two worlds together I think would be exciting.”

Anticipating some much-needed respite when their upcoming Asian tour finishes, they'll begin the process of following up latest record, 7th Symphony. “We will just take a break because the band has been existing for like seventeen years and in that time there has not been a proper break where we have not been doing something. I've been in the band for ten years and the other guys seventeen years, so it's important to stay excited about the stuff we are doing. We need to be inspired and excited about everything we do.” Said tour will include their debut Australian visit. “Some moron books our tours and they don't have a clue what it should be like, so unfortunately we don't have any days off in Australia, so it will be in and out. But we'll be lucky enough to spend at least a few days there, so it will be great fun.”

He says the career overview shows Down Under will feature a guest vocalist on selected tracks. “When we come to a place we haven't visited before, we always play plenty of old material because there are people that have waited for us since the first album and we really want to give them what they wish to hear. The show will contain basically material from all our albums; it's kind of a retrospective. When we play our club shows we try to make them really theatrical, so it's well-planned in terms of the drama and the light. We try to create our own world on stage.”

Apocalyptica are heading to Australia and will be playing:

Thursday 30 August - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD
Friday 31 August - The Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW
Saturday 1 September - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC