Apocalyptica
Cult
Spitfire
Apocalyptica is a band of cellists, known mainly for their 1996 cover album of Metallica songs on cellos. There is no singing from the band, and very little percussion. In theory, this band should be a joke; they’re not too bad though!
Cult is an album of original pieces by the gentlemen of Apocalyptica. The majority of the songs sound, well, like a metal band with orchestral strings on top. The “jud jud” sound of a palm muted metal guitar is copied, almost perfectly, by one of the cellos, creating a very metal feel to the majority of tracks. It’s actually kind of incredible, the way in which the rhythm cello sounds like a distorted metal guitar. Very unique!
Now metalheads, don’t get too excited. I don’t think that most thrash metal, speed metal, or death metal kids will like Cult. I can only guess that the black metal kids might like it. There are a lot of similarities between the sound of Apocalyptica and, say, King Diamond. Nevertheless, this record would be a good experience for overly-metal folks to take a brief rest from the blastbeats and growls.
The sound I can liken this to most would be Rasputina; they also are mainly cellos, but they use drum sets and sing… Apocalyptica does not. Cult is a pretty darn enjoyable work of music. I don’t think I would have liked it as a teenager, but being 25 is much different than being 16; I’ve become a bigger pansy.
Apocalyptica: http://www.apocalyptica.com
