Cult

Cult is the first Apocalyptica record I have ever bought fourteen years ago and it's still among my very favourite records of the Finnish cello quartet. It's the first record that focuses strongly on Apocalyptica's own material. Predecessor Inquisition Symphony had included three of their own songs while the predecessor here only features three cover songs on its regular version.

The sound that defines Cult is a quite apocalyptic, menacing and sinister one. There are a few more melodic songs like ''Path'' or melancholic tunes like ''Hope'' that offer some diversity but the almost nerve-firing''Struggle'' or the haunting and perfectly titled ''Hyperventilation'' exemplify a destructive mixture of dramatic classical music and thrash metal spirit. Listening to the record from start to finish feels like listening to an auditory horror movie that oozes with haunting atmosphere. The album title and cover artwork only underline this gripping approach.

The record's special edition is the first to include collaborations with singers that would later on become a regular element in the band's career. ''Path Vol. 2'' features Sandra Nasić, singer of German alternative rock and nu metal band Guano Apes, and her varied and emotional performance on this song is probably the best in her career. This isn't a case when the vocals make the music sound better but when the music makes the vocals sound better. The combination of both is a perfect match. ''Hope Vol. 2'' features vocals by Matthias Sayer, singer of German alternative rock band Farmer Boys who usually crafts a mixture of gothic metal and alternative rock. His vocals have never sounded as great as in this dreamy, mysterious and uplifting song as he manages to convince with his lower register as well as with his almost angelic high notes. The song was appropriately chosen for the soundtrack of visually appealing French gothic mystery masterpiece Vidocq. I usually don't discuss films in music reviews but if you haven't watched this film yet, do yourself a favour and do it since this unique movie hasn't lost any of its charm almost two decades later and is still among my very favourite films.

Apocalyptica's Cult is a surprisingly apocalyptic indeed, intensively haunting and overwhelmingly sinister record where the sum is greater than its parts. Despite its constantly ominous atmosphere, the album also comes around with heartbreaking melancholy and mysterious melodies to keep things diversified. Ironically, the cover songs blend in well with the overall concept but are among the weaker tracks which only underlines the band's incredible talent. This record has more atmosphere, depth and energy than many regular metal bands are able to offer. It can be described as a symphonic metal milestone and important step towards emancipation for the band.

This is a huge step up from Inquisition Symphony. Here we have the band doing their own material, and doing it well. I think the band does good covers(despite choosing horrible songs to cover)..but its obvious they have talent, and at this point in there career...they are ready to tackle an album with their own material.

It starts off strong with path, the guest vocals are pretty good on here, but the strenghts of this song are, obviouslty, the great chello playing. The album then goes steady with Struggle and Romance...slower songs that are quite nice. Afterward the band picks it up until albums end, but never capturing or duplicating the first track which is the best. The chello's are played nicely, the songs are written well, and the fusion elements work nicely. I like how the band switched from pure chello to a mixture of metal instruments and chello for this release.

Of course the band did need to include covers...how else would anyone notice this obscure band? The best of the covers is Hall of the Mountain King for the simple reason that the man who wrote it was a classical music genious, and the band plays classical instruments. The next two Metallica covers are allright...until sleeps was a bad song to begin with..and its not made much better here. They did do a nice cover of Fight Fire With Fire, it definatly sounds better than the origonal...if you can compare the two songs since they are played on two different mediums. This is a huge step up from the last album...but I can see the band getting much better, they just need to develope their song writing skills a bit more. For any fan of classical instruments that play in a "metal" style.

This band is Heavy fucking Metal!

Cult marks Apocalyptica's first genuinely original album (it only has a few covers), and I must say that it is really awesome. The use of cellos with amps and the addition of the drums and bass makes for some really awesome music. These guys may be classically trained, they they know metal, and their rhythms and hige riffage factor make for music that you can't help but headbang to. I've said it before, but in addition to having plenty of style, these guys really have some skills. They are all excellent cello players; mimicking the extreme sound of Heavy Metal using cellos is no mean feat, and the sounds that come from these instruments are simply awe-inspiring, coming from a fellow strings player (I'm a violinist). Granted, I just got through reviewing St. Anger, and compared to that piece of filth, the sound of me puking in the toilet would be amazing music. But this is genuinely good stuff here.

Highlights. Struggle starts out with the high-pitched glissandos (string slides) that are in Scream (the movie), and then it goes down into a steady beat with an amazing variety of sounds coming from the cellos. Romance is a ballad-style song, and the cellos playing the modly sounds nothing short of amazing, especially with the great undercurrent of backup cellos and the occasional entrance of the drums. In Memoriam is the best song on here; it starts out with a minute of slow, beautiful cello playing, and then it FUCKING EXPLODES INTO A RAGING BALL OF HEAVY FUCKING METAL THAT THRASHES YOUR ASS OFF before settling back down into a minute or two more of beautiful cello playing. It's really cool. Hyperventilation is absolutely brutal, with some riffage in there that sounds like it came straight off a Black Metal album. The rendition of In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg is really cool and it highlights the intensity of the classical song while thrashing it forward with some killer metal riffage. Finally, Fight Fire with Fire is a great cover . . . well, it's hard to describe, but I like it better than the original. It's incredible.

This is good stuff. If you're willing to take your head out of your ass and admit that you can have a metal band with cellos instead of guitars, you should definitely pick up a copy of Cult. If you aren't . . . well, buy it anyway. You may just change your stubborn-ass mind.

Now this is unique. A band of cello players that owe as much to Mozart as to Metallica. Their first album was sort of a Metallica tribute album (like those "String Quartet Tribute to _____" albums. It showcased their ability to adapt heavy metal songs into post-classical, or "Heavy Cello" instrumental tunes, with one cello filling in for the vocal spot. Their second release, Inquisition Symphony, showed more of their roots (Pantera, Sepultura, Faith no More) as well as their ability to write their own songs (three of 'em, including the opener, "Harmageddon"). Inquisition Symphony also showed a more aggressive Apocalyptica. But it is on Cult, where their songwriting and aggression peaks. The songs are a lot heavier than on IS, while their slower songs are masterful and well-arranged. And speaking of arrangements, two more instruments have been added to this "cult": Acoustic Bass and orchestral percussion. The majority of the album is original material, however there are three covers. Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King" is done here, and with great results! The aggressiveness of Apocalyptica and the complete mastery of Grieg's piece makes for one killer track! Of course Metallica covers are here, too (as always). However at this stage, they don't fare quite as well as their versions of "Fade to Black" or "Enter Sandman". "Until it Sleeps" is probably the better of the two, but it's nothing compared to the original version or even the S&M version. "Fight Fire with Fire" doesn't have enough bite or edge to it, due to the bass. There's a live version of the song on Apocalyptica's web site which fares better than the album cut. The band owes their name to the heavy metal giant, but do they really need to include 'tallica covers on every album? As for the original tunes, in terms of heaviness "Struggle", "Path" (without vocals) and "Pray!" rank amongst my top choices, while "Kaamos" and "Romance" please my lighter side. Definitely pick this one up, it's worth the moolah. You don't have to worship this band to join the cult, but it always helps.