APOCALYPTICA

SWALLOW THE SUN

Sole support band on Apocalyptica's ten date UK tour are fellow Finns, Swallow The Sun. Over here in August on Bloodstock Open Air's main stage for their debut live performance in this country, it appears the Finnish metallers have started to garner a degree of recognition and popularity within the UK judging by the positive crowd reactions as they appear on stage at 7:30pm. Fusing bursts of death metal aggression with the down-tempo doom of My Dying Bride and Katatonia's melancholic aesthetic, each of Swallow The Sun's compositions meanders a musical path of both unpredictability and absorbingly progressive essence. Passages of powerful metal aggression and accompanying death growls are juxtaposed with mellower sections of sublime melancholy where frontman Mikko Kotamäki exercises his likeable clean vocals to good effect. The crowd seemingly watch mesmerised by Swallow The Sun's captivating music, while a large number sporadically move to the more up-tempo breaks, as band members themselves engage in what looks like a well practiced routine of synchronised headbanging. After only a short time onstage, the Finns exit to ubiquitous loud cheers from an enthusiastic crowd who show their appreciation for what has been a very impressive set. A mightily talented band who, with more exposure to UK audiences, could very well become doom metal's hegemonic players in the not too distant future.

DATE:

VENUE:

Thursday 4th December 2008

Rock City in Nottingham, UK

APOCALYPTICA

And so, onto tonight's main attraction for the majority of those gathered in Rock City on this cold December night, Apocalyptica. My first experience of this band was back in 1996 with their debut album, a series of Metallica covers performed by four cellists, and despite subsequent forays into original compositions over the years which has seen the Finns collaborate with such metal luminaries as Dave Lombardo, Cristina Scabbia, Corey Taylor and Max Cavalera, it is the Metallica covers for which they remain famous. The four musicians take to the stage and assume positions on seats that are mounted on large skull-shaped cello cut-outs, before a drummer also joins them as they open proceedings with a version of Sepultura's Refuse/Resist. And three out of the four cellists don't remain seated for long as they stride around the stage to perform with an energy that belies the weight and size of their instruments, not to mention the immense physical exertion it must take to emulate some of the faster riff-based passages. They are, of course, aided by effects units with their sound, but to hold a cello aloft whilst attacking it vigorously with a bow is a sight to behold, and maintains visual interest in their show. With tonight being my first live experience of Apocalyptica, I had no idea what to expect, and the music combined with a relentlessly dynamic stage presence proves their worth far beyond a novelty act, although I guess they transcended this tag a long time ago. The five Metallica covers on offer - 'Fight Fire With Fire'; 'One'; 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'; 'Seek and Destroy' and 'Enter Sandman' - albeit abridged versions, engender sing-a-longs en masse from the large audience as Rock City's main hall temporarily turns into a venue for cello-metal karaoke! The Finns also impress with their own material such as 'Bittersweet' and 'Betrayal/Forgiveness' from 2005's self-titled album and 'Grace', 'I'm Not Jesus' and 'Burn' from last year's 'Worlds Collide'. Right up to final encore track, a version of Grieg's 'In the Hall of the Mountain King', Apocalyptica astound and excite with their boundless onstage energy, entertaining between song musings, and music whether this be innovative cover versions or their own compositions. Brilliant!

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SWALLOW THE SUN

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

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