Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/22/2008
A listen to
Apocalyptica's
Apocalyptica brings with it the nagging urge to figure out where, exactly, the music fits. Certain moments -- entire tracks, even -- are given over to
classical formality, and it is in those moments, steeped as they are in traditional loveliness, that a listener can come dangerously close to thinking he is hearing something lofty and important. He is not.
Apocalyptica, the genre-splicing Finnish instrumental band that changed headbangers' perception of the cello, is not pretentious exactly, but its effect is the same as that of a
rock band whose lead singer is audibly British: it sounds smart. Too smart, for instance, to issue from the headphones of a kid just discovering
Black Sabbath or lining up for
Slipknot tickets. Where
Apocalyptica might fit, then, is not with
heavy rock scenesters but with aging
metal heads. It is not hard to envision tracks like
"Fatal Error" and
"Fisheye" booming from the speakers of a splashy convertible with a bald guy at the wheel. Elaborate fantasy-concocting gamers -- Dungeons & Dragons players and their descendants -- also stand a better chance than most of finding relatable
rock bliss here.
~Tammy La Gorce, All Music Guide