Review: Apocalyptica, O2 Academy

When Finland’s Apocalyptica first set foot on these shores two decades ago, they were hardly made to feel welcome. “It was like, ‘We’ve got The Beatles and Spinal Tap – go home, boys!'” quips Eicca Toppinen. This quartet of hairy Silbelius Institute graduates’ adaptation of music by Metallica for four cellos quickly got them noticed. It equally quickly got them dismissed as a short-lived novelty act. Twenty years and eight albums on, Apocalyptica have silenced the carpers and joined the likes of Rodrigo y Gabriela in building a successful career on the versatility of metal, slowly easing out many of the covers with their own original material. Alas, they’re also beginning to dilute their sound to the detriment of the band’s USP. While the addition of drummer Mikko Siren (and subtraction of one cellist) proved a great success, occasional guest vocalists have now given way to the semi-permanent recruitment of American singer Franky Perez, who previously played guitar with Scars on Broadway.

Perez certainly has a powerful voice that would fit perfectly with just about any US alternative metal act, ably depping for Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on I’m Not Jesus. But too much of the material from new album Shadowmaker, which is showcased extensively tonight, verges on generic rock, with cellos in place of guitars. Perez also leaves the stage for long stretches and looks a tad lost during the instrumental passages, underlining his odd role as a semi-detached member of the band.

But, hey, there’s still much to enjoy. A huge cheer greets the thrilling, mercifully vocals-free covers of Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Sepultura’s Inquisition Symphony. Unexpectedly, they then throw in a haunting, wholly acoustic version of their own Bittersweet, originally sung by Ville Valo, which proves a very pleasant surprise and is received in reverential silence by a packed audience that seems to comprise equal parts metalheads and classical enthusiasts.

It’s not long before Perttu Kivilaakso has whipped off his shirt and is playing his cello above his head – a feat of dexterity and stamina that he presumably had little opportunity to demonstrate with his previous employers, the Helsinki Philharmonic. Japanese support act Vamps – who amusingly struggle to pronounce the word ‘Apocalyptica’ – return for a version of their own Sin in Justice, which works rather well. Then it’s back to Metallica for Seek and Destroy, with the crowd supplying all the call and response vocals. As ever, Apocalyptica conclude by promising to “punish you with classical music” in the form of a hyperspeed romp through Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King.

A three-song encore kicks off with Metallica’s percussive One but climaxes rather oddly with Dead Man’s Eyes, the downbeat, epic concluding track from Shadowmaker. With Perez’s status within the band yet to be officially confirmed, and recent instrumental album Wagner Reloaded completely overlooked tonight, it seems that Apocalyptica find themselves at a crossroads. Let’s hope they choose the right path.