Apocalyptica
Plays Metallica By Four Cellos
[Zen Garden/Mercury]
Rating: 6.4
Over the years, Metallica
have had several bands interpret their music
in various different ways. A few years back, there was an obscure
European Metallica tribute album that was about as terrible as it
sounds. Worse still was Die Krupps' German industrial take on some
classic Metallica musik. Now, Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by
Four Cellos. Amazing. We never knew their fans were so dedicated.
The shocking thing is that it's really quite impressive. The band
showcases their unbelievable cello work in sort of a metal fashion
that proves you can really rock out on any instrument if you're
good enough.
Something else about this release is that it also displays Metallica's
talent for writing incredible, theatrical pieces of music. While
the classic metal band may be unstylish and... well... kind of bad, in general, they've
produced some of the best heavy metal in existence by writing what is
essentially classical music played loudly. Of course, that was before
the Load hit. Now they're just five years late for a money train
headed for Seattle.
The only true negative about this record is that it hasn't got much staying
power. It's not something you'll play to death. In fact, you may only
listen to it once. Regardless of the undeniably powerful musicianship,
it still remains more of a novelty record. Hopefully, Apocalyptica's
next record will show more emphasis on creativity than kitsch.
-Ryan Schreiber