APOCALYPTICA - Gregor Seryfert’s Wagner Reloaded – Live In Liepzig

To the many Metallica fans scattered across the globe, and more generally to the vast army of metalheads, the name Apocalyptica will sound anything but unfamiliar. The idea of bringing together, through a shared sense of epic grandeur, two seemingly distant worlds like metal and symphonic music is an obsession that's been around for nearly forty years now: some have tried using prog as a bridge, others have gone straight for it, pouring the two liquids into the same cauldron and giving birth to so-called symphonic metal, while others still have started from there and, staying true to their metallic vice, founded yet another handful of subgenres (from cello-rock to epic-metal, by way of power-metal and so on).

The Finnish prophets of the apocalypse approached all this via the most obvious and predictable route: reworking the classics of their favorite band (with striking originality, Metallica) using nothing but a drum kit and three cellos. The formula, though, managed to intrigue none other than Lars Ulrich himself, who first stepped in as a crucial sponsor to help them land a record deal, then repeatedly invited them to open his own band's shows. A dream that came true seemingly thanks to no small amount of luck: but it would be time, the most impartial of judges, that would go on to prove that Eicca Toppinen and his bandmates truly deserved the spotlight they'd won.

Four albums to perfect the formula and get fully comfortable with it, a self-titled record to finally launch them, and now, eight years later, the ultimate confirmation, thanks to a call from choreographer Gregor Seyffert and his decision to rely on the quartet to score his tribute to Richard Wagner. A theatre in Leipzig, a new sonic canon (from metal to classical music) and an entire symphony orchestra in their hands: in short, the definitive exaltation of the Apocalyptica sound. Something capable of thoroughly winning over both longtime fans and anyone who loves musical contamination, while at the same time further enraging anyone who leans even slightly towards purism.

The question that naturally arises, granting the pointlessness of dwelling on one track rather than another, is rather: how much do we need music like this today? It's also unclear whether there actually is an answer: the fact remains that all this continues to appeal, both to metal fans and to anyone willing to be guided by the epic progressions of three Finnish cellists, without this meaning a fall back into the rigid academic dimension typical of classical music. And in this respect, looking at rock even before metal, Apocalyptica have very few rivals.

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11/12/2013