Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Apocalyptica – Reflections - 2003 – Nuclear Blast

Track Listing 1. Prologue (Apprehension) 2. No Education 3. Faraway 4. Somewhere Around Nothing 5. Drive 6. Cohkka 7. Conclusion 8. Resurrection 9. Heat 10. Cortege 11. Pandemonium 12. Toreador II 13. Epilogue (Relief) 14. Seemann (Bonus – Rammstein Cover) 15. (Bonus) 16. Deep Down Ascend (Bonus) 17. Kellot (Bonus)

“Cello” and “Heavy Metal” aren’t two things normally associated with each other. That’s why the Swedish trio Apocalyptica isn’t exactly your normal band. Somehow they manage to make excellent heavy metal music using the cello as their main instrument. Calling their sound unique would be an understatement. Unlike other bands that utilize the cello as an instrument to create atmosphere, Apocalyptica use them as their main instrument – three of them to be exact. On “Reflections,” there is some guitar and bass to be heard, but those instruments take a backseat in a reversal of typical arrangements. Slayer’s Dave Lombardo did the session drum work for this album and appears on most of the tracks, adding a nice rhythm to the music. Maybe it’s because my ears aren’t as used to this type of music, but the album seems to run together at some points – I can’t always distinguish tracks from each other. Still though, there are some excellent songs.

Apocalyptica play mostly at mid-pace, with the fastest and most upbeat track being “Drive.” Seemann, a Rammstein cover, is the only song off this album with vocals, done by the so-called “Mother of Punk” Nina Hagen. Although I wouldn’t call myself a Rammstein fan, hearing one of their songs done mainly by cellos with a female vocalist was very interesting, in a good way. My favorite song is probably “Toreador II,” which has a bit of a Spanish flavor to it. Overall, this album is something very different from what most metal fans are used to and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If you like bands such as Silent Stream of Godless Elegy and Haggard then Apocalyptica is right up your alley – otherwise I would encourage you to try it but I can’t guarantee you’ll like it.

Score: 7.5/10

www.apocalyptica.com/home

--Veritas 03.26.05

http://img218.exs.cx/img218/3267/reflections3603ai.jpg - album cover link