Apocalyptica

Apocalyptica is a Finnish band consisting of three (formerly four) classically trained cellists and (since 2003) a drummer. Their speciality is heavy metal music played on cellos, though they also play classical music. They are all former students of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

They started by playing covers of Metallica, their first album Plays Metallica by Four Cellos consisting only of covers. In their second album Inquisition Symphony, they added covers of Faith No More, Sepultura and Pantera, as well as three original songs. With Reflections, they developed their style of cello rock further, added drums and mastered some songs to a more electric sound instead of the previous acoustic sounding arrangements on Inquisition Symphony and Cult.

In 1999, Antero Manninen left the band, being replaced by Perttu Kivilaakso. In 2002, Max Lilja also left, leaving Apocalyptica with three. Dave Lombardo did the drumming on five tracks on Reflections and on one track on Apocalyptica. He was unable to tour with the group from start, so Mikko Sirén filled this position and is now officially the fourth member of Apocalyptica. During concerts, Antero Manninen also supports the group as fourth cellist.

So far they have sold two million albums worldwide, played in more than 30 countries, toured with Rammstein, and supported Metallica twice.