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Apocalyptica, “Cult”

Artist: Apocalyptica
Title: Cult
Release Date: 2000

Apocalyptica, Cult, released 2000 by Mercury Records

1) Path
2) Struggle
3) Romance
4) Pray!
5) In Memoriam
6) Hyperventilation
7) Beyond Time
8) Hope
9) Kaamos
10) Coma

11) Hall of the Mountain King
12) Until It Sleeps
13) Fight Fire With Fire

On Cult, their third release, Apocalyptica does something really quite daring and performs nothing but original compositions by Eicca Toppinen. I can certainly laud their initiative; they probably would have made a fine living just doing more of the same. Unfortunately, their reach exceeds their grasp.

Though the original pieces were, for me, the highlights of Inquisition Symphony, Toppinen’s compositional skills aren’t up to filling a whole CD. Most of his works sound like covers, more like tributes to something great than outstanding in and of themselves. There are certainly some neat things going on, but he doesn’t introduce enough variety in texture or harmonic/melodic material to make his music worth listening for 50 minutes. As well, some of the tracks just fade out or cut off – understandable in a cover of a metal song, but a weak finish in any other context.

That’s not to say the album isn’t worth listening to; I really like “Pray!”, and the last track on the ‘regular’ CD – “Coma” – is completely like anything else on the album, funereal and sinister, and very evocative. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” kicks ass. And it’s always incredibly entertaining to hear four cellos rocking out.

The problem is, it’s often more than just four cellos. Apocalyptica adds drums to the mix, and it just doesn’t work – rather than add to the intensity of their performances, it just sounds like a cheap way of heightening drama. Sometimes the cellos are so distorted as to no longer sound like cellos – in which case, why not just dissolve the quartet and start your own metal band?

So, Cult is a bold move, but Apocalyptica – and Toppinen – don’t quite make it fully work. As I said, there’s some good material and some inventive and interesting ideas. But Toppinen doesn’t do enough with them…and the inclusion of heavy electronic effects and drums feels like cheating, as if they got frustrated by the rules[1] they set for themselves, and figured nobody would care if they broke those rules.
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(1) Which rules were what made them compelling in the first place.

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