Finland’s multi-Platinum cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have issued the following:
Hey you,
we’re having an amazing time on the festival stages this summer! In 2024, we didn’t play a single festival. But in 2025, we’re back, bringing cello metal to audiences all across Europe! Last week, we played at Hellfest. If you missed our set in Clisson (or the livestream), you can still watch the full show on the ARTE Concert YouTube channel:
New headline shows in North America and Mexico
After this incredible festival summer, we’ll be heading across the Atlantic joining Halestorm and Lindsey Stirling on their North America tour! And there’s more: we’ve just announced five of our own headline shows in Richmond, Baltimore, Cleveland, Lincoln and Eugene. Tickets are on sale now. And of course, we do not forget our fans in Mexico. See you in November in Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, Toluca and Guadalajara !
At our shows in Mexico, Turkey and at our headline dates in North America, we’re offering a limited number of upgrade tickets, each including a Meet & Greet with us! We love hearing your stories and how you’ve connected with Apocalyptica over the years. These Meet & Greets are kept to a limited number of people so that everyone gets a moment to say hello, take a photo and share a few words with us! You will also get some additional merch items with the package in Mexico and North America.
Finland’s multi-Platinum cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have issued the following:
Hey you,
we have amazing, exciting, awesome news to share: This fall we’ll be coming back to North America to go on tour with the wonderful Lindsey Stirling and mighty Halestorm!!
As you might know, we’ve collaborated with Lzzy Hale a few years ago. After years of friendship and releasing “Talk To Me” in 2020, it’s a true honor for us to hit the road with her and the entire Halestorm crew as well as Lindsey Stirling!
Tickets go on public sale this Friday, 10 AM local time. You can check out pre-sale options via Halestorm and Lindsey Stirling.
The Metal Voice sat down with Celloist Paavo Lötjönen from the band Apocalyptica who were on tour in Arizona on March 1, 2025.
Apocalyptica’s Paavo Lötjönen was asked about the connection with Metallica over the years, “First time we played as a support for Metallica was in 1996 for two nights in Helsinki, we were supporting them. They were watching the show and since then we have been in contact with them. We played a couple of times as a support (band) and met them. We were getting closer and closer (as friends). Somehow they were persuaded in what we were doing. They have even said that we have given them some courage for their projects like S&M (Symphonic Metallica) and some inspiration. Of course it’s a big honor for us that they have been so supportive. (Also) I never even dreamed that it would be possible to get them (Metallica) joining our album like Rob (Trujillo ) playing the bass tracks or Cliff Burton on our album ( Plays Metallica, Vol. 2) or James (Hetfield) talking. We never dared to think about it but it just happened. Once when having lunch with James he just asked “What would you think if we would do this kind of thing?” I said “Why not?”
Plays Metallica, Vol. 2 is the tenth studio album by Finnish Cello metal band Apocalyptica, released on 7 June 2024.
It is their second full cover album and a sequel to Plays Metallica by Four Cellos (1996). The album features new Metallica covers such as “The Four Horsemen” and “The Unforgiven II”, as well as a new recording of “One” with Metallica vocalist James Hetfield reciting the lyrics and bassist Robert Trujillo.[6] It also includes a cover of “The Call of Ktulu” featuring the original bass master track recorded by Cliff Burton in 1984.
Apocalyptica celebrated the release of Plays Metallica, Vol. 2 with a special concert at Helsinki Ice Hall on 8 June 2024.[8] The band will embark on a North American tour in support of the album with Nita Strauss in February and March 2025.
In the lore of heavy metal, only a handful of artists can claim to have changed history, and even fewer can say they’ve done so twice. Enter Apocalyptica, and one of metal’s greatest, most unlikely success stories. By any account, it’s the stuff of legend, and it’s about to come full circle as Apocalyptica announces their “Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour” across the United States, featuring support from guitar virtuoso Nita Strauss. Full routing and ticketing information is available below.
The band looks forward to playing these fresh interpretations of Metallica songs for their US fans in 2025. The “Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour” will kick off on February 6, 2025, in Washington, DC, and will visit major cities across North America
Tour Dates:
Thu Feb 06 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
Fri Feb 07 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
Sat Feb 08 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
Tue Feb 11 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
Wed Feb 12 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
Thu Feb 13 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Fri Feb 14 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Sat Feb 15 – Chicago, IL @ Athenaeum Center
Sun Feb 16 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
Tue Feb 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Uptown Theater
Wed Feb 19 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Thu Feb 20 – Saskatoon, SK @ Coors Event Centre
Fri Feb 21 – Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall
Sat Feb 22 – Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle Event Centre
Mon Feb 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Tue Feb 25 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Wed Feb 26 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Thu Feb 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
Fri Feb 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Orpheum Theatre
Sat Mar 01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Mon Mar 03 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
Wed Mar 05 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live – Moody Theater
Thu Mar 06 – Dallas, TX @ The Majestic Theatre
Sat Mar 08 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
Tickets will be available starting with a Citi presale beginning on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at 11 AM local time. The general onsale begins on Friday, June 14, 2024, at 10 AM local time. Citi is the official card of the “Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour.” For complete presale details, visit www.citientertainment.com.
Formed in 1993 at the world-renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, Apocalyptica began as a loving, lo-fi nod to Metallica from four classically trained musicians. Their debut album, Plays Metallica By Four Cellos, released in 1996, was a game-changer. As founding band leader Eicca Toppinen explains, “We just loved Metallica and we wanted to play it with the instruments we were able to play, which just happened to be cellos. We played a metal club in Helsinki, and then we were asked to do an album. Five months after it was released, we were opening for Metallica. It’s still unbelievable to me.”
Fast forward to today, and Apocalyptica has released eight rapturously received records, sold six million albums, and toured relentlessly. Now, they continue their unique homage to Metallica with Plays Metallica, Vol. 2, featuring powerful collaborations with Metallica members and using original tracks from the legendary Cliff Burton. The album came out June 7, 2024 to rave reviews…
“Apocalyptica have gone beyond mere novelty value to become their own unique entity, breathing fresh life and a new perspective into these songs. “ – LOUDER
“Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol.2 is a fitting homage to the band, and the fact that Metallica has so much involvement in it gives it that extra stamp of approval.” – Heavy Music HQ
APOCALYPTICA are thrilled to announce the fourth and final exciting single from Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2 – the hotly-anticipated sequel to their legendary debut record. The Call of Ktulu will coincide with the album’s release, and follows on from a rapturous response to the preceding three singles: stunning reinterpretations of The Four Horsemen, The Unforgiven II, and One. Most notably, The Call of Ktulu features a truly remarkable guest: legendary Metallica bassist Cliff Burton himself.
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 will continue the journey that began in 1996 when cellists from Helsinki’s world-renowned Sibelius Academy played symphonic tribute to the biggest of the big four – heavy metal titans Metallica. For their ninth record the classically-minded dynamos are returning to their roots to bring a legendary story full circle. It also features a host of surprises, including appearances by Metallica’s very own James Hetfield, Rob Trujillo, and – in a move that is sure to set the metal world alight – The Call of Ktulu, featuring the original bassline laid down by Cliff Burton, who tragically lost his life in a tour bus accident in 1986.
Apocalyptica’s The Call Of Ktulu, the original of which first appeared on Metallica’s second album – 1984 landmark Ride The Lightning – is more than just a reimagining of that defining moment in thrash history. It represents a resounding seal of approval given by Metallica and the family of Cliff Burton themselves, who were all enthusiastically behind the idea. It also serves as a powerful tribute to a legendary bassist whose colossal musical legacy lives on.
“I’ve learned in life that if you have crazy ideas it’s always worth asking, so I called Lars!” says Apocalyptica founder Eicca Toppinen. “He was like, ‘I love that you guys always think outside of the box!’ James (Hetfield) loved the idea, and I met one of Cliff’s close relatives and she did, too. It was a spiritual experience working on this. We wanted to treat this with honour and maximum respect, and it was magical to have people so close to Cliff say that he would have loved it.”
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 was produced by longtime collaborator and studio supremo Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Tool) and will be released via new label Throwdown Entertainment on June 7th.
racklisting:
Ride the Lightning
St. Anger
The Unforgiven II
Blackened
The Call of Ktulu (in memory of Cliff Burton)
The Four Horsemen (ft. Rob Trujillo)
Holier Than Thou
To Live Is To Die
One (ft.. James Hetfield)
One (Instrumental)
Apocalyptica are: Eicca Toppinen Perttu Kivilaakso Paavo Lötjönen
APOCALYPTICA are thrilled to announce the release of the third single from Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2 – the hotly-anticipated sequel to their legendary debut record.Onefalls hot on the heels of first singles The Four Horsemen and The Unforgiven II, and features none other than Metallica frontman James Hetfield himself.
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 will continue the journey that began in 1996 when cellists from Helsinki’s world-renowned Sibelius Academy played symphonic tribute to the biggest of the big four – heavy metal titans Metallica. For their tenth record the classically-minded dynamos are returning to their roots to bring a legendary story full circle. It also features a host of surprises, including an unprecedented collaboration.
Third single One, taken from Metallica’s 1988 landmark …And Justice For All is a breathtaking reinterpretation of one of the biggest of The Big Four’s greatest musical moments – a true crowning creative achievement in their staggering 40 year career. In a stunning development, the single sees Metallica frontman James Hetfield himself joining proceedings for a soul-stirring, spoken-word rendition of those inimitable, now immortal lyrics. More than a unique collaboration, this is history in the making.
“I think it’s incredible that James wanted to do it,” says Eicca Toppinen. “We were always thinking, ‘it’d be great to someday do something with Metallica!’ I think the excitement for him came from the different approach we were taking – sometimes the craziest ideas are what excites people and that was our challenge.”
“We used everything at our disposal to make it as bombastic as possible. It had to be epic! The result was truly cinematic, with James Hetfield narrating the story with those poetic lyrics. It was powerful and touching,” adds Perttu Kivilaakso. “As a fan I have to say it was unbelievable to finally hear it. I was in my home crying. My hands were shaking. It was an incredible journey.”
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 was produced by longtime collaborator and studio supremo Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Tool) and will be released via new label Throwdown Entertainment on June 7th.
Tracklisting:
Ride the Lightning
St. Anger
The Unforgiven II
Blackened
The Call of Ktulu (in memory of Cliff Burton)
The Four Horsemen (ft. Rob Trujillo)
Holier Than Thou
To Live Is To Die
One (ft. James Hetfield)
One (Instrumental)
Apocalyptica are: Eicca Toppinen Perttu Kivilaakso Paavo Lötjönen
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