Apocalyptica: The Life Burns Tour (DVD)

I am sure that each and every Metal fan has someone in their circle of friends that consistently tell them that Metal is either boring or never changes. To protect us against those inane mutterings we have this DVD to both shut them up and wave in their faces. The great thing about a band like Apocalyptica, is that there is no other band that comes to mind as fast as they do in terms of continually proving those kinds of statements false. The reason is based on how they approach things and if you are one of those people who are hearing their name for the first time they are a group that originally became popular because of their rather unique take on Metallica covers. You see, the band is fronted by three cellists - and they deliver amazing originals as well as do the most unique covers of the Bay Area Thrashers that you will ever hear. They hail from Finland (big surprise right?) and they all studied at the Siblius Academy in Helsinki. Their talents as a "Metallica on Cellos" act took the world by storm and soon this group that began as a fun side project ended up becoming what they would do for a living. We should all be thankful for this occurrence and this concert film from Dusseldorf, Germany is a fantastic way to catch on to the way this group brings Metal to life. The wide mix of their unique originals and the covers guarantee that there is not a boring moment anywhere on the film. They present six numbers by Metallica and "Creeping Death" and "Master Of Puppets" sound like new compositions when Apocalyptica does them. The audience sings along during "Nothing Else Matters" and their rendition might very well bring a tear to your eye. During the performance of this song you could have heard a pin drop. Given the group is four cellists and a drummer and that there are no vocals during this show, I was very surprised at how full sounding the show was. The members Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lotjonen and Perttu Kiviaakso are the core members of the band and all are on cello. They have Mikko Siren on drums and are joined in concert by former fulltime member Antero Manninen. One has to give credit in the ability to keep a Metal audiences attention with purely instrumental numbers in this kind of concert setting but it's hard not to remain interested for the guys do not just sit there and play. They are often perched in their Gothic looking thrones as they perform but they also run about the stage and use the cellos as if they were electric guitars. It ends up as the class of symphony with rock star showmanship that works on all counts to give you a captivating program to watch.

The DVD is loaded with bonus features and includes all their videos. Some of these films include well-known Finnish music icons Ville Vallo (HIM), and Lauri Ylonen (The Rasmus) as well as Max Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulfly), Nina Hagen and Matt Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine). I find it adds to the value of a release like this when a number of the videos to date are presented as well. More for the money always works in my book. The videos are: "Bittersweet", "Life Burns", "En Vie", "Faraway Vol. 2", Somewhere Around Nothing", "Seeman", and "Repressed". They also include a tour film which gives you a great look inside the bands very first visit to the United States. Perhaps you were one of the lucky ones who is in the audience shots.

Track Listing
1. Intro-Apocalyptica
2. Path
3. master Of Puppets
4. Somewhere Around Nothing
5. Fight Fire With Fire
6. Quutamo
7. Heat
8. Betrayal
9. Nothing Else Matters
10. Hope
11. Life Burns
12. Fisheye
13. Bittersweet
14. Seek & Destroy
15. Prologue
16. Creeping Death
17. Inquisition Symphony
18. Ender Sandman
19. Refuse/Resist
20. Hall Of The Mountain King
21. US Tourfilm – bonus
22. EPK – "Repressed"

Added: February 28th 2007
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2405
Language: english

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