APOCALYPTICA: 7th Symphony (MELODIC METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

If there is one group that cannot be blamed for a lack of personality and originality, it is Apocalyptica. For almost 15 years, the Finnish combo has imposed its symphonic metal performed on cellos with a growing success. The real success was reached 3 years ago with "Wolds Collide", an album on which Apocalyptica opened its compositions to famous singers such as Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Corey Taylor (Stone Sour, Slipknot) or Til Lindemann (Rammstein). The result exceeded all the expectations of the combo and its entourage, the singles followed one another and the quartet gained international recognition. No wonder then that Eicca Toppinen and his band renewed the experience with this seventh album soberly entitled "7th Symphony" !

Those who were hooked on "Worlds Collide" can rest assured, they will love "7th Symphony" as much as its predecessor and will find again this cohabitation between instrumental and vocal tracks. The latter are again as many hits in power, whether it's the catchy US rock of "End Of Me", played by the talented Gavin Rossdale (Bush), the more FM and melodic "Not Strong Enough" led by Brent Smith (Shinedown) or the downright pop-like "Broken Pieces" on which Lacey Sturm (Flyleaf) reminds us of Alanis Morissette. Beside these 3 tracks, "Bring Them To Light" sees Jo Duplantier (Gojira) take us to darker and more desperate shores, while offering us perhaps the most unstoppable track of the lot.

But what represents the most Apocalyptica are the instrumental tracks, varied and all as poignant as each other. Dave Lombardo (Slayer) replaces Mikko Siren behind the drums, time to propel a "2010" as powerful as technical, while "Beautiful" acts as a romantic and rested breath in the middle of this avalanche of emotions. Finally, if "Sacra" represents the most melodic and accessible side of Apocalyptica in instrumental version, it almost becomes an introduction for one of the three monuments of this opus. Indeed, together with the powerful intro "At The Gate Of Manala" and the mysterious and varied "On The Rooftop With Quasimodo", "Rage Of Poseidon" represents a moment where darkness and anger mix with the movements of the unleashed swell for more than 8 minutes.

If you add to this a flawless production by Joe Barresi (Tool), this album may seem armed to engage in the fight for the best album of 2010. However, we will bring some reservations to this natural and understandable enthusiasm that we share to a large extent. Indeed, if the quality of the compositions is at the rendezvous, the Finns seem to have taken no risk by renewing a formula that proved its worth 3 years ago. On the other hand, if some will appreciate the variety of ambiences in the middle of which pop music rubs shoulders with hyper powerful metal, others may feel a bit lost. A very nice album though, even if we hope to see Apocalyptica evolve its formula in the future. - Official website

APOCALYPTICA

7TH SYMPHONY

SONY BMG

MELODIC METAL