A band of four cello players combining the worlds of classical music and heavy metal. The band members all have graduated from the Sibelius academy in Finland.
The reason many associate Apocalyptica with Metallica is that the band started doing cello arrangements for a couple of Metallica songs.
Their debut album "Plays Metallica By Four Cellos" was released in 1996 and has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide, the album also paved the way for a big European tour.
The second album "Inquisition Symphony" has eleven tracks, of which four are Metallica covers and the rest being remakes of Sepultura, Pantera and Faith No More songs.
The album also included three songs written by Eicca (the bands founder and composer).
In 1998 the group released the "IS" album containing the wonderful remake of "Nothing else Matters" that won the "Video of the year" award.
The recently released (2000) cd "Cult" contains 10 songs written by Eicca Toppinen, a remake of Edward Grieg's Hall of The Mountain King and two Metallica covers.
The band has recently started to experiment with having lyrics in their songs, and March 26, 2001 released the single "Path vol. II" featuring Sandra Nasic of Guano Apes.