apocalyptica news

16.08.2007

Worlds Collide

A review by Terrë Yuki

1. Worlds Collide
2. Grace - feat. Tomoyasu Hotei
3. I'm not Jesus - feat. Corey Taylor
4. Ion
5. S.O.S. (Anything but Love) - feat. Cristina Scabbia
6. Last Hope - feat. Dave Lombardo
7. I Don't Care - feat. Adam Gontier
8. Peace
9. Helden - feat. Till Lindemann

I was privileged to be invited to the Sony BMG offices to listen to the finished masters of most of the new album by Apocalyptica. Like a lot of old-time fans I had been rather alarmed at the amount of featured artists on the album, and was awaiting this released with bated breath - and some trepidation. The version I listened to was not the complete finished album. There were still some tracks awaited, therefore this review is incomplete, and in the order I listened to the songs.

Worlds Collide is a fast, thrashing tribute to the ability of Perttu's fingers to set alight to the fingerboard. For a while, there is little pure cello sound and lots of effects and places where the melody wanders off into a world of its own, before crashing against the world of no-holds-barred, full-on noise where the drums remind me of Neil Peart from Rush at his best. This song is well named. It is an intergalactic pool table of a song. Styles and rhythms crash together with no reason whatsoever, but eventually amalgamate into a pleasing effect. My first thought upon hearing this song was "This is going to kill them on stage".

Grace started with a thrashy, 100 miles per hour feel, underlaid by loud tribal rhythms. Effects are much in evidence on the cellos, here, but when the guitar comes in, it's extremely obvious that it is a guitar and not a cello. There is sometimes criticism that Apocalyptica's cellos sound just like guitars and that they are losing their individuality; but there is a definite difference in this song - it is only when you put the two together that you can see that the criticism is unfounded.
That the song features a guitarist known (in the Western world, at least) for his film music is very obvious. This song would not go amiss in the recent Transformers film, and, in fact, reminded me of the Mission Impossible theme, however, it does still retain the uniqueness of Apocalyptica.

I'm Not Jesus is the first single from this album, and by now almost everyone has heard it. A great vocal by Corey Taylor, thrashy rhythm from the back and good back up from the cellos - yet, unfortunately, for me, the cellos are only back up. The song sounds more like Stone Sour than Apocalyptica. Using this song to break into America is doing the guys a disservice. They are a cello band, therefore the cellos should be out there and their voices should be heard. As it stands, this can be perceived as a Corey Taylor song with some guys on big violins. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this song; but personally, I do not think it is a good representation of what Apocalyptica are capable of.

Ion. For fans, this is a clever little "in joke" from Eicca. He promised us a song without the ending "-ion", so gave us a song with only Ion as the title. This is what I love about this band - their humour. But there is nothing humorous about this song. It crashes right in, yet does not do too much, melodically, until the listener has been lulled into a false sense of "is this it?" Then it abruptly changes in tempo and feel, catching the listener off-guard. There is a heavily orchestral section, off-set by psychedelic rhythms and sounds with a creeping siren tone. Bassy drumming and strings build up a heavy tension that is never really released until the last moments.

S.O.S. (Anything but Love) gives us a mysterious introduction which soon turns into a pleasing power ballad. I am not familiar with Cristina Scabbia so this vocalist was new to me. Her voice suits the melodic tones of the cellos which are much in evidence, and they weave cleverly with her voice throughout the song. The cellos get lost a little towards the end, but the song, as a whole, is a crowd pleaser, good single material that will also sound good live, without a vocal.

Last Hope starts off with dark melancholy strings which soon explode into orchestral fullness with an Arabian twist. In places, because of the constant changes in tempo and with complicated drumming from Lombardo, it reminds me, once more, of old-school Rush at their progressive best. It is filled with frantic energy, running, full tilt, towards a sudden, quiet pizzicato, which is subtly jazzy in tone, before crashing back into the main theme, and an abrupt end.

I Don't Care features Adam Gontier - another singer that I am not familiar with, and, in a way, I am glad that I do not know him, so that I come into this first listening with a new, unbiased perception. The beginning of this song, like so many others on the album, starts off with a classical feel. This introduction would not sound out of place at a wedding, or a dinner dance. I can imagine the guys in tuxedos, playing in a corner behind some palm trees for this one. However, it soon turns into a powerful ballad and, out of all the vocal songs on the album, this is the one where the pure cello sound is most in evidence. A skilful weave of cello versus voice; both giving way, in the middle 8, to a quiet piano. Neither the cellos nor the vocal are an afterthought and, in fact, the vocal takes a back seat to the cello in places. Not only that, it has an incredibly catchy chorus that will have people singing for days. This, in my opinion, is the best song on the album. "This" is the song that should have been used for America.

Peace, again, gives the listener an first image. This time, it is an old gramophone with a trumpet. There may even be a little dog listening. It is a soft, crackly beginning that would possibly lull a new listener into a false sense of security. It also reminds me of Mutter, by Rammstein, which is no bad thing.
Unfortunately I could almost count in when the loud part would start. If there is a fault with this album it is that there are too many gentle beginnings, followed by loud explosions into the main song. However, the loud crash in Peace soon settles back into a dark and moody melody, which has a pleasant cello over the top of a deep, complicated bass and drum line. The format is definitely verse/chorus so, for me, it is a little predictable in places. It could definitely do with something different here and there to relive the song format, which doesn't always work in an instrumental. However, it is a really good song and certainly one of the stand out moments on the album.

Helden, when I first listened to it, gave me one of those moments in life where I thought "What the hell are they playing at!" Till Lindemann from Rammstein, at his growling, monotonal best, grunting the German translation of Heroes, originally by David Bowie. I'm glad I was alone when I listened, because the faces I pulled would have scared anyone watching. However, I'm pleased to report, after a rather strange start - which we have, after all, come to expect from anything Rammstein do - the song settles into a ripping, orchestral and very tuneful version of the song, where Lindemann actually sings. Once the song hits its stride, it becomes a great listen. I was soon nodding my head along with a huge grin on my face. Again, the only criticism I would have is that the instruments in the background could be anything from guitar, cello, or kazoo, yet it mimics the original guitar backing rather well. The song itself is wonderful - a real anthem.

Apocalyptica have built up a unique album of their own, yet cleverly included the individuality of the featured artists. Overall, I would say that it is a great album, a natural progression from Apocalyptica (the last album) and showcases the bands' talent very well.
Although I have said a few negative things about the album, it is because I am a long-time fan and have my own idea of what they "should" sound like - however, that has nothing to do with what they "do" sound like and, despite my criticism, I am very pleased and delighted with the result of the guy's long and hard work. Any fears that long-time fans might have - that this album is a step away from what Apocalyptica are, as a band - are unfounded.

Well done, guys. This is a GREAT album!

(Information from www.myspace.com/apocalyptica)