Apocalyptica have recorded the theme song for the forthcoming Angry Birds game "On Finn Ice" which is based in our home country of Finland!
The game is released on November 28th. We even recorded a video for the song which features the birds and pigs from the game and us playing amid the aurora borealis!
Due to the extended album production process the European tour which was slated to kick off on April 7 and wrap up on May 7, 2015 have to be moved to October /November 2015.
As Eicca Toppinen said, "In order to properly finish and promote the record, the European dates unfortunately need to be postponed. We are truly sorry to those of you who had purchased tickets and have been disappointed by the news, but we realized there is not enough time to put together and rehearse for a full headline-show."
Rescheduled dates are currently worked on and will be announced in the next days. Please visit www.apocalyptica.com for the latest updates and further information regarding the tour. Tickets remain valid for the rescheduled shows. If ticket holders cannot make the new shows, refunds will be available at point of purchase.
Apocalyptica is proud to announce that Grammy awardee Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones, Mastodon) is producing their new album. As Eicca Toppinen said, "Nothing better could have happened than Nick being on board for this record. The pre-production time we spent with him in late August gave us so much confidence and input for the new songs. We are all excited and overwhelmed by his energy and creativity."
The band has just arrived at the studio in Nashville to record the material for the upcoming release.
Eicca Toppinen: "Having our singer (Franky Perez) with us for the last few months already made a big difference: For the first time we couldn't get enough from spending time together at our rehearsal place in Finland but being in Nashville with all our instruments, Franky and Nick now makes us feel like little boys on Christmas. Writing and recording is taking a little longer than expected but I'm sure this will be one of the best Apocalyptica albums and we can't wait to bring it out for you to hear."
Apocalyptica was to give the kick off concert of the fifth Cello Biennale Amsterdam on October 16 2014 at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam. The band has to cancel this concert due to an unforeseen change in the recording scedule of their new album.
Apocalyptica was looking forward to play at this famous cello festival and found a new concert date not too far from the festival period. The new concert date is Tuesday 11 November 2014 at 21.00 hrs in de Main Hall of the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam.
Bought tickets will remain valid for the new concert date. Unused tickets will be refunded when returned to the box office before October 1.
After the worldwide success of 2010's "7th Symphony", the innovative Finnish cello rockers engaged in a variety of critically acclaimed projects and are currently finishing their 8th full studio album to be released early 2015. Since their inception in 1993, Apocalyptica have been mining classical form and structure, ever coming up with unpredictable new musical projects. Twenty-one years into an inimitable global career exceeding well over 1000 live concerts, performed in over 50 countries, they are still reinventing themselves – creating massive attention in media as well as the charts on all continents.
Following the release of "7th Symphony", Apocalyptica took a break from the standard album cycle in 2013 to pursue a range of musical projects. While Eicca Toppinen switched to drums in his sidekick band Cherry and the Vipers, Mikko Siren played his instrument on the new Emigrate album, Richard Kruspe's (Rammstein) project. Mikko also performed with Cheek, Finland's biggest hip-hop artist, selling out Helsinki's Olympic Stadium twice. Paavo Lotjonen collaborated with Tipe Johnson (Leningrad Cowboys, Apocalyptica) and Perttu Kivilaakso earned the feuilleton's acclaim with celebrated chamber music appearances. Additionally, Apocalyptica composed new material and performed live in the multimedia event "Wagner Reloaded" by award-winning choreographer Gregor Seyffert. Earlier this year, Apocalyptica's latest project "Apocalyptic Symphony" marked their first ever tour with a classical ensemble, the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. "We're in perfect shape«, Toppinen states, »and still hungry for the future of making music together. If you want to try new things, you'll never know where you end up. But we're motivated and our heads are full of fresh ideas."
Having collaborated with artists like Gavin Rossdale, Dave Lombardo, and Ville Valo on past studio albums, Apocalyptica have now taken on a new musical challenge: For the upcoming LP, the band is working with Franky Perez as exclusive singer on the vocal tracks – this time not only during production, but for the whole cycle including the tour. Perez released his debut in 2003, later teaming up with System of a Down's Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan as Scars on Broadway. In 2009, Perez was announced on vocals of Slash's solo band, followed by collaborations with Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) as well as Scott Shriner (Weezer), Joey Castillo (Queens of The Stone Age) and Dave Warren (The Simpsons) as Pusher Jones. After being honored as vocalist for The Doors at the L.A. Sunset Strip Music Festival, he released his latest solo album “Addict” in 2013. For Apocalyptica, working with Perez on the entire project elevates the musical vision to a new level of coherence between studio production and live performance, as well as renewing the focus on the band's homogeneity after the recent feature projects. The new album will be out early 2015, followed by an extensive live tour.
The first Paavo Lotjonen's solo project took place 17 July 2014 on Iniö island (Archipelago area).
We have been trying to play at the Cello Biennale Amsterdam for a few years now. In 2014 it will finally work out! We're very much looking forward seeing you all there on Oct. 16!
Read the exclusive interview with Eicca Toppinen and Mikko Siren for Apocello.ru in Moscow, 15 march 2014