Being led down the dimly lit backstage stairwell of Metropolis by Art of Dying‘s manager John, I came face to face with Toppinen. Founder of APOCALYPTICA. He stood tall like a Norse God as he lifted his cello allowing us to pass. I crossed eyes with him for a moment. I sensed a joyful fierceness as we heard the chanting getting louder steps away in the packed hall of Metropolis. The lights had just dimmed.
Back stage, I quickly found a cold beer being placed into my hand by Jonny Hetherington, Lead singer of Art Of Dying. He was reeling after giving the performance of a lifetime. Hetherington spun and laughed in the dressing room as he entertained friends and fans.
We talked about his hometown in East Van and his early days busking. I confessed to him that I wasn’t a “Metal Head”. He gave me a big grin and asked “You just called us a metal band? That’s pretty much the biggest compliment you could have given me.” I was then offered another beer. I accepted.
Art Of Dying had just rocked the crap out of EVERYONE. High paced and energetic, they owned the stage from the moment their first notes hit until the last chord echoed away.
Opening with the taunting anthem “Best Wont Do” and closing which a repeated chorus of “If it takes forever, I will die trying” Art Of Dying’s message of overcoming adversity rung out LOUD!
The thing that struck me the most about Art of Dying was their delivery. Each note hit in perfect time with precision by every band member. Even as they sped up to ridicules tempos, not a beat was missed. It has been my sad experience that many “Metal” bands don’t deliver this live. Art Of Dying did NOT disappoint.
Front man Mr. Hetherington strutted and jumped around the stage invigorating the crowd as he delivered a captivating performance. Drummer Jeff Brown kept everything together with an intense rhythmic energy that raised the energy in the packed auditorium to a hypnotic level. I danced. I head banged. There was a lot of hair.
Here is the truth. I had not yet heard of Art of Dying until that very morning when Montreal Rocks asked me to interview them for this blog. I was given a link to listen to some of their music and within seconds I was hooked. In short I was blown away and listened to those five tracks over and over all day. The first thing I did when I got to the show was go to the merch booth and buy their CD. Money well spent.
Now, I have already admitted that Im not a metal head, I never owned a jean jacket with an Iron Maiden themed illustration or grew my hair to antisocial lengths, but I know good music and if you like metal, you owe it to yourself to check out this band.
As Jeff Brown (drummer of AOD) asked me if I wanted another beer, Mr John. Hetherington left with two girls, in true “Rock Star Style” to go watch APOCALYPTICA. We had just done a quick interview (I hope to post it here in the next few weeks). I was so caught up talking to Art of Dying, that I had almost forgotten that the booming sound coming through the air vents above was APOCALYPTICA.
APOCALYPTICAL FACT #1 : APOCALYPTICA has sold over 4 million records to date. That’s a lot more than most cellists!
Exiting the backstage door I walked right into a wall of speakers surrounded by a pit of thrashing hair. Fists were pounding in the air. APOCALYPTICA was well into their set and the crowd was eating it up.
Cello in hand, Toppinen stood centre stage looking like a Norse God about to release the thunder from the sky. And then the thunder came. A thunder that demolished any preconceived notion of what classical music should sound like. A symphonic combination of distortion through bowed string instruments.
APOCALYPTICAL FACT #2 : In the West Island Neighbourhood where I grew up, you were at a serious risk of getting your ass kicked if your mom sent you to cello lessons.
There are a great many things that my teenage self would HATE about the grown up I’ve become. Staying in on a Friday night… Eating my greens… Enjoying classical music or jazz. However I think APOCALYPTICA helps me meet that person half way. I felt nostalgic about my younger days of concert going, but was happy to see that the violent mosh pits of the 90’s were no longer necessary to contend with.
APOCALYPTICAL FACT #3 : The band made a name for themselves doing classical covers of Metallica songs. During Metallica’s 30th Anniversary concert APOCALYPTICA was asked to join Metallica on stage for a few songs.
APOCALYPTICA waited until they were deep into their set to pull out the BIG HITS.
As their cover of Metallica’s “Unforgiven” began, a hush fell across the audience. The band had stripped back to a simple cello trio. The sound was pure and the vibrations hit me deep in my stomach as I began to sing along with the audience. A unique experience. There was no singer on stage and the crowd assumed the role of front man. We became part of the band. Complete with a Hetfield-like drawl the crowd chanted “Never Free, Never Me…” in unison. They followed this with yet another Metallica cover – the emotional ballad, “One”. The crowd again sung along every word of the first verse.
APOCALYPTICAL FACT #4 : The new album, “Shadow Maker”, is APOCALYPTICA’s eight studio album and the first one with new singer Frankie Perez. When asked about the album Toppinen said “I think it’s a totally new kind of record for Apocalyptica especially because we have one singer on the whole album and I think it’s making the whole album more solid. It’s more of a band record compared to the albums that we have had guest vocalists on so I think it’s more solid.”
They would play one more Metallica cover before leaving the stage. The crowd went into a frenzy as they pounded out “Seek n’ Destroy”. All three cellists thrashing their hair in unison.
I was blown away, in every way. I came home feeling rejuvenated and haven’t stopped talking about the concert since. This show reminded me how much fun a metal show can be and I can not wait to see what the future holds for this Finnish super group.
Thanks for reading that.
Review – Myles Beeby
Photos – Kieron Yates
