Apocalyptica (phoner) by Andrea Leigh
Apocalyptica…need I say more? They really are unique in the world of metal.
I guess we’ve all gotten used to thinking guitar, bass, drums, and the
occasional keyboard. There are other instruments out there in the world of music.
Granted those instruments are non-traditional for a metal band, but that doesn’t
mean they can’t play the music and Finland’s own Apocalyptica proves
that. In preparation for ROTR I was able to speak with Mikko Siren, the band’s
drummer. Yes, I know, you think Apocalyptica and you think of Cello’s,
but they do have a drummer and he is quite talented. The interview started off
with a little trickery on the part of their tour manager, Tom. He was trying
to pass off a Finnish accent, but I was not fooled.
Mikko: Hello
Cover: Hi, how are you doing?
Mikko: I’m doing great, that was our tour manager (laughs).
Cover: Yeah, I figured. Apparently you guys are awake enough
this morning to be joking around.
Mikko: Yes, so how is everything.
Cover: I’m great. I really appreciate you taking the
time to talk to me today. I know you guys are really busy.
Mikko: We are just setting up the stuff this morning so everything
is cool.
Cover: Oh yeah, because you have a show tomorrow night, right?
Mikko: Yes, we have a festival here in Nashville and then we
are heading to Lousiville so we are trying to get things set up.
Cover: Okay, great and then you will be making your way up
here to Columbus, Ohio
Mikko: Yeah, yeah.
Cover: Well, I’m sure you hear this all the time, but
Apocalyptica is such an unusual type of metal band.
Mikko: Yes, that’s true.
Cover: I’m sure I’m not the first one who has told
you that.
Mikko: No, no…and I think that’s the part we like
is that we do things differently, so it’s cool.
Cover: I actually love classical music. I was just at the symphony
about a month ago to hear my favorite piece and this weekend I will be rocking
out at ROTR. So I was just sitting here thinking about how interesting it is
that those are two completely different ends of the spectrum, but Apocalyptica
has managed to bring them together. Did you ever think that you would come as
far as you have with that type of premise?
Mikko: No, for sure we didn’t think we would come as
far. I think the whole thing started kind of naturally. Even though the instruments
we are playing are classical instruments, we play the music we like and every
guitar player does that. If they like the music they are playing, they play
it with an instrument they can handle and it’s the same with us, the cello
is just primarily our instrument. We play music that we like and of course all
the time we try new things and we question things, how we do it and why we do
it, therefore I think we are going forward all the time. With the new album
we are going to release we did things in a really different way than we’ve
ever done before. We really don’t know where we are headed. The train
is going somewhere and we are really just enjoying the ride (laughs).
Cover: I’m sure you’re going to go so much further
as well. I do think it’s amazing that Apocalyptica has had so much support,
of course the first name that comes to mind is Dave Lombardo(Slayer) because
he has been with the band a long time helping out, but you’ve had a lot
of other people working with you on these albums, whether it’s Corey Taylor(Slipknot)
or Adam Gontier(Three Days Grace). Are these people that you have sought out
or have they come to you?
Mikko: It’s both ways, with Dave it all started, I think
in ‘98’ or ‘99’ and we were playing the same festivals.
I think he was with Slayer at the time, I can’t recall, but he saw our
show and he really enjoyed himself. He came to us and said that whenever we
needed a drummer to ask him to join in. The same day actually he wanted to join
in and play a couple of songs on the spot. The first album we did had drums
on it and we had Dave playing on it. He is a really big fan of the band and
of course we are great fans of his so it was a good combination. We met Corey
at a big festival also and talked about getting the chance to work together,
which we thought was great. So most of the time you meet somebody or you listen
to someone’s music and then you may get lucky. Sometimes people don’t
like what we do and they don’t want to work with us (laughs). But, yeah,
it goes both ways. On the new album we have some great collaborations and they
are people we have met during our tours. We just try to find the time to work
together. That is probably the most difficult thing to do when you have these
collaborations. Quite a few people want to make music with us, but then we are
trying to fit the calendars together and trying to work with different labels
and it’s hard if we are not in the same city at the same time and it’s
all that bullshit so making music together is fun, but trying to time everything
up is difficult.
Cover: I know you haven’t been there from the start,
but how did Apocalyptica come up with this concept in the beginning?
Mikko: Right, I came in a few years later, but it really wasn’t
a big deal. Yes, it’s a classical instrument and the music we like to
play is also classical music for sure, but we like to play different stuff as
well. We just play music that we like with instruments we like to play. For
the audience they kind of thought we were doing something extraordinary in a
way because normally people don’t play metal music with classical instruments.
For us it was just a tool to make music that we like to do. It also wasn’t
meant to be a big career. It was just going to be one album and really when
Apocalyptica started it wasn’t even about making an album. A guy from
a small label saw the show and he loved it. He immediately wanted to sign the
band and the guys thought he was crazy because no one ever listens to this kind
of music, but then they made an album and it really started to sell so it was
a bit of an accident. That’s why I say that I really don’t know
where we are heading, but we are just going and going and picking up more speed
and we’ll see where we end.
Cover: You’re new album, appropriately titled “7th
Symphony”, is your seventh album and that comes out at the end of the
summer correct?
Mikko: It will actually be the fall now. It keeps changing
all the time.
Cover: Of course for ROTR people will be coming from around
the country and I’m sure many have seen you before, but for those who
will be seeing you for the first time, what can they expect from three guys
with cellos on stage?
Mikko: I think the coolest thing is that people really don’t
know what to expect. They may have heard the band from the album or they heard
the old stuff we’ve done, but they don’t have a clue about our live
show so it’s really mind-blowing. We enjoy ourselves and give one-hundred
percent every time and it’s high-energy. I hope we just have fun. It’s
going to be a really great line-up and we’re just going to have a party
over there and try to make people enjoy it. We’re really excited. We haven’t
done too many of these festivals so it’s a great opportunity for us too
because we get to meet great people and play to great audiences too.
Cover: Have you played in Columbus before?
Mikko: No, not in Columbus
Cover: I have to say, and I know I’m probably biased,
but Columbus has the best metal fans in the world so I guarantee that your fans
here are going to give back just as much energy as you are putting out there.
I think you’re going to have a great time.
Mikko: That’s the best part when you’re playing
live. It’s the energy that you create together with the audience. It’s
a feeling you can’t experience anywhere else.