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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Audience members banging their heads, throwing devil horns in the air and screaming along don’t normally accompany cellos, but Apocalyptica’s visit to San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Theatre was not the venue’s normal faire. The Finnish symphonic metal band has been bringing unconventional metal interpretations to audiences world-wide for over thirty years.
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| Nita Strauss @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Friday’s show brought a powerful double bill to the intimate (about 1,0000 seat) venue as the world’s hardest cellist band also had Nita Strauss of Alice Cooper & Demi Lovato fame in the opening slot. Strauss’ presence led to an early-arriving and enthusiastic audience as the concert got underway right at 7:30 pm.
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| Nita Strauss @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Strauss’ debut album – 2018’s “Controlled Chaos” was a Kickstarter success story as Strauss reached the project’s target in two hours and exceeded the target sevenfold. The Ibanez Guitar signature artist released her second album “The Call of the Void” in 2023 – joined by hard rock stars such as Alice Cooper, Lizzy Hale, Marty Friedman, Dorothy and Disturbed’s David Draiman.
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| Nita Strauss @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
For Friday’s 10-song opening set, she and her band – including her husband - drummer Josh Villalta, rhythm guitarist Johnny D Young and keyboardist Katt Scarlett began with instrumental numbers - including “Mariana Trench” – the fourth song of the night and perhaps Strauss’ most-known solo work. For “Scorched,” sat by the edge of the stage to play the tender and intricate opening before the 2023 song blasted off into another dimension with the support of her band.
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| Nita Strauss @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
For the final handful of songs, Strauss’ band was joined by vocalist Kasey Karlsen to perform songs like “Victorious” and “Dead Inside” before the Strauss-led instrumental of “The Wolf You Feed” finished off the night. After the set, the entire band gathered at the merch table in the lobby to sign and take selfies with audience members
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| Nita Strauss @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Apocalyptica must be seen and heard to be understood. Their approach to this night dedicated to Metallica songs was not to do strictly symphonic versions of Metallica classics but rather to reinterpret the songs with the cellos used as metal strings and accompanied by thundering drums throughout most of the set. Founding cellist Eicca Toppinen was joined on strings by Perttu Kivilaakso and Paavo Lötjönen.
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Both Kivilaakso and Lötjönen played 19th century cellos onstage, but the centuries old instruments were certainly not treated with kid gloves with both members constantly carrying their cellos across the stage and playing them in unique positions – a testament to the quality craftsmanship of the instruments.
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Meanwhile, drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi provided thunder all night long that made no mistake that this was a metal concert and not a concerto. Kaakkuriniemi’s channeling of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich shook the theatre and was present for nearly every song of the night.
Starting with rousing versions of “Ride the Lightning” and a singalong on steroids version of “Enter Sandman” the crowd was completely drawn into the act – with most on their feet, banging their heads and thrusting fists in the air. The three cellists bring an unimaginable heavy sound out of their instruments – emphasized on powerful versions of “Creeping Death” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
After a rousing version of “Battery”, Toppinen provided the introduction and dedication for “The Call of Ktulu.” “It’s always special to play Metallica songs in San Francisco. It’s almost a hometown show. This is dedicated to (original Metallica bassist) the late Cliff Burton who most of you likely know of. Some of you may have even known him.” He then sat down to play the beginning of the song under a solo blue light before the rest of the band came in.
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
After “St. Anger,” Kivilaakso delivered a beautiful solo seated in the middle of the stage for “The Four Horsemen.” Kaakkuriniemi blasted off “Blackened” with cannon power drums as the audience returned to their feet with the arms pumping as Lötjönen patrolled the front of the stage smiling and connecting with the audience as he held his cello out above them.
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The Theatre had a very diverse audience for the show with many likely drawn to the opportunity to feel the power of Metallica songs live for a very reasonable price tag and a much closer environment than the coming summer shows at Levi’s Stadium. “Master of Puppets” received the biggest ovation of the night, but for my money “Nothing Else Matters” delivered the most interesting version as it was performed with only the cellos.
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| Apocalyptica @ the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A full-band version of “Seek & Destroy” finished the main set before they encored with a truly unique version of “One” that featured the recorded voice of James Hetfield delivering the lyrics as spoken word. Their 2024 album “Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2” features both Hetfield doing the spoken word version and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo joining on two versions of “One” and “The Four Horsemen.” Performed live, it provided an underline to the creativity of the band in their approach to the music of the Bay Area’s metal legends.
