Band:	Apocalyptica
Album:	Apocalyptica
Style:	Symphonic heavy metal
Release date:	January 2005

01. Life Burns! [feat. Lauri Ylönen]
02. Quutamo
03. Distraction
04. Bittersweet [feat. Lauri Ylönen and Ville Valo]
05. Misconstruction
06. Fisheye
07. Farewell
08. Fatal Error
09. Betrayal/Forgiveness
10. Ruska
11. Deathzone
12. En Vie
13. How Far [Ltd. Edition bonus]
14. Wie Weit [Ltd. Edition bonus]
+ Apocalyptica-Monitor (ROM Part)

What a pleasant duty, to review such a band as Apocalyptica. A band that started so modestly, recording a CD of Metallica covers, being more of a project than a full-time band. But they worked hard and professionally and matured to become one of the jewels of today's metal scene, so full of...everything these days. All with a master degree in the cello, this is a band of most skilled musicians. And they managed to bring a lot of innovation with each new release.

Their fifth, self-titled album is no exception. This is their first fully original release, with no covers whatsoever, and that can hardly be a drawback. The material has rarely been so gloriously diverse on their albums as in here. There is hardly any point in recommending any separate tracks though. Apocalyptica take you for a memorable journey through feelings, and not in the same way as Amorphis, for example, but a lot more turbulently and aggressively. It doesn't matter which track you're listening to, the creepy "Betrayal" or almost violent "Fisheye", gentle "Deathzone" or energetic "Quutamo", you have to like this album! Seriously, if you have any sense of musicianship and metal in yourself, you will adore Apocalyptica. I guess the first half is more aggressive than the second, more subtle one, but it's a full experience and a well-rounded record all in all. What also contributes are the three (or five on the limited edition) vocal tracks, with guest appearances from Lauri Ylonen (The Rasmus) and Ville Valo (HIM). Although I hate their original bands, their vocals fit in quite nicely with this type of music. The hidden track, "En Vie" comes at 6:40 in the track "Deathzone" and is one in the series of "Quutamo" done with vocals in different languages.

What else is there to say? If you ever heard Apocalyptica and liked it, you will like this album even better! And if you have never heard it, you will definitely want to add this album to your collection. An unconditional recommendation.