Apocalyptica Haunts Toronto

Feb 153 min read

By: Michael Drukarsh

Toronto, ON - For the first time last night at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, I witnessed a phenomenon that truly blew my mind! A heavy metal concert where 80% of the music played had no lead singer!

Nita Strauss

Storming the stage with a blazing guitar, opening act Nita Strauss took no prisoners as she broke into her first piece, "Momentum". The crowd of 1500 or so were instantly up on their feet and few sat back down after the opening note.

On the road since she was 16 and holding down guitar duties for powerhouses like Demi Lovato and Alice Cooper, Strauss has proven herself to be one of the top guitarists out there right now. Her solo work only solidifies how talented she is.

With hair flying and fingers smoking up and down the fretboard, Strauss blasted through hits such as "Summer Storm" and "Mariana Trench". Following a beautifully played tribute to her home town of L.A. titled "Scorched", drummer and Nita’s husband, Josh Villalta broke out a short but awesomely 80s drum solo before Kasey Karlsen, lead vocalist for Deadlands joined Nita and the band to close out the show with crowd sing along "Victorious", "Digital Bullets", "Dead Inside" and finally "The Wolf You Feed" which featured Karlsen doing an incredible job of vocal acrobatics ala original vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.

Apocalyptica

I am truly at a loss for words when it comes to reviewing the headliner Apocalyptica. This Finnish trio of cellists erupted on stage with little fanfare and immediately ripped into "Ride The Lighting". No, you didn’t read that wrong! Apocalyptica is a cello trio, Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lotonen and Perttu Kivilaakso, who, along with drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi, rework some of Metallica's greatest hits into cello music.

But this is not your grandma's chamber music.

After the successful release of their 1996 Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, Apocalyptica honed their craft over the next 28 years before releasing the sequel Plays Metallica, Vol 2 in 2024.

Eicca Toppinen performs live in Toronto. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh

Last night's concert saw the band perform 13 songs spanning Metallica's career including "The Call of Ktulu", a tribute to late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton and "St. Anger", the title track off the somewhat divisive album of the same name.

With very little in the way of addressing the crowd (when they did though, dry Finnish humour was on full display) Apocalyptica banged their heads and had the crowd take lead vocal duties on tracks such as “For Whom the Bell Tolls” “Blackened” and “Battery”. With each member flying across the stage, switching spots to the delight of the audience, you’d be hard pressed to remember these are cellos being played, not flying v guitars!

Both “Master of Puppets” and “Nothing Else Matters” along with the encore “One” showcased just how incredibly talented these three musicians are. With raising crescendos, powerful fortissimos and haunting pizzicato technique (three words I hope I used correctly because I never EVER thought I’d use them in a heavy metal review) Apocalyptica delivered a magical performance that truly highlights just how beautiful and complicated heavy metal really is.

Set List

Ride the Lightning (Metallica cover)

Enter Sandman (Metallica cover)

Creeping Death (Metallica cover)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica cover)

Battery (Metallica cover)

The Call of Ktulu (Metallica cover)

St. Anger (Metallica cover)

The Four Horsemen (Metallica cover)

Blackened (Metallica cover)

Master of Puppets (Metallica cover)

Nothing Else Matters (Metallica cover)