Classic APOCALYPTICA Titles To Be Reissued In December

In support of the Finnish cellists APOCALYPTICA's forthcoming headline tour in December, Spinefarm Records UK will be giving an official UK release to two classic titles from the band's ever-expanding catalogue: 2006's "Amplified" collection and 2005's "Apocalyptica" — the studio album that saw the band inviting other artists into their domain to truly dazzling effect.

"Amplified: A Decade Of Reinventing The Cello" was originally issued to commemorate APOCALYPTICA's 10th anniversary; this enhanced two-CD version features 23 tracks, including some of the Helsinki troupe's most celebrated covers (METALLICA's "Enter Sandman", SLAYER's "Angel Of Death", etc.), plus a whole host of guest vocalists, ranging from Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA) right through to avant-garde German singer Nina Hagen.

Says APOCALYPTICA's Eicca Toppinen: "This collection represents a massive journey for us, from cello ensemble to bona fide rock band. A lot of our singles were released in some countries but not in others, so we wanted to round everything up in one place. Plus, we also tried to include those tracks from our albums that are important to the live set, but might not have been given single status."

As for "Apocalyptica", the fifth studio album originally issued a year earlier, this saw the cellists seriously bringing on board the talents of fellow artists (the likes of Lauri Ylönen from THE RASMUS, Ville Valo from HIM and Dave Lomardo of SLAYER fame) as a way of pushing musical and conceptual boundaries to a greater degree.

"It was time to bring other artists and fans into our world," says Eicca.

Previously, vocals had been added to the music after it had been conceived and recorded, the icing on the cake, but with "Apocalyptica" the idea was to make these vocals a part of the cake itself — perhaps the finest example of this shift in emphasis being "Bittersweet" (one of 14 tracks featured on this expanded version), wherein both Valo and Ylönen join forces for a truly memorable song and accompanying video.

APOCALYPTICA will tour the UK from December 2 to December 12. Main support on all shows will come from Finnish death doom maestros SWALLOW THE SUN, whose new album "Plague Of Butterflies" is available now via Spinefarm Records UK.