Apocalyptica's Eicca Toppinen recently spoke with Heavy Consequence about the band's new album, Cell-0. Following is an excerpt.

On what made the band decide to do an all-instrumental recording again

Toppinen: "I think there were a lot of things in the background of that — in 2012, we did this instrumental project with orchestra, Wagner Reloaded, and that was one experience in that territory. Then, we did a tour with the orchestra, and then we did this one tour with going back to our original roots, with Plays Metallica by Four Cellos — which was a fully instrumental tour. That was so exciting to go back our core with experiences we’ve gained over 20 years. We were thinking, 'It would be so cool now to focus on, What is the origin of Apocalyptica? After all these years, after doing all these collaborations with different producers. So, we wanted to go back to the core, and build the music up from that. That’s why we didn’t have a producer for this album. We just wanted to lock ourselves in the studio and not communicate with the other world and not to get any influences from their end — just to focus on what we want to do and how to do it. And making an instrumental album was the way to do that and find that.

It was very interesting, after so many years — 17 years or something — we haven’t done an instrumental album. We wanted to keep the concept instrumental, because it’s such a different approach for vocal songs than instrumentals. And also, for the listener, in a way you have vocals in the song, the way it happens with the ears, everybody naturally their ears focus on the vocals. And the vocals take so much space out of the cellos, and all the colors and flavors and layers that cellos can create, that with instrumentals, we have all the space for that. And we were able to explore all the dimensions, layers, and levels of the band … and our music and sound. That’s why we really wanted to do this kind of album now."

Check out the complete interview here.

"En Route To Mayhem", the new music video from Finland's multi-Platinum cello-rock band, Apocalyptica, transports the viewer to a fantastical post-humanity future. This imaginary world is barren, dusty, and littered with broken pieces of things once considered essential to humankind: bits of plastic, a teddy bear, crumbling structures, cell phones and computers, bleached bones, and long-forgotten musical instruments. The setting is devoid of mankind, but brimming with the hope of new life; and then one day, thunder, lightning, and one drop at a time, it begins to rain, and Mother Nature steps in.

Check out the "En Route to Mayhem" video below.

Said Apocalyptica's Eicca Toppinen, "'En Route To Mayhem' is a journey of hedonic needs growing into greed and aggression, driving into inner mayhem and ending without satisfaction. This video underlines the fact that however we think we are in control by destroying things and life around us, life itself will take over in the end, always. We are not in control of the bigger picture, and we should be aware of it and raise our respect to life around us."

The "En Route to Mayhem" video is in support of Apocalyptica's upcoming album, Cell-0, due out January 10 (Silver Lining Music). Produced by Apocalyptica - cellists Eicca Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso, and Paavo Lötjönen, and drummer Mikko Sirén - mixed by Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Metallica and Black Sabbath), and recorded at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki, the recording of Cell-0 followed a four-year break between albums that gave the band a fresh perspective and affected the way they approached the new music. Cell-0 is the quartet's first instrumental album in 17 years and found the musicians challenging themselves to discover new flavors and colors in their respective instruments.

Cell-0 will be available in a variety of formats and pre-orders can be placed at apocalyptica.com.

* CD Mediabook
* Heavy-weight double vinyl with etching artwork housed in a 6-panel gatefold with 12" 20-page booklet
* Deluxe D2C bundles
* Digital Download and Streaming

Produced by Apocalyptica, mixed by Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Metallica and Black Sabbath), and recorded at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki, Cell-0 sees the band soaring into ethereal space on "Ashes Of The Modern World," while diving head-first into aggressive thrash 'cello-riffery' during "En Route To Mayhem."

Rather than put strategic attention on aspects like writing singles, the band approached Cell-0 as a fully-formed piece of art, connecting the right details and hues with the energy of being a real cello-metal band. By pushing themselves to find other places and levels in their music, Apocalyptica opened up to some seemingly unorthodox methods and emotions while traveling through that creative process. Said Eicca Toppinen, "These new songs have so many layers and are so complex, and it's not always easy to point exactly what they are about. But I think that's also the beauty of instrumental music, that the listener always can feel free to experience the same songs in very, very different ways. It's also one reason why we don't want to explain the songs before they're experienced."

"Rise" video:

In concert, Apocalyptica is known for its moving and bombastic live performances with sparse production but an abundance of head banging. The band will kick off the New Year as Special Guest on Sabaton's 15-country, 23-date European arena tour that begins on January 17, 2020 in Zurich, Switzerland. Apocalyptica has also announced the first leg of its 2020 North American tour that starts May 3 in Orlando Florida and will see the band performing in 20 cities over a three-week period, wrapping up on May 26 in Boston, MA. With a set list that will likely vary night to night, Apocalyptica's performances will be comprised of new songs from Cell-0 as well as from the band's rich catalogue. Lacuna Coil will support on all North American dates.

For complete details, head here.

(Photo - Ville Juurikkala)