a band from Finland consisting of three (formerly four) classically trained cellists and (since 2003) a drummer. Their music is special in that they play heavy metal style songs on cellos, and they also play classical music. They all studied at the same Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.The guys started their career with Metallica covers, which they put together in an album called Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. On their second album, Inquisition Symphony, they added reworked hits from Faith No More, Sepultura and Pantera, along with three original compositions. With Reflections, the cello rock style continued to spread, with drums being heard and some songs taking on an electronic sound instead of the earlier acoustic arrangements on the Inquisition Symphony and Cult albums.In 1999 Antero Manninen left the band and was replaced by Perttu Kivilaakso. In 2002, Max Lilja also left, and Apocalyptica now consisted of three members. Dave Lombardo played drums on five songs on the Reflections album. He was unable to perform with the band from the beginning, so Mikko Sirén took over and is now officially considered the fourth member of Apocalyptica. During the tours, Antero Manninen only helps the band by playing fourth cello.They have already managed to sell 2 million albums worldwide, tour 30 countries, perform with Rammstein and warm up Metallica twice.