''7th Symphony'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the Finnish cello metal band

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical ...

. It was released on August 20, 2010, in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, August 23, 2010, in the rest of the world, and August 24, 2010, in the U.S. and Canada. Released three years after their previous album '' Worlds Collide'', Apocalyptica continued the practice of having four tracks with featured vocalists, while the remaining tracks are all instrumental.

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

was once again featured on drums, on the track entitled "2010". The band toured with touring vocalist Tipe Johnson in support of the album in Europe, Mexico, Canada, the US and Venezuela since the summer of 2010. The first single "End of Me" with

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

on vocals, was premiered on Finnish Radio Ylex on June 7, 2010. It received radio play June 28, 2010, and its release date was on August 6, 2010, in Germany. The second single from the album, "Broken Pieces" with

Lacey Sturm Lacey Nicole Sturm (née Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter born in Homestead, Florida, but raised in Arlington, Texas. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Flyleaf. In ...

, formerly of

Flyleaf Flyleaf may refer to: *In book design, a blank leaf in the front or back cover * Flyleaf (band) Flyleaf is an American rock band formed in Belton, Texas, in 2002. The band has charted on mainstream rock, Christian pop, and Christian metal ...

, was released in October 2010. The third single, "Not Strong Enough" featuring

Brent Smith Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Shinedown. Early life Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and is an only child. Career Prior to fronting the rock band S ...

, was released in November 2010, but not in the US, where another version of the song, featuring Doug Robb of

Hoobastank Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist ...

on vocals, started playing on US radio on January 18, 2011. The song was re-recorded with Robb after the band failed to secure the rights to release the song with Smith's vocals to U.S. radio from Shinedown's label,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Accordingly, the promotional video for "Not Strong Enough" was re-released with Doug Robb replacing all scenes that were initially shot with Brent Smith. The track "Bring Them to Light" was originally written for ''Worlds Collide'', but both

Joe Duplantier Joseph Andrew Duplantier (born 19 October 1976) is a French-American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of heavy metal band Gojira. He is also a record producer and environmental activist. Duplantier was born ...

(of

Gojira Gojira (ゴジラ) is the original Japanese name for Godzilla, a giant monster at the center of a media franchise. It may also refer to: Films * ''Godzilla'' franchise, known as ''ゴジラ'' (''Gojira'') in Japan ** ''Godzilla'' (1954 film), rele ...

) and Apocalyptica were unhappy with the original, and so they decided to re-work the track, and re-record it for their next studio album.

Track listing

All tracks produced by

Joe Barresi Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, Ba ...

, except for "Not Strong Enough" and "Broken Pieces" produced by

Howard Benson Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008. Early life and education Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...

. ;Notes *A ^"Sacra" is partly inspired by Finnish folk song "Peltoniemen Hintriikan Surumarssi".''Seventh Symphony'' liner notes.

Release

''7th Symphony'' was released in six different formats.

Standard CD

Contains the standard 10-track album.

Vinyl LP

Contains the standard 10-track album.

Limited edition CD/DVD

Contains 12 songs (additional tracks being "Through Paris in A Sportscar" and "The Shadow of Venus") and a bonus DVD with filmed acoustic recordings from a session at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, recorded on June 4, 2010.

Digital download

Digital download versions include the standard 10-track edition and the limited 12-track edition of the album, with additional bonus tracks "Spiral Architect" or "Return Game". The iTunes bonus track "Spiral Architect" is a cover of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

and was also featured in the free CD available with the September 2010 issue of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

''.

USB stick

A cello-shaped USB stick with 10 songs, plus "Through Paris In A Sports Car " and "The Shadow Of Venus", as well as "End Of Me" video, ''On the Road with Apocalyptica'' tour film (Ukraine 2010) and digital booklet.

Limited red vinyl

Contains standard 10-track album. Released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland only.

Reception

Phil Freeman of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

felt that ''7th Symphony'' was a "string tribute" while Merlin Alderslade of ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'' said it was not a spectacular album in comparison to Apocalyptica's previous album '' Worlds Collide''.

Personnel

Perttu Kivilaakso Perttu Päivö Kullervo Kivilaakso is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Like fellow band members Eicca Toppinen and Paavo Lötjönen, he attended Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He plays a German 19th century cello; he started play ...

– cello, additional vocals *

Paavo Lötjönen Paavo Lötjönen (born 29 July 1968) is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Paavo comes from a family where both of his parents were professional musicians. At the age of 6, he took a cello and decided that would be the instrument he ...

– cello, additional vocals *

Mikko Sirén Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical-s ...

– drums, percussion, additional vocals; double bass on 'Beautiful' (live bonus DVD) *

Eicca Toppinen Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen (born 5 August 1975) is a Finnish cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four str ...

– cello, additional vocals *

– producer, mixer *

– producer, keyboards and programming (on "Not Strong Enough" and "Broken Pieces") *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixer (on "Not Strong Enough") *

Johnny Andrews Johnny Andrews is an American songwriter and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee. Andrews has written multiple number one singles, including " I Am Machine" and "Painkiller" by Three Days Grace, "Freak Like Me" by H ...

– additional vocals *

Lauri Porra Lauri Porra (born 13 December 1977) is a Finnish bass guitarist and a composer who has written scores for films and other media, as well as commissions from orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He is also known fo ...

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

– bass *

Paul Bushnell Ednaswap was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1993 and 1998. Over a span of five years, the band released four major label records on East West, Elektra Records and Island Records. The band is best known ...

– bass (on "Not Strong Enough" and "Broken Pieces") Guest musicians *

– vocals on "End of Me" *

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original l ...

– vocals on "Not Strong Enough (Album Version)" * Doug Robb of

vocals on "Not Strong Enough (US Single Version)" *

– drums on "2010" *

Lacey Mosley Lacey Nicole Sturm (née Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter born in Homestead, Florida, but raised in Arlington, Texas. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Flyleaf (ban ...

– vocals on "Broken Pieces" *

– vocals on "Bring Them to Light"

Charts

References

External links

Official Apocalyptica website
{{DEFAULTSORT:7th Symphony (Album) Apocalyptica albums 2010 albums Columbia Records albums