Sophisticated headbanging with Apocalyptica and The Raven Age at Stockholm’s Kägelbanan, 21.9.2024

Twenty-eight years after their debut album “Plays Metallica By Four Cellos”, the Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica are going back to their roots with their tenth studio album “Plays Metallica Vol. 2”, reinterpreting Metallica songs with their cellos – and a drum set – almost entirely instrumentally. The accompanying 2024 / 2025 world tour kicked off a week ago with Apocalyptica‘s “first concert EVER in Dubai”, followed by a show in Greece’s capital Athens and two shows in the Turkish city of Istanbul (one of them sold out). Tonight, the trio will stop in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, more precisely at “Kägelbanan”, which is part of the larger venue “Södra Teatern”.

For almost a year now, attending concerts in Sweden means having to deal with an additional stress factor, thanks to the nationwide “väskförbud” [“ban of bags”]. Due to the increased risk of terror attacks in Sweden, one is no longer allowed to bring bags to bigger events. Some venues make exceptions, and so did “Kägelbanan” at first. Then, suddenly, there was talk of a “totalt väskförbud” [“total ban of bags”], before the whole thing was reversed again the day before the concert. It seems that concert organisers and venues have to renegotiate the “väskförbud” with the authorities for each concert. Storing larger luggage in the paid cloakroom is not an option, as the authorities do not consider the cloakroom of “Kägelbanan” to be suitable for this (jackets and the like are ok, though). While the security measure is understandable, in practice, it may be a stress factor that could deter some potential visitors from attending an event in the first place.

Another thing that was only announced the day before the concert: The programme will start half an hour earlier than previously announced, “because a band has been added”. What may sound like a last-minute addition is anything but that, as it has been clear since May 2024 that The Raven Age will support Apocalyptica, including tonight in Stockholm. However, once we enter “Kägelbanan” for the very first time, everything runs super smoothly. It’s almost like entering another world: An impressive venue, very friendly and helpful staff, and for the first time since the introduction of the “väskförbud” in Sweden, we see security guards checking visitors and their bags, instead of just declaring a “väskförbud”, so hats off to “Kägelbanan” for actively implementing safety measures.

At 7.30 PM, drummer Jai Patel enters the stage to the sounds of “Changing Of The Guard“, followed by the rest of The Raven Age, before the quintet from England’s capital London starts their set with “Serpents Tongue“. Both songs, as well as the following “Nostradamus“, are taken from The Raven Age‘s current third studio album “Blood Omen”.

Just two days ago, The Raven Age have announced that they will once again be supporting the British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden in June 2025. Already in 2016, The Raven Age have toured six continents with Iron Maiden, being repeatedly hired by the latter since then. If this reminds you of the German gothic rock band Lord Of The Lost, who impressed Iron Maiden so much that the latter repeatedly hired them as an opening act… Well, The Raven Age is the band of guitarist George Harris, and George Harris is the son of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris, so, unlike Lord Of The Lost, The Raven Age have family ties to Iron Maiden. Or as critics like to say: A classic case of nepotism. Family ties or not, both bands started their activities at about the same time, around 2009, and while Lord Of The Lost have been a well-established band for years, with numerous releases under their belt, The Raven Age are still considered as an up-and-coming melodic metalcore act that we had never heard of before until they were confirmed as support act for Apocalyptica.

Be that as it may, tonight, The Raven Age clearly have their own fans in the audience, especially in the front row, and they deliver a solid and entertaining show, not least thanks to frontman Matt James and his interactions with the crowd. Matt James only joined the band in 2018, replacing original vocalist Michael Burrough. Maybe this is also the reason why the setlist only covers songs from the last two studio albums “Conspiracy” and “Blood Omen” and the compilation album “Exile”, but no tracks from the debut album “Darkness Will Rise”, which was recorded with Michael Burrough?

For “The Journey“, Matt James fetches his acoustic guitar, and for “Grave Of The Fireflies“, he asks the audience to create a beautiful sea of smartphone flashlights. Before the set is concluded with “Fleur De Lis“, Matt James announces that The Raven Age can be met at the merchandise booth after the performance of headliner Apocalyptica for photos, autographs or to just say hello. Tonight’s show marks the first with The Raven Age as Apocalyptica‘s opening act. They were not part of the first four dates of this tour, and from November 2024, the Finnish pop metal newcomers Arctis will take over the support slot.

Earlier in the set, Matt James asked the audience if they were “feeling warmed up”, and by the end of the set, they literally do. The sudden need for water is met when the security guards in front of the stage start to supply the crowd with it (and they will continue to do so throughout the entire Apocalyptica gig). As if they could read minds. Meanwhile, there is lots to do on stage. The Raven Age had to perform on a crammed stage with two complete drum kits. Now, their own drum kit is being removed to make room for Apocalyptica‘s cellos. And in the front row, fans of The Raven Age are making way for fans of Apocalyptica.

It is pitch black when Apocalyptica enter the stage to the sounds of Ennio Morricone‘s “The Ecstasy Of Gold“. When the cellists play the first notes of “Ride The Lightning“, the audience breaks out into applause, cheering loudly, and when the drums are hit for the first time, strobe light effects start. And then the hall becomes light again, bathing the packed “Kägelbanan” in blue light. There they are: Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen and Perttu Kivilaakso. What a start! “Ride The Lightning” is hands down a perfect opener, both on “Plays Metallica Vol. 2” and live.

This is the fourth time that I see Apocalyptica live. The first time was over 21 years ago, in March 2003, when a concert by Apocalyptica in my native city Hamburg (Germany) was recorded for “Music Planet 2Nite”, a programme on the German-French public service channel Arte. Back then, there were still four cellists on stage, and, if memory serves, the performance was entirely instrumental. Seven years later, in summer 2010, I saw Apocalyptica performing at two open air festivals in Finland. Since numerous singles with guest vocalists had been released in the meantime, some songs were also performed with guest vocalists during those festival gigs. I have enjoyed every single Apocalyptica show and I’m not even sure if they can put on a bad show, but tonight, I quickly realise that I prefer their purely instrumental gigs, like the one back in 2003 – or the one we are attending right now. Just the cellos (and a drum set) and the actual band in the spotlight.

As someone who has always preferred Apocalyptica‘s cover versions of Metallica to the originals, it doesn’t matter to me whether they reinterpret Metallica or play their own compositions like “Path” and “Somewhere Around Nothing“, or their reinterpretation of Edvard Grieg‘s “In The Hall Of The Mountain King“. Tonight, however, Apocalyptica are only playing compositions by Metallica, so mainly a mix of their albums “Plays Metallica By Four Cellos” and “Plays Metallica Vol. 2”. Regarding the creation process of “Plays Metallica Vol. 2”, Eicca Toppinen explains with a wink that it took “only 28 years after the first” and that “choosing the songs for the album was actually pretty complicated” because the band had their favourite songs that they still wanted to play, “but this time it was not about which Metallica songs are great; it was all about which Apocalyptica versions turn out great”.

While Perttu Kivilaakso and Eicca Toppinen are headbanging like there’s no tomorrow, Paavo Lötjönen is in an infectiously good mood, being all smiles. Another positive surprise is the amount of interactions with the audience, both verbal and non-verbal, and even some Swedish is spoken (Perttu Kivilaakso: “Vill ni har mera?”; Swedish for: “Do you want more?”). To add a little more variety to the programme, the cellists leave the spotlight to their tour drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi in the middle of the set. Mikko Kaakkuriniemi is currently filling in for drummer Mikko Sirén, who left Apocalyptica after finishing the recording of “Plays Metallica Vol. 2” – and after more than two decades with the band. Mikko Kaakkuriniemi then engages in a “drum battle” with Rikhard “Riki” Murto, who – according to Perttu Kivilaakso – is “usually our social media person, making amazing videos and flying drones in restricted areas”, but also a “pretty good percussionist”. And, of course, the moments when the crowd sings the choruses of songs like “Enter Sandman“, “Nothing Else Matters“, “Master of Puppets” and “Seek & Destroy” are an integral part of Apocalyptica‘s instrumental performances. Overall, tonight’s show offers a perfect mixture of nostalgia and innovation, presented in a sophisticated ambience.

Speaking of the sophisticated ambience: The elegant and historic “Kägelbanan” (in English: “bowling alley”) with its decorated pillars and a capacity of up to 600 opened at the end of the 19th century and invites you to stay even after the actual event. There is a bar, an area with chairs and tables, and a merchandise booth for both bands, with reasonably priced T-shirts and the like. The Raven Age have even brought their own backdrop banner, for photos with fans. No less impressive are all the flyers for Eicca Toppinen’s projects at the merchandise booth: A jewellery collection (Vaegar), a book (“Eicca – The Connection Creator”), and on 11 May 2025, he will play a show with the metal orchestra Bright & Black in Uppsala, which is only an hour’s train ride from Stockholm. But tonight we are in Stockholm, and Apocalyptica are touring Europe and North America with their “cello metal mayhem” until March 2025, with “more continents to follow”.

A photo gallery with additional pictures of the event can be found here.