APOCALYPTICA
EICCA TOPPINEN
LIFE LESSONS
How a boy from the wrong side of the tracks helped revolutionise metal and classical music with Apocalyptica
WORDS: CHRIS CHANTLER • PICTURES: DEREK BREMNER
SINCE 1993, WHEN the idea of Metallica songs played in an orchestral style had a curious novelty buzz around it, classically trained cellist Eicca Toppinen has guided Apocalyptica to unimagined success over an extraordinary career, releasing nine albums and working with Sabaton, Amon Amarth, Corey Taylor, Ville Valo, Bullet For My Valentine and more.
As the Finns return to the theme of their much-loved 1996 debut, Plays Metallica By Four Cellos, for new album Plays Metallica Vol. 2, we got Eicca to share some handy tips for living.
KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE
“It’s insane when you put it on paper: the fifth show after our first album release, and we were opening for Metallica! It felt surreal in a way, but I think we always had such a strong belief in our professionalism as cello players. We were already hard-boiled musicians and performersalthough in a different, classical context – so we had this kind of grounding where our confidence was relaying. But I don’t remember in much detail how it felt to go onstage, which probably tells you I was pretty nervous!”
COMMIT, OR GET OFF THE HORSE
“I was riding horses when I was 15. I really loved spending time at the stables, I wanted to go to a special school to become a horse-riding instructor. Probably that would have taken off for me if music hadn’t. In my 20s when Apocalyptica was getting busier and busier, I got so frustrated that my own development as a horse rider wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t riding often enough, I didn’t have the money to maintain it, and it started to lose its spark. I still love horses, but I haven’t been riding for a long, long time.”