"Plays Metallica by four cellos" CD by Apocalyptica

"Plays Metallica by four cellos" is the debut album from Finnish cello rock band 'Apocalyptica'. This album paves the way for a long and successful career. Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, Max Lilja and Antero Manninen met at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and decided to recreate songs by their favourite band Metallica on the classical cello. They selected four of these pieces for their exam at the Academy. Kari Hynninen, head of a small record company in Finland, was present at one of their concerts and wanted to sign up the band. Lack of money meant that Apocalyptica were only able to use the studio in the early morning or late at night. Record company Mercury Records, to whom Metallica are signed, showed an interest in the band and enabled worldwide distribution of their debut album. All songs are originally by Metallica. The album sold 350,000 copies worldwide and attracted interest in the band from the metal scene.