Note: This review turns positive before its done.

In case you're not familiar with Apocalyptica, they're four Finnish Sibelius Music Academy students who gathered in 1993 to perform metal compositions on cellos. They started out in the early 90s as a novelty act, releasing albums full of well-executed covers, focusing primarily on Metallica's catalogue. There were occasional original thrash instrumental compositions too, but nothing comparable to their muse material.

Fast forward to 2010: Four distinctly different Apocalypticas can be heard on their new album, "7th Symphony". They've somehow simultaneously become a mainstream hard rock band, a classical quartet, a garage instrumental thrash band with cellos that sound like distorted guitars, and an ambient, doomy, cinematic rumble with cellos that sound like the end of the world. Three out of four ain't bad.

Some record company suit with lots of money LOVES the new mainstream, radio-friendly Apocalyptica. In addition to guest appearances from Lacey (Flyleaf), Brent Smith (Shinedown), Gavin Rossdale (Bush), and Joe Duplantier (Gojira), "7th Symphony" even features a new original Diane Warren (!!??!?!?) composition. You know her stuff; she's the songwriting Midas behind the biggest soft rock hits of the 90s, including, 'I Don't Want Want to Miss a Thing' and 'My Heart Will Go On'. Don't let any of this discourage you. The commercially viable product is mostly harmless, pretty effectively catchy, and even enjoyable at times. The instrumental sections of Warren's 'Not Strong Enough' are beautiful, before Smith's vocals wreck the song.

The other three personalities strongly assert themselves throughout the rest of the album, bringing alternating moments of sublime beauty and devil-horned thrash. There are no cover tunes to be found on this release, and Apocalyptica's songcrafting skills have drastically improved, since the earliest records. The opener, 'At the Gates of Manala' (Manala is the mythological Finnish land of the dead), starts off as a four-minute so-so metal piece, then, rather than end, transitions into a haunting, churning dirge; easily the best section of the album. These motifs recur throughout, and are consistently my favorites. Some filmmaker needs to hire Apocalyptica to score their film. Now. The track entitled '2010' is also a highlight, featuring Dave "Hit-everything-in-sight" Lombardo of Slayer on the drumkit. So yes, this album also has the distinction of featuring Celine Dion's songwriter and Slayer's drummer. Chew on that for awhile.

I highly recommend "7th Symphony", regardless of your musical inclinations. I guarantee you'll find a few moments that you really enjoy. I'm sure the pop-radio masses will have the opposite reaction of mine, and will skip the metal stuff in search of the whiny vocalists (disclaimer: the Gojira guy is not whiny).