aglasshouse
Ah, Apocalyptica. Never will you ever degrade, only will you get better.
Apocalyptica is a three-piece cello metal piece that, in all reality, pioneered the symphonic metal genre in it's purest form. This is literally the definition of a metallic symphony accept without the orchestra.
The instrumentation of these guys is absolutely awe-inspiring. I've never been a cello enthusiast myself but when I did hear them for the first time a few years ago it almost made me want to learn the damned instrument. This one of the many albums that Apocalyptica has released, and most likely the most complex and innovative for the band. They combine insane string shredding to make up for background noise and having a melodic front-leading cello to pull of the more loopy and almost solo-style quaverings. 'Fight Fire with Fire' is an excellent example of this.
Another style that these geniuses incorporate is soundtrack-style symphonic metal, in the sense that if you slapped Cult on the big screen for some Michael Bay flick (or not probably), then it would go perfect. And as for me, I've always loved the majesty of soundtracks, especially ones that go great on their own as well as being spectacular for the film background music. The great thing is that Cult isn't a soundtrack but sounds like one and seems to have an escalated level of achievement and skill.
If you are a fan symphonic, chamber, soundtrack, or even classical music you will at the VERY LEAST find this one intriguing.