In the lore of heavy metal, only a handful of artists can claim to have changed history, and even fewer can say they’ve done so twice. Enter Apocalyptica, and one of metal’s greatest, most unlikely success stories. By any account, it’s the stuff of legend, and it’s about to come full circle as Apocalyptica announces their "Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour" across the United States, featuring support from guitar virtuoso Nita Strauss. Full routing and ticketing information is available below.
Formed in 1993 at the world-renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, Apocalyptica began as a loving, lo-fi nod to Metallica from four classically trained musicians. Their debut album, Plays Metallica By Four Cellos, released in 1996, was a game-changer. As founding band leader Eicca Toppinen explains, "We just loved Metallica and we wanted to play it with the instruments we were able to play, which just happened to be cellos. We played a metal club in Helsinki, and then we were asked to do an album. Five months after it was released, we were opening for Metallica. It’s still unbelievable to me."
Fast forward to today, and Apocalyptica has released eight rapturously received records, sold six million albums, and toured relentlessly. Now, they continue their unique homage to Metallica with Plays Metallica, Vol. 2, featuring powerful collaborations with Metallica members and using original tracks from the legendary Cliff Burton. The album came out June 7, 2024 to rave reviews.
The band looks forward to playing these fresh interpretations of Metallica songs for their US fans in 2025. The "Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour" will kick off on February 6, 2025, in Washington, DC, and will visit major cities across North America.
Tickets will be available starting with a Citi presale beginning today, Tuesday, June 11, at 11 AM, local time. The general onsale begins on Friday, June 14, at 10 AM, local time. Citi is the official card of the "Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour." For complete presale details, visit citientertainment.com.
Tour dates:
February
6 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre
7 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia
8 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
11 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Paramount
12 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS
13 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
14 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center
15 - Chicago, IL - Athenaeum Center
16 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
18 - Minneapolis, MN - Uptown Theater
19 - Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre
20 - Saskatoon, SK - Coors Event Centre
21 - Edmonton, AB - Midway Music Hall
22 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Event Centre
24 - Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
25 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
26 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
27 - San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts
28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Orpheum Theatre
March
1 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
3 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
5 - Austin, TX - ACL Live - Moody Theater
6 - Dallas, TX - The Majestic Theatre
8 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2 is out now via new label Throwdown Entertainment.
Tracklisting:
"Ride The Lightning"
"St. Anger"
"The Unforgiven II"
"Blackened"
"The Call Of Ktulu" (in memory of Cliff Burton)
"The Four Horsemen" (ft. Robert Trujillo)
"Holier Than Thou"
"To Live Is To Die"
"One"
"One" (Instrumental)
"The Call Of Ktulu" visualizer:
"One" video:
"The Unforgiven II" video:
"The Four Horsemen" video:
