7th Symphony by Apocalyptica

7th Symphony, Apocalyptica's seventh studio album, landed in August 2010, three years after Worlds Collide, with Howard Benson producing. The Helsinki outfit that started out as a Metallica tribute on cellos had long since become a metal band in its own right, and here cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén stick with the plan from last time: four songs with guest singers, the rest instrumental.

The guest list reads like a rock-radio roll call. Bush's Gavin Rossdale fronts the first single, "End of Me", Lacey Sturm, formerly of Flyleaf, takes "Broken Pieces", and Brent Smith sings "Not Strong Enough", which American radio got with Hoobastank's Doug Robb instead after the band couldn't clear Smith's vocals with Shinedown's label, Atlantic. Gojira's Joe Duplantier returns for a reworked "Bring Them to Light", and Slayer's Dave Lombardo pounds the kit on "2010". In between, the cellos saw, snarl and soar like guitars that went to conservatory.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.