Rockin' the ... cello?

One of the biggest surprises as I got deeper into the world of metal a few years ago, is just how popular cellos are in the metal scene.

There's Apocalyptica, a Finnish cello trio backed by a rhythm section who play both covers of classic metal (they are touring a Metallica tribute right now) and original songs.

There's Chinese-American cellist Tina Guo, who apparently got into metal in university and now guests with metal bands fairly regularly as well as doing her own shows at metal festivals. She was quite present and active at Wacken Open Air in Germany this past week.

And there's some bands out there that actually have cellists as session players or members.

So, for my latest story, I tell the tale of a cellist who is presented with a chance to do metal. She's a student, so fairly new, and the band is a local up and coming group. And the band's singer is a bit of a hottie, suggesting more than music might be involved in this tie-up.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/realistic-fiction/heavy-cello-love

Some music that kind of suggests where I am coming from with this cello and metal thing.

First up, a recent video from German band Lord of the Lost with Tina Guo joining on cello (and she actually uses her acoustic on this one).

From Wacken Open Air 2019, Tina joins Swedish history-themed power metal band Sabaton for one of their biggest songs. She's electrified on this one.

Apocalyptica live featuring the wonderful Dutch metal mezzo Simone Simons for their original song "Rise Again".

And finally, from this year's Wacken Open Air, Tina and Apocalyptica team up for a Metallica cover.

Here's an example of a band with a cellist as a member. EGRES is a Finnish indie band that I discovered through a member on another site who is friends with the band's founder and whose sister was their original lead singer and lyricist. She had to move on to other things (including having a baby) so this live video features her successor Hanna Lahtinen on vocals.

Interestingly, I have had more comments on a site where I linked to this story than I have on here. Admittedly, it's the fan site for a metal singer so perhaps a more receptive audience. What do folks think? How did this one land? Inquiring minds want to know.