Apocalyptica and Nita Strauss at The Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ

“Momentum.” It is not only the song by opener Nita Strauss that started the evening at the Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ, on March 1, 2025, it carried throughout the night. The energy, passion, and excitement are always present when Strauss is on stage, and this night was no different. It was all returned by the audience from the band’s entrance through the final bow.

As the lights went down, the band arrived on stage to a piano intro. First, Katt Scarlett (keyboards) crossed the stage with a wave and nestled behind her keyboard. Johnny Young (guitar) jumped into the picture pumping up everyone. Josh Villalta (drums) followed, standing behind the drum set with arms extended as the fans cheered with appreciation. Strauss entered and the music began immediately, along with a roaring crowd.

The set continued with “Our Most Desperate Hour,” one of the instrumental tracks from Strauss’s first album (“Controlled Chaos”), and “Summer Storm,” a single released in 2022 and the first song of her second Album (“The Call of the Void”), as well as the title of her 2023 tour.

Strauss shreds as if she shares a heartbeat with the guitar; and, if you look closely, she does, as her signature Ibanez Jiva contains an inlaid heartbeat on the fretboard. For this tour, she showcased a new red version of her signature guitar and her white version (Jiva Ghost).

“Mariana Trench” rounded out the powerful first 4 songs. Villalta’s foot speed was incredible as he pumped the double bass throughout this song. Young and Strauss put on a show, not only playing their guitars flawlessly, but also flipping them upside down and backward to entertain the fans.

Strauss then slowed down the pace with a heartfelt song, “Scorched,” which was written during chaotic times in Los Angeles. She also referenced the recent devastating wildfires and hurricanes throughout the country. Cell phones lit up the venue as a gesture to those who have been affected.

Next up was “The Quest,” which began slowly with Scarlett beautifully tickling the ivories and then dove right back into the hard-driving shred that Nita is known for. This song gives each of the band members a moment to shine and concludes with a powerful drum solo by Villalta.

The second half of the set comes directly from “The Call of the Void” album and gave the fans a chance to sing along. Kasey Karlsen, from the band Deadlands, joined the band on stage with youthful enthusiasm and strong vocals, which electrified the audience to join in on every song (“Victorious,” “Digital Bullets,” “Dead Inside,” and “The Wolf You Feed”). The energy of the set was so uplifting that I didn’t want it to end. It definitely had me singing in my car on the drive home.

Closing out the night in the packed, standing-room-only venue was the headliner, Apocalyptica, on the final week of their Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour 2025.

From Helsinki, Finland, the symphonic metal band formed in 1993. Apocalyptica is composed of 3 classically trained cellists: Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Inspired by the group’s love of metal music, they decided to play music from bands like Sepultura, Metallica, and Slayer on their cellos. More than 30 years later they are still going strong! Mikko Kaakkuriniemi joined the cellists on drums for this tour.

Apocalyptica’s first studio album was “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos,” and this tour is in support of their most recent (and tenth) studio album, “Plays Metallica Vol. 2,” released last year. And, as Toppinen reminded us, they have 8 additional albums in between. Everyone should check out the full arsenal of these talented musicians. For their newest album and the songs played on this tour, Toppinen explained that after 28 years since “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos,” doing this second Metallica album “was the right time and felt like an exciting challenge to explore.” He also said, “It was very challenging to create the setlist for the album, pick out the songs…because we had a list of our favorite songs…let’s play this and that…we tried them out and many of them turned out okay, kind of because they are great songs, but then we were like, what’s the fuckin’ point if there's not much difference than Metallica but we play with cellos and it sounds distorted…there is no point to record it.” Thankfully, Metallica has many great songs and they chose ones that gave them “freedom to approach the music.”

The band opened with “Ride the Lightning,” which they started very melodically, but quickly engaged the audience with their energy. Throughout the show they sat, stood, and moved around all while playing. Lötjönen, especially, was animated and engaging. At one point during “Seek and Destroy,” Toppinen and Kivilaakso were playfully chasing each other around in a circle. The crowd really engaged with “Enter Sandman,” during which everyone was high-spirited and singing every word. They also sang along to “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Nothing Else Matters,” and “Seek and Destroy.” The crowd favorite seemed to be “Master of Puppets,” which was evident by the enthusiastic cheers and participation.

Toppinen introduced the “Call of Ktulu” with a heartfelt tribute to Cliff Burton, the original bassist for Metallica who tragically passed away in a tour bus accident in 1986, who is credited with the bass lines in the song. Another interesting gesture to Metallica was Apocalyptica’s interpretation of St. Anger. While the snare sound on the original album has been much criticized, Kivilaakso recreated it by tapping on the side of his cello.

The fans were fist pumping, singing, and head banging all night. When the music stopped, they all wanted more. To their delight, they got more when Apocalyptica provided an encore, including the song “One,” with spoken lyrics by James Hetfield. It was truly an enjoyable evening for every Metallica and Apocalyptica fan in the house! Toppinen’s closing statement to the audience was, “we’ll be back and that’s for fuckin’ sure!” Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long!