Perttu Kivilaakso
Acting
Biography
Perttu Päivö Kullervo Kivilaakso is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Like fellow band members Eicca Toppinen and Paavo Lötjönen, he attended Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Kivilaakso won third place in the second International Paulo Cello Competition in 1996 at age 18. Shortly afterward, he attained a lifetime chair in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,[4] where his father, Juhani, is also a cellist. He was on indefinite leave while touring with Apocalyptica, but left for good in 2007. Kivilaakso has also composed music for the video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, a few documentary films, as well as many original compositions for Apocalyptica, including "Conclusion", "Farewell" and "Beautiful". His first opera, Indigo, composed with his Apocalyptica bandmate Eicca Toppinen, was premiered at the Finnish National Opera on 22 January 2016. The opera tells "a story of an omnipotent, multinational company and a search for happiness".
Known For
The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition, organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and featuring participants representing primarily European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, transmitted to national broadcasters via the EBU's Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine the winner.
Eurovision Song Contest
The Bundesvision Song Contest is an annual competition created by German TV entertainer Stefan Raab in 2005. For each of the 16 states of Germany a song is chosen by regional radio stations. The songs are performed on live television in order to find the most popular song in the competition. The TV format makes use of premium-priced viewer interactivity, with viewers voting for their favourite songs by phone or SMS. The show is loosely based on the Eurovision Song Contest and its rules aim at promoting German-language music by requiring that at least 50 percent of the lyrics have to be performed in German.
Bundesvision Song Contest
Composed by two cellists from the metal band Apocalyptica, a contemporary rock opera presented by the Helsinki National Opera. The plot combines elements of a contemporary fantasy tale: love and the quest for eternal happiness in the face of a sprawling multinational corporation that threatens humanity.
Indigo
Recorded live at Wacken, July 30th 2025. Apocalyptica began in 1993 as four students playing Metallica songs on their cellos for fun, creating a completely new sound that irrevocably fused classical and metal. Setlist: "Ride the Lightning", "Enter Sandman", "Creeping Death", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "St. Anger", "The Four Horsemen", "Blackened", "Master of Puppets", "Nothing Else Matters", "Seek & Destroy", "One"
Apocalyptica Live at Wacken 2025
Live is the first official Apocalyptica DVD which consists of a recorded show in Munich, on the 24th of October, 2001. It only includes tracks from the first 3 albums: Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, Inquisition Symphony and Cult.
Apocalyptica: Live
Setlist: "Ride the Lightning (Metallica cover)", "Enter Sandman (Metallica cover)", "Creeping Death (Metallica cover)", "For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica cover)", "St. Anger (Metallica cover)", "Blackened (Metallica cover)", "Master of Puppets (Metallica cover)", "Seek & Destroy (Metallica cover)", "One (Metallica cover)"
Apocalyptica - M'era Luna Festival 2025
Classic in every sense of the word: the Finnish symphonic metal combo presents Plays Metallica Vol. 2, their tenth album of symphonic Metallica covers. Setlist: "Ride the Lightning", "Enter Sandman", "St. Anger", "Blackened", "Master of Puppets", "Seek & Destroy"