Apocalyptica has released their cover of the Metallica instrumental “The Call of Ktulu,” recorded for their Plays Metallica Vol. 2 album.
The Finnish outfit’s rendition of the song is accompanied by the track’s original bassline, recorded by the late Cliff Burton.
“This song is indeed very special to us,” Apocalyptica says. “It was a spiritual experience working on it! We wanted to treat it with maximum respect to honor Cliff. For us, it is a powerful tribute to a legendary bassist whose colossal musical legacy lives on in many ways – with the Cliff Burton Family celebrating his life and telling his stories amongst other things.”
“It means a lot to us and makes us very proud that we could feature the original bassline laid down by Cliff Burton himself in our version of the song,” the band adds. “Let’s celebrate this exceptional musician and person!”
You can listen to Apocalyptica’s “The Call of Ktulu” now via digital outlets.
Plays Metallica Vol. 2 is due out Friday. It’s the sequel to Apocalyptica’s 1996 debut album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which introduced their unique brand of cello metal.
Along with an original Burton bassline, Plays Metallica Vol. 2 features contributions from ‘Tallica frontman James Hetfield, who delivers a spoken word rendition of “One,” and current bassist Robert Trujillo.