10 Killer Rock Music Bands With No Guitarist

Apocalyptica began life as a cover band, turning the classic rock and metal standards of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Faith No More and Rammstein into something a little more high-brow.

Classically trained but with a passion for something considerably heavier, the long-haired Finnish quintet retain only a drummer (Mikko Sirén) from the traditional rock setup, swapping out guitar and bass for four cellos instead. Divided somewhat like a symphony and somewhat like a rock band, the cellists roles are split into lead (Perttu Kivilaakso), rhythm (Eicca Toppinen) and bass (Paavo Lötjönen), filling in for the traditional bass and guitar parts on covers, and crafting a whole new soundscape on their now seven-album-strong body of original music.

Utilising a series of guest, touring and semi-permanent singers, Apocalyptica have put out some of the best rock music northern Europe has ever produced, gifting us killer riffs and solos to rival any guitar player, with a unique classical style to boot. But their days of 'Tallica covers aren't quite done yet - the group plans to release Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 later this year, nearly three decades after the iconic original cover album.