_{“The End is Nigh” is the debut album from Swedish band Apocalypse Orchestra and it was released by Despotz Records on 12th May. I’ll be the first to say that this album is a bit outside of the norm when it comes to my recommendations. Normally I’m fairly middle of the road – nothing too heavy and nothing too melodic. “The End is Nigh” is neither too heavy nor too melodic; it’s just a bit “out there”. However, there is something about it that intrigues me! It might be described as medieval metal if such a genre exists. If it doesn’t already, maybe Apocalypse Orchestra have just created it. I included the track “Theatre of War” on the Friday NI Rocks Show for 12th May.}

_{Featuring bagpipes on a rock album is rare, but hardly unheard of. Add to that the hurdy gurdy, mandola, cittern and something called a rauschpfeife though and you’re getting something fairly unique! However, there are guitars, bass and drums too, so there’ll be something you’ll recognise in amongst some melodies that date back to the 12th century.}

_{There are only 8 tracks on the album, but most run to around 7 or 8 minutes in length, which might lead to the skip / forward button get hit occasionally.}

_{Apocalypse Orchestra are Erik Larsson on vocals, guitars, mandola, cittern and rauschpfeife; Mikael Lindström on hurdy gurdy, bagpipes and rauschpfeife; Andreas Skoglund on drums and percussion and Rikard Jansson on bass. The latter three all provide backing vocals as well.}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

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