Apocalyptica feat. Joakim Brodén - Live Or Die

What this video is

Released March 6, 2020 — weeks before global COVID-19 lockdowns — 'Live Or Die' represents a peak moment of the streaming-era cross-genre metal collaboration model, uniting Finland's classical-metal innovators Apocalyptica with Sabaton vocalist Joakim Brodén. The song's thematic focus on planetary destruction resonated with early-2020 climate anxiety. The video's Berlin filming location reinforces European metal's…

Why it matters

Apocalyptica occupy a singular niche as classically-trained cellists who legitimised cello-based heavy metal as a global commercial and artistic proposition. This video documents the band's mature collaborative phase, pairing their signature cello-driven metal with Nordic power metal's most…

The director

Ville Akseli Juurikkala (born 6 March 1980, Lohja, Finland) is a Finnish photographer and music video director best known as a 'rock photographer' with long-standing working relationships with HIM, Nightwish, and Apocalyptica. He directed his first music…