Just as some bands are remembered for one song and one song only, which they carry through their careers like a millstone around their neck, other bands get tagged with a label which, no matter how hard they try, never leaves them. The schooldays nickname you hoped to leave behind for ever in the playground, but somehow it stuck.
Apoptygma Berzerk were a prime candidate to be chained to the fence encircling the post-gothic electro alternative camp, having started out in 1991 wearing all the tell-tale signs, the jet black hair and existential scowls, their music a synth-driven shot in the arm, infused with EBM sequencers.
Today, over fifteen years later, with so many bands gone but not forgotten, and so many others forgotten but not gone, it is a testimony to Apoptygma Berzerk’s creativity and ingenuity that their sound has transcended musical categorization without losing any of its energy or authenticity.
Stephan Groth, founder, author, composer, in short the mastermind of APB, is into double figures with Apoptygma Berzerk albums, if we include the live recordings “APBL1998”, “APBL2000” and the 2003 Singles Collection. It is an art in itself to keep a band sounding so fresh and hungry over such a lengthy period and it is a sign of his growing confidence as an artist that he has succeeded not only in shaping and developing Apoptygma Berzerk’s musical output, but has managed to do so without alienating the band’s fanbase who, in the early days at least, were indeed drawn from the ranks of the goth – techno – rock fraternity (those labels again; electro-pop, EBM, synthpop lurked in the shadows).
If the first two longplayers sat most comfortably in that genre pool, the third studio album, “Welcome To Earth” proved to be pivotal in terms of entering new sonic territory and in confirming that Apoptygma Berzerk had well and truly arrived on the international stage – on both sides of the Atlantic. The single “Kathy’s Song”, lifted from the LP, was a massive club hit right across Europe and in the USA, whilst the album itself, which also featured two more classics, “Starsign” and “Eclipse”, and a cover version of Metallica’s “Fade to Black”, sold hugely successfully in the States.

There is a school of thought which maintains that, as a group’s popularity grows, the band inevitably shifts towards the mainstream. In the case of Apoptygma Berzerk, one can point to the introduction of more guitars and a stronger songwriting sensibility, but there is an undeniably organic feel to their growth in stature. The mainstream itself is in a state of permanent flux and, just as Groth sought and found inspiration in the Velvet Underground, Bowie and Talk Talk, so too can one hear the influence of Apoptygma Berzerk on the current music scene. Bands in the contemporary spotlight have learned from their example that it is possible to craft songs from techno elements or that synthesizers have earned the right to return to centre stage in pop. Witness the worldwide appeal of The Killers or the full-on exuberance of Shiny Toy Guns. If this is what is meant by the mainstream, perhaps it is not such a bad place to be.

Stephan Groth’s catholic taste in music is in keeping with his musical family background. His father is a well-known blues/rock singer in his native Norway. Meanwhile, Groth has dropped in referential clues to his own musical influences along the way. Cover versions of OMD’s “Electricity” and The House Of Love’s “Shine On reflect a penchant for 80s electronica and classic pop songs. These, and other, cover versions were gathered together on the 2006 album “Sonic Diary”, kicking off with the rip-roaring “Cambodia” (originally by Kim Wilde), continuing with an unexpected take on Keane’s “Bend And Break” and (via The Cure and New Order), finishing on a melancholy note with Nico and “All Tomorrow’s Parties”. Groth acknowledges that the foundations of APB were built on the bands he grew up with, from Blondie to Depeche Mode: “I never owned a diary…my record collection is my diary”.

Had he kept a diary, we would find other illustrious performers to add to the list – collaborations with artists as diverse as Anneli Drecker from Bel Canto, Claudia Brücken (Propaganda), Ladytron, as well as Satyricon, Blackmail, VNV Nation, Schiller and Ferry Corsten - these last two names further proof that Apoptygma Berzerk are perfectly at home with techno or trance productions. Groth has taken an interest in techno ever since its formative years in Detroit.

As APB’s international reputation has grown, sell-out concerts have become the norm. Between 2005 and 2007, over 100,000 fans in Germany saw them play, along with full houses in the UK, Austria, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Israel, Poland and Russia. Towards the end of 2006 the band also completed a successful tour of Australia and are going to tour South America for the first time at the end of 2007. They have toured extensively across the States several times, with a sellout at New York’s “Limelight” and an appearance at the legendary “Burning Man” Festival in Utah´s desert being two of the highlights.
As their American following has increased, they have also shown up on Hollywood’s radar, with the track “Love to Blame” included on the soundtrack for the film “Open Water 2”. Another cut from the “You And Me Against The World” album, “In This Together”, could be heard throughout Italy on commercials for Seat cars.

Quite apart from the film and commercial spin-offs, “You And Me Against The World” was the band’s most successful studio album to date, entering the German top twenty of the album charts, with the two singles “In This Together” and “Shine On” also going top twenty (the latter staying there for an incredible four months).

Over the course of the past decade and a half, Stephan Groth has guided Apoptygma Berzerk to an enviable, possibly unique, position between electronic, new wave and rock music. Their expertise in drawing on such diverse musical elements has also seen demand for APB remixes increase. This year alone, they have re-worked tracks for A-Ha, Good Charlotte, AFI and Scala.

Call them Apop, APB or Apoptygma Berzerk. Call them post-Goth new wavers, alternative rockers or just a great band. At the end of the day, their loyal fanbase and steadily growing international status speak for themselves. Some bands make a career out of one song. Or somebody else’s song. It did not take long for APB to surge way beyond that stage. Whatever the future may bring, the signs are that Stephan Groth’s creative spark is still burning bright and his band will continue to deliver the goods. Just don’t be too hasty with the labels.
Unless you have one ready which says “classic pop”.

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