Apoptygma Berzerk

• Genre: Industrial Dance
• Hometown: Oslo

About

Apoptygma Berzerk is the nom de guerre of Norwegian techno-goth Stephan Groth. Since the early 1990s, his songs have infiltrated the play lists of edgier dancefloors catering to Goth, Industrial, and fetish club-goers. The music of A.B. obliterates the semi-permeable lines of demarcation that once divided these scenes. If Skinny Puppy had been asked to remix Depeche Mode's Black Celebration, the end result may have been equally oppressive -- though without entirely abandoning a pop orientation. Fans' fervor for Apoptygma Berzerk, however, has less to do with the gloomy pallor of Groth's lyrics and more to do with his penchant for throbbing, irresistible beats. It's no small feat figuring out how to inspire sulky, black-bedizened club-crawlers to shrug off their pestilential gloom and pound the dancefloor in ecstatic unison; but if you're daring enough to venture out to your local Goth club, you can see it happening all the time -- thanks to Apoptygma Berzerk.

- Chad Driscoll