Formation
The band was formed byInfluences and style
Groth has cited influences including Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Jean-Michel Jarre and John Carpenter. The first two albums, ''Soli Deo Gloria (album), Soli Deo Gloria'' and ''7 (Apoptygma Berzerk album), 7'', were a similar style of electropop and Electronic body music, EBM. ''Welcome to Earth'' eschewed the dark themes of ''7'' for a lighter, less aggressive sound, and included a few experimental tracks. ''Harmonizer (Apoptygma Berzerk album), Harmonizer'' featured a softer, more synthpop-oriented direction when compared to previous albums, and their 2006 album, ''You and Me Against the World'', represented an almost complete change in style for the band. It featured a more mainstream, indie rock-oriented sound, and the complete departure from the band's traditional electric synthpop and EBM roots that started with ''7''. With the release of latest album, ''Rocket Science (Apoptygma Berzerk album), Rocket Science'', Apop is still going on the rock vibe while keeping synthpop sounds like its predecessor, ''YAMATW''. Many albums feature a hidden track that can be accessed by fast forwarding through many minutes of silence on the last album track. For instance, on ''7'', one can hear a remix of ''Nonstop Violence'' after ''Love Never Dies (Part II)''. The band also features cover songs on several of their albums. For example, on the American version of ''7'' a cover of "Electricity (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song), Electricity" by OMD is featured; similarly, ''Welcome to Earth'' features a cover of Metallica's Fade to Black (Metallica song), "Fade to Black". ''You and Me Against the World'' has a cover of "Cambodia (song), Cambodia" by Kim Wilde and "Shine On (The House of Love song), Shine On" by The House Of Love. They have also recorded covers of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence", Suede (band), Suede's "Trash (Suede song), Trash", Keane (band), Keane's "Bend and Break", Kraftwerk's "Ohm Sweet Ohm" and Marilyn Manson (band), Marilyn Manson's "Coma White". Most recently, they have covered Peter Schilling's Major Tom (Coming Home).Members
Current members
*Former members
*Geir Bratland – keyboards, backing vocals (1995–2009) *Fredrik Brarud – drums (2002–2009) *Brandon Smith – guitar (2009) *Jon Erik Martinsen – keyboards (1989) *Per Aksel Lundgreen – keyboards (1990–1994) *Anders Odden – guitars (1992–1999, 2003–2006) *Fredrik Darum – live guitar (1999–2001) *Thomas Jakobsen – drums (2009–2011)Live members
* Leandra Ophelia Dax – keyboards (2010–present)Other collaborators
*Vegard Blomberg of View *Pål Magnus Rybom of Echo Image *Claudia Brücken of Propaganda (band), Propaganda *Benji Madden of Good Charlotte *Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls *Emil Nikolaisen of Serena Maneesh *Håvard Ellefsen of Mortiis *Kurt Ebelhäuser of Blackmail (band), Blackmail *Anneli Drecker of Bel Canto (band), Bel Canto *Vile ElectrodesLine-up changes
Per Aksel Lundgreen joined Apoptygma Berzerk in 1990, and remained an active member until 1994. He has since pursued numerous other musical projects, most recently joining Rossetti's Compass as a permanent member in March 2013. Anders Odden has been the most reoccurring member of Apop, joining in the live lineup in the early 1990s, and reappearing several times during the next 15 years, both live and in the studio. Geir Bratland also joined in the first part of the 1990s. In 1999, Fredrik Darum and Ted Skogman joined the band for the Welcome To Earth album and world tour. In 2001, Fredrik and Ted were replaced with Fredrik Brarud and Angel. The 2006 release You And Me Against The World and 2009's Rocket Science, are the only albums to feature other persons than main man Stephan as part of the band (Geir Bratland, Angel, Fredrik Brarud and Anders Odden on You And Me Against The World, and without Anders on Rocket Science). In July 2009 Angel, Geir and Fredrik departed from the Apoptygma Berzerk lineup. In August 2009, Brandon Smith (frontman from the electronic rock band The Anix) confirmed that he was joining the band on guitar for the US and Canada legs of the upcoming tour. source- www.theanix.com Brandon wrote on the forum saying, "This is just going to be a test run type of tour, to see how well Apop does in the US, Canada, and South America. I will be playing guitar for them on this tour." On 3 September 2009, Stephan wrote on the official site: In 2010, Leandra Ophelia Dax (the only female member of the band thus far) stood in for Jonas during the support tour for German band Unheilig. In 2011, Thomas Jakobsen was replaced by Ted Skogman, and Angel came back, replacing Brandon (though Brandon has appeared live a few times after this, e.g. in Mexico City 2014).Discography
Studio albums
* ''Soli Deo Gloria (album), Soli Deo Gloria'' (1993) * ''7 (Apoptygma Berzerk album), 7'' (1996) * ''Welcome to Earth'' (2000) * ''Harmonizer (Apoptygma Berzerk album), Harmonizer'' (2002) * ''You and Me Against the World'' (2005) * ''Rocket Science (Apoptygma Berzerk album), Rocket Science'' (2009) * ''Exit Popularity Contest'' (2016) * ''SDGXXV'' (2019)References
External links
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