Apoptygma Berzerk

I didn't know a lot about this Norwegian goth-rock outfit before they hit Brisbane on their Australian tour: a few youtube clips and a write-up in Fiend magazine, to be precise. I was convinced to go to their gig at the Arena by the apparent charisma of their front man; in fact, it looked like the entire band were performers. And so it proved. The crowd was large enough to make some noise but not too big to make standing at the front uncomfortable. The band rocked. Main man Stephan Groth was a bundle of energy, egging on the crowd throughout, and the charismatic guitarist and keyboardist also put on a show. While the songs range from synth-rock to emo, any blandness can be forgiven for the sake of performance, and some tracks had more presence than suggested by the clips I'd seen. They also do a fine cover version of Shine On, although the decision to cover Kim Wilde's Cambodia (not played at the gig) is a little, well, strange, although maybe the war in Iraq means the sentiment is perhaps not as dated as the tune. We await our copy of the band's latest album, You and Me Against the World, with anticipation! Apoptygma Berzerk homepage