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Welcome to Earth
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Does a talent for writing catchy melodies have to come at the expense of "industrial cred"? Norway's Stephan Groth, a.k.a. Apoptygma Berzerk, has been challenging his core audience with that question over three albums and numerous singles. But the man behind such downright tuneful industrial-dance classics as "Non-Stop Violence," "Deep Red," and "Love Never Dies" makes it clear on Welcome to Earth that he's moving in a pop direction, expectations be damned. The album opens with the hard-driving "Starsign," but don't be fooled by its dark, arpeggio synths and Groth's snarled vocals--come the chorus, he goes all wistful on us, turning what would otherwise have been a straightforward rivethead stomp into something that wouldn't be out of place on a Pet Shop Boys album. Along with the nimble, propulsive "Paranoia," it turns out to be one of the disc's few truly electrifying moments, though guilty pleasures abound. "Kathy's Song" marries a light house rhythm to vocals straight out of a mid-'80s Depeche Mode anthem, and "Moment of Tranquility" steals the bass line from the Twin Peaks theme and pins it to a disappointingly bland ballad. But Welcome to Earth's oddest (and perhaps cleverest) choice has to be Groth's cover of Metallica's "Fade to Black," which takes the plodding, dirgelike original and remakes it into a bubbly dance-floor confection. AB fans will either be annoyed by the album or find themselves seduced by its better moments. --Steve Landau
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