Search - Apoptygma Berzerk :: Harmonizer

Welcome to Perfection

R O C K E T | The Twin Cities, MN | 03/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I've read some reviews elsewhere that complained that APB is selling out...WHAT!? If this is what's popular where you live, please tell me where you live so I can move there! This album is amazing. I honestly did not expect it to equal Welcome to Earth. I was very pleasantly surprised, though, when I first listened to it and found out it's even better than Welcome to Earth. There are so many songs on Harmonizer with single potential. The only skippable track is "Detroit Tickets," which isn't even that bad - just kinda boring. Every other track is a masterpiece. I don't think I could pick a favorite, but some highlights are "Spindizzy," "Suffer in Silence," "Unicorn," "Until the End of the World," and "Rollergirl." Okay, I just named half the album. But really, it's that good.I am definitely not a fan of his older stuff, though. The growly vocals, the dark industrial sound, and the not-so-great production didn't do much for me. Welcome to Earth was an enormous evolutionary step for APB, and this evolution only continues with Harmonizer. He's not selling out. If anything, he's moved away from the stereotypical goth-industrial growly stuff that to me seems more of an image than something that's actually from the heart. He's realized his musical strengths and true interests and spun off on those. So glad he did.So if you're a fan of his old darker growly stuff pre-Welcome to Earth, then you probably won't like this album. But if you love "Starsign," "Eclipse," and "Kathy's Song," you should love Harmonizer. It's definitely bumped something off my "top 5 albums of all time" list."

Groth Strikes Back

ixion75 | 03/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you have very good eyes, after you pop out the disc from the case, check out the text just slightly right to center, at the near top of the holding tray. It says "Eject Disc To Enter Second Phase APB," a not-so-sly reference to Apop's last album's ending track, which included the spoken vocal "This is the end of the first phase... it's time to move on."What could Groth have meant by that? Maybe a better question would be what he "means" by the current release. Is it an apology, a reference point for yet another change in sound and tonality? Or perhaps a starting point for a new philosophy?Whatever the case-- what is certain is the quality of this music. The abandonment of the darkwave signatures of early Apop that was begun with _Welcome To Earth_ is now complete on _Harmonizer_. Almost nothing, save Groth's croon (and even this receives vocoding treatment throughout) remains of the old Apop. The Artist has spoken. The Rules have changed.What the listener is presented with is an album of intensity and brashness, savageness and style. Upping the confidence greatly from the last tour, ditching the weak, sappy noodlings from the last disc, and explanding completely on his strengths at mid- and uptempo electro-ravers, _Harmonizer_ is a dancefloor concession with almost no equal. From first second to last, this is a lengthy platter that only lets up twice in eleven tries. Everywhere there is a resurgent, minimalist grandeur composed of a heap of synths and endless, endless *motion*. Rebounding from the fractured nature of _Welcome To Earth_, a record that couldn't decide what exactly it wanted to be, _Harmonizer_ forges full steam ahead like a locomotive lusting to reach the edge of the world.Individual tracks aren't really important. Neither does it matter that Groth has drawn song titles from kid shows or computer programs, or that he likes playing with fonts, nor even that he has utilized a producer of an infamous boy band. This CD is an experience, one best heard in a club after a few drinks, or in a car speeding down a highway at dawn. _Harmonizer_ is a record that out-technos techno itself. Isn't this after all as close as music gets to "purpose?" Life's implacable forward thrust? The Dionysian element to human existence?The Artist has spoken."

Highly anticipated, and worth it

David Lewis | San Francisco, CA USA | 02/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For long-time APB fans (like me) that were hoping their last album, "Welcome to Earth", was a one-time, failed experiment in synth-pop (unlike me--I think it's brilliant)... Bad news: "Harmonizer" makes it totally clear that APB is now all about dance/synth-pop music.And Stephan Groth does it extremely well here. Near-perfectly crafted and produced, the album is a natural progression from their last one. The second track, "Suffer in Silence," is the first evidence of that--and also the best song on the album (maybe I'm a bit biased because the lyrics hit pretty close to home). The first single ("Until the End of the World") is also astounding--and features some nice guitar work that's usually reserved for their live shows, not the albums. Another track, "O.K. Amp - Let Me Out" is ready-made for the dance floor, and I can't wait to dance to it--hopefully at their upcoming live shows in America.In short, this one may be a disappointment for some old-school fans of APB, but it's defintely a disc that I'll be keeping in my changer for quite a while."