Apoptygma Berzerk – Exit Popularity Contest

New Future Sounds

Apoptygma Berzerk’s album, Exit Popularity Contest, reveals much about their firm technical grasp and willingness to not fall into one box by easily relating futuristic to the present.

“The Genesis 6 Experiment” starts everything off by introducing the many technical aspects that are explored throughout Exit Popularity Contest. The song begins simply, with a basic bass line that keeps everything on track and never lets the song drag, despite it being over nine minutes. This opening track shifts to accommodate a roller coaster of highs and lows.

Songs like “Hegelian Dialectic” showcase the thought that was put into the album by making sure every song is creating a distinct story. Though “Hegelian Dialectic” never sounds as bold as the opener, it does focus heavily on creating textures, and their chosen synth sounds build on the “dialectic” theme introduced in the title. “The Cosmic Chess Match,” too, keeps strictly to its own theme, outlined in the song name, and is able to be both dramatic and a hold back without losing any of the emotions that come with its affecting sounds.

“Stille Nar Gruppe” and the instrumental version of “U.T.E.O.T.W” are something of a recharge period, allowing for some reprieve from the lengthy more intense songs on the album. This first iteration of “U.T.E.O.T.W,” though also starts to show that there is room to explore a different path than that taken previously on the album. It comes off refreshingly llight. That lightness is contradicted right away by “The Devil Pays in Counterfeit Money,” which follows. It stands out from the rest as distinct song sections and darker, heavier beats do justice to the sinister title.

As Exit Popularity Contest comes to a close, an extended version of “U.T.E.O.T.W” finishes everything up. The music itself is essentially the same as before, but on this version, a human voice is left to carry the melody. Hearing an unaltered voice as one of the last things on an album defined by synthetic textures is jarring, but indicative of a well-crafted project.