Welcome to Earth
Welcome to Earth is the third studio album by Norwegian futurepop band Apoptygma Berzerk. It was released on February 22, 2000 on Metropolis Records but was earlier released on Tatra Records.
| Welcome to Earth | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 31, 2000 | |||
| Genre | Futurepop | |||
| Length | 74:00 | |||
| Label | Metropolis Records | |||
| Producer | Fredrik Darum | |||
| Apoptygma Berzerk chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Welcome to Earth | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The general theme of the album is that of extraterrestrials contacting earth and of moving on. The songs themselves contain samples of reports of alien sightings and crop circle designs feature prominently in the cover and liner notes. Several tracks have been staples in live concerts ever since, especially the single "Kathy's Song", which became one of the band's biggest hits, being remixed by high-profile artists such as VNV Nation and Ferry Corsten.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everything We Know is Wrong" | Stephan Groth | 1:28 |
| 2. | "Starsign" | S. Groth | 5:35 |
| 3. | "Eclipse" | S. Groth | 5:57 |
| 4. | "Help Me!" | Vegard Blomberg, S. Groth | 5:47 |
| 5. | "Kathy's Song (Come Lie Next to Me)" | S. Groth | 6:34 |
| 6. | "Untitled 3" | S. Groth | 2:38 |
| 7. | "Moment of Tranquility" | Jonas Groth, S. Groth | 7:36 |
| 8. | "Fade to Black" (Metallica cover) | Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | 5:27 |
| 9. | "64k" | S. Groth | 1:44 |
| 10. | "Paranoia" | Blomberg, S. Groth | 7:48 |
| 11. | "Soultaker" | S. Groth | 7:00 |
| 12. | "LNDP3" | Blomberg, Frederik Ball, S. Groth | 5:20 |
| 13. | "Time to Move On" (The song "Time to Move On" ends at 2:30. After 7:08 of silence, at 9:38 begins an untitled hidden track, that ends at 10:26. After the hidden track, there is silence for 40 seconds [10:26 - 11:06].) | S. Groth | 11:06 |
2007 Remastered Release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Time to Move On" | S. Groth | 2:30 |
| 14. | "Untitled 4" (bonus track; in other versions, "Untitled 4" is the hidden track after "Time to Move On".) | S. Groth | 2:08 |
| 15. | "Eclipse" (Black Sun Version) | S. Groth | 5:17 |
| 16. | "64k" (Sweep Remix) | S. Groth | 6:46 |
Themes
The album deals mainly with the modern mythology of extraterrestrial aliens and a hope that one day the truth will be revealed to us. Generally the tracks convey a feeling of alienation as well.
Stylistically, the album drew criticism upon its release for incorporating elements of vocal trance music on tracks such as "Eclipse" and "Kathy's Song", and overall being geared towards being a pop album. There are some tributes to the Commodore 64 home computer as well, hidden in the "64k" track which is based heavily on a sample of Chris Hülsbeck's Commodore 64 version of "Axel F", and the track Untitled 4 is basically just a Commodore 64 chiptune. It is also worth mentioning that since the release of Welcome To Earth, band leader Stephan Groth tattooed a crop circle pattern on his left arm.