Schneller, Höher, Weidner

Album review

Schneller, Höher, Weidner marks the long-awaited full-length solo debut of Stephan Weidner, who adopts the moniker Der W for the album. For a quarter century, Weidner was the bandleader, songwriter, and bassist of Böhse Onkelz, one of Germany's most successful and often contentious rock bands. After Böhse Onkelz released their 14th and final studio album, Adios (2004), and mounted a farewell tour, Weidner took some time off, did a little production work, and began making plans for a solo album. The resulting self-produced album, Schneller, Höher, Weidner, showcases him not only as a songwriter but also as a vocalist. He's not a bad vocalist at all, and one wonders why he didn't sing lead vocals more often in the past. The musical style of Der W is contemporary hard rock bordering on heavy metal. It's telling that Weidner collaborated with Tom Klimchuck (guitar), Gary Meskil (bass), and J.C. Dwyer (drums) of the veteran American metal band Pro-Pain on parts of the album, for that band's hardcore punk-influenced style of metal is in line with much of Schneller, Höher, Weidner. The album kicks off with a brief, self-referential introductory song à la Böhse Onkelz, but as soon as the second track, "Geschichtenhasser," gets going, it becomes evident that Weidner is moving away from the direction of his previous band. While "Geschichtenhasser" is driven by powerful guitar riffs, Weidner's lyrics and vocals are clearly the focus, and production touches such as background vocals on the chorus make the song more accessible and commercially oriented than the punk-rooted approach of Böhse Onkelz. Along with the anthemic "Mein Bester Feind," "Geschichtenhasser" is not only the highlight of the 14-track album, it's also more or less typical of what follows, though fortunately each song is unique, both in terms of lyrics and music. Some surprises include the trip-hop rhythm track that opens "Tränenmeer," the string arrangements of "Angst" and "Zwischen Traum und Paralyse," and the harmony vocals of Nina C. Alice on "Bitte Töte Mich." Schneller, Höher, Weidner is an impressive full-length solo debut by Weidner that should broaden his fan base considerably, though it's liable to alienate some of those Böhse Onkelz fans who long for a return to the days of Der Nette Mann (1984).
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo