Weidorje

Genre: Zeuhl

Grade: F

Weidorje was the heir presumptive to the Zeuhl throne.

However, their career ended up being even shorter and less successful, both critically and popularly, than that of God-of-the-Universe Christian Vander's.

Magma, at the very least, spawned a sizable cult following and gained critical favor.

Weidorje, though, released one really good album, then split up permanently. Is this the fate of all initially promising Zeuhl bands (besides the big M)? Is the genre so incredibly difficult to fully understand and conquer that only one band could possibly find any remote success within its confines?

The simple answer, as time has proven, is no. But it certainly seems to be a recurring theme.

Anyway, on to the music.

Their material is much more rock-centric and, at the outset, more immediately accessible than many other Zeuhl bands'. The polyrhythm between the guitars and keyboards is prominent, and that unexplainable mesmerizing quality that sort of draws the audience in is still there. It just isn't done as effectively.

In their short run, they did make a small mark in French audiences, but it was over as soon as it began.

Once again, not a bad group of musicians by any means. Their tragic flaw, though, is their lack of longevity...and material.

Quintessential line:

Something in French. I don't know.

Essential releases: None

Other recommended releases: Weidorje (1978)

Stay away from these: None

Ratings:

Diversity - 1/10

Not one of rock's most prolific bands, and their sound was almost entirely taken from the big M.

Listenability - 7.4/10

Sort of like Magma, but more accessible and even listenable at times. They had that hypnotic quality that Magma perfected, but the music tends to drone on more than the big M's.

Originality - 1.2/10

They took Magma's music and added more guitars to it, essentially.

Quality - 7.5/10

Their debut release is a fine album, but it could've been better; maybe that goes without saying, maybe it's just a universal term to describe anything that has flaws, which is everything. But it definitely could've been better, with what it was. Good, not amazing.

Importance - 3/10

Would Zeuhl have suffered without their existence? No.

Overall: 4.02 out of 10.

Thus, an F on the scale.