Ranking Wizo’s 8 Albums
Formed in Sindelfingen, Germany back in 1985, WIZO has been releasing killer music for nearly 40 years (with a few breaks here and there).
Although technically referred to as a punk band, WIZO has never been shy to experiment with a multitude of different genres when releasing music. I believe this has been a big reason why they’ve stood out from so many other contemporaries.
The band has gone through a number of different lineup throughout their years with the only consistent member being singer/guitarist Axel Kurth. In many ways, he is the band as many of the songs he done completely on his own while also recording and producing most of the band’s discography.
8. Herrenhandtasche (1995)
Following the success of Uuaarrgh!, Wizo quickly got back to the studio and recorded this mini-album (7 minutes shorter than the next shortest Wizo release), and it turned out to be the last album by the band’s original ‘classic’ trio of members.
Although the album contains 10 tracks, 2 of them are short gap-fillers, and 1 is a cover (“Poupée de Cire”), meaning there are only 7 original songs for the entire release.
For the most part, this is still a solid album. “9247” and “Closet” are both fast and catchy songs, while “Quadrat im Kreis” is a depressing take on personal issues and “Herrenhandtasche” and “Brief/Telefon/Tür” round things out as simple fun, nonsense songs.
Compared to the band’s first 3 albums, there’s a noticeable lack of political tracks on Herrenhandtasche — this is likely due to the issues they had encountered with the German government regarding a particular song on their debut.
If you’re a fan of the band, this is a good release that you’re sure to enjoy, but it’s just relatively short, containing only 4 songs sung in German (although the English-sung songs are better than usual for the band).
Recommended Tracks: Closet / 9247 / Poupée de Cire
7. Bleib Tapfer (1992)
Fresh off the heels of their debut, the trio returned with their sophomore follow-up, Bleib Tapfer (which means “stay brave”), continuing down a path similar to what their debut initially laid.
Stylistically diverse, Bleib Tapfer never comes across as repetitive or exhaustive — always finding new songwriting techniques to apply. The band’s expansive musical variety (especially on their first 4 albums) really helped them to stand out from so many others who went for a more direct approach.
The record begins fast and energetic with the short “Bei Dir” before shifting into “Mein Tod” and its 80s metal-influenced intro. Following the focus on death that “Mein Tod” brings, we’ve got “Nice Day” and its chorus “it’s a nice day to die today”. An interesting 1–2 punch of death.
The title track provides some excellent folkiness and “Es Ist Vorbei” brings some slower ballad-esque style into the mix, but the album’s real highlight is “Alte Frau”. Again, This song mixes in some heavy metal style and even gives me a slight Rammstein vibe (and this was before Rammstein was even a band).
The album continues to end strong with the super fun and catchy “Leichen” and the fast (metal-tinged) “Nix & Niement”.
Bleib Tapfer was an excellent follow-up to an already excellent debut and just another example of why Wizo is Germany’s greatest punk band.
Recommended Tracks: Alte Frau / Bei Dir / Bleib Tapfer
6. für’n Arsch (1991)
This is how you make a debut record. It’s honestly wild how excellent and diverse this debut is, especially considering that it was released in 1991 in Germany.
Für’n Arsch set the tone for the band right from the beginning, and they didn’t really mettle with what worked throughout the band’s existence — diverse songs (musically and lyrically) that feature terrific musicianship and a signature guitar tone (kind of trebly and not nearly as thick as other contemporaries) and a very specific gallopy strum style.
I think the fact that this wasn’t coming out of California is a big reason why it stands apart from so much else that was being released at the time, incorporating more local influences into the band’s overall sound.
Beginning strong with the fast “Diese Welt” (which makes excellent use of some ska-like upstrokes in the verses), the album continues this same level of quality throughout the entire runtime.
After the intro track, the tempo tends to go up and down fluidly, a credit to great sequencing. There are other fast tracks like “Goodbye” and “Kein Gerede”, the latter of which was accused of inciting terrorism, forcing the band to later release it without vocals (it works surprisingly well even as an instrumental). “Jupp” is still probably the fastest song the band has written, ready to burst out of its seams at any moment.
“Gute Freunde”, “Selenbrant”, and “Sylvia” all provide that mid-tempo rock that Wizo are so good at, while “Walter” uses a 12-string acoustic to bring some German folkiness into the mix and “K.i.k. III” comes entirely out of the left field with its use of organ and a full-on orchestra — sounding like a bit of a medieval/baroque song.
The album even has a Ramones-style song with “U2B Ma Girl” (arguably the album’s weakest track). Then there’s “Unemployed” which sounds like a whimsical punkified version of a Disney song. While enjoyable, these 2 songs make it clear the band sounds best when they stick to their native German.
Recommended Tracks: Diese Welt / Kein Gerede / Gute Freunde
5. Anderster (2004)
After a nine-year break, the band returned with what is decidedly their most varied and weirdest album yet. Consisting of 14 tracks, Anderster is at times a punk record, but more often it diverges into whatever territory Axel Kurth finds himself wanting to explore.
Recorded over a 4-year period between 2000–2004, Anderster gives the impression that it’s more of a compilation of b-sides rather than a proper full-length album. This is partially true as the band was somewhat already done by the time this was released (they officially broke up the following year) and many of the songs were completed almost entirely by Axel.
There’s a noticeable improvement in the album’s production compared to their first 4 albums, showing Kurth’s growth as a producer. As the main man in the studio, he makes it clear that any style or instrument is open for use when writing songs.
There are some solid, more straightforward punk songs in “Nana,” “Jimmy” (which displays Axel’s growth in melodic vocalizing), “Raumgleita,” and the record’s only English song, “Miss Pickafight.”
The highlight of the album is “Chezus” a track that mashes together punk, a little bit of upstroke guitar, and even some hip-hop flow into the bridge while maintaining a catchy bassline throughout. “Unsichtbare Frau” is probably the band’s danciest number ever, with a hook that quickly gets stuck in your head.
The album gets plenty creative as it hits on the blues with the organ-led “Schlau, versaut und gutaussehend”, some German folk on “Heut Nacht”, and, of course, “Egon,” which sounds like it could fit on the soundtrack to a kid’s Halloween movie.
Anderster has some excellent highs, yet also noticeable misses like “Phlughaphöm” where it’s quite apparent that Axel put the whole thing together alone (the drums are pretty disappointingly basic). Overall, I still love the record, but I wish it would’ve felt more like a full band, rather than just Axel polishing up demos from the past years.
Recommended Tracks: Chezus / Jimmy / Unsichtbare Frau
4. Der (2016)
Arriving only 2 years after their surprising 2014 comeback record, the succinctly titled Der finds the band sounding refreshed and nimble. It seems that the trio were meshing well at the time because all the tracks give off a very natural vibe, the songs coming easily. It’s clearly apparent that the band was enjoying their time recording in the studio.
Der opens strong with “Adagio,” a track that isn’t nearly as fast or heavy as most of their opening songs but instead goes for a huge and, dare I say, epic approach. From there, the album moves to the fast-paced “Wahlkrampf” before entering traditional Wizo territory with “Verwesung” and its distinct guitar riffs.
“Bierboot” starts unassuming before bursting into a huge chorus, which I think particularly works because the song is sung in German. The catchy and melodic “Déja Vu” reminds you why Wizo is revered as much as they are, as the song is just so effortlessly rhythmic.
In typical Wizo fashion, the album veers into some non-punk territory, like the Carribean-esque “Apocalypso” or the slow, outro ballad “Hässliche Punker”.
Never shy of getting political, the band once again hits on the topic of Naziism with the anthemic “Antifa” and “Wahrheit”, the latter even drawing a little from their past hit “Raum Der Zeit”.
Even if the album’s subject matter is fairly serious and direct, this is still the most joyful I think Wizo has ever sounded, Axel seems like he’s enjoying himself during every song.
Although I think there are better Wizo records, it’s still in the mix, and with a relatively shorter runtime, no filler tracks get in the way of your listening experience.
Recommended Tracks: Déja Vu / Wahrheit / Verwesung
3. Nichts wird wieder gut (2023)
Continuing the band’s trend of (somewhat) surprise releasing a new album after several years of dormant silence, Nichts Wird Wieder Gut was quietly released at the tail-end of 2023.
During my first couple of listens (which happened to be while I was in the Frankfurt airport), I immediately enjoyed it. Still, I felt that it could have been more varied compared to previous releases. Now that more time has passed, I can confidently say this is some of the band’s finest work. In fact, third place even feels too low for how terrific this record is, but I also can’t move the top 2.
Arguably the band’s most straightforward album, the record rarely wanders outside of their more typical punk-styled tracks, beginning with the heavy-hitting “Grauer Brei” which is then followed up by the instantly catchy title track. Both songs feature some of band’s best percussion work (really working that double-bass) and “Nichts wird wieder gut” delivers that signature fast sing-talk vocals on the verses. This song has already become one of my favorites of the band’s discography.
Wizo does deviate from the heavier punk tracks here and there, like on the Beach Boys-esque “Schönheit des Verfalls”, the hard rock “Egal was kommt”, or the ska-like “Prokrastination”.
What I appreciate most about the record is that, at 13 songs, it’s only 1 of 2 Wizo records where there just isn’t any filler. Sure, some songs are undeniably better than others, like the breezy and catchy “Mörderin” or the get-off-your-feet-and-move “Earlybird”, but there genuinely isn’t a weak spot to be found on the record.
To put it short, this was one of the best releases of 2023 and a continuing testament to Wizo’s greatness as a long-running band.
Recommended Tracks: Nichts wird wieder gut / Grauer Brei / Zucker und Fett
2. Uuaarrgh! (1994)
Like many outside of Europe, Uuaarrgh! was my entry point into Wizo, as it was their first album to be released in the USA. While some bands need time to appreciate, with Uuaarrgh! I was immediately hooked on Wizo and began searching out their other material.
The album’s original release was a 25-track, hour-long behemoth that fully displayed the band’s unwavering ability to tackle nearly any musical style they decided upon. The release on FAT condensed the album down to 13 songs, cutting 7 actual songs and 5 short non-songs (mostly intro tracks).
For the most part, the FAT release kept the best songs, although I would’ve replaced “W8Ing 4 U” with the far superior “Überflüssig” — an energy-soaked punk song with a great guitar riff.
Although the album contains many of the band’s classic all-time songs like “Kopfschuss” and “Schlecte Laune”, there is one song that immediately stands out from the rest — “Raum Der Zeit”.
30 years later, and “Raum Der Zeit” may still be the band’s best song. From the flange-drum intro to the chanting bridge, it’s a track that’s instantly catchy and memorable, grabbing your attention and never letting go.
With such a long runtime, the band plays around with much more than just punk. There’s a stab at hard rock with “Sterbehilfe”. “Hey Thomas” and “Das Goldene Stück” allow for some ballad magic while “Die Letzte Sau” sounds like some slow German, goth rock. The outro song “K.O.” even hits on some 80s metal with (I’m guessing) either Jörn or Karlheinz singing lead.
For such a long album, the songs are surprisingly consistent, with only a couple throwaway tracks like “Just Go” with its embarrassingly bad lyrics (1 of 4 songs sung in English).
Even after 30 years, Uuaarrgh! It still holds up as one of Wizo’s best albums and, honestly, one of the best punk records of the 90s.
Recommended Tracks: Raum Der Zeit / Tod Im Freibad / Hund
1. Punk gibt’s nicht umsonst! (Teil III) (2014)
I still remember how stoked I was when this was surprise-released in 2014, a whole 10 years since the band’s previous release, Anderster. Punk gibt’s nicht umsonst! (Teil III) also happens to be released exactly 20 years after the band’s breakthrough record, Uuaarrgh!. As such, I believe Axel was attempting to make a sort of sequel to that record by using similar album artwork and again stuffing the release full of songs — making it the band’s longest record yet.
Even though this is technically a Wizo record, in reality, it’s more of a solo release by Axel since over half of the 19 songs are performed by Kurth alone, and only 5 feature a full band. If there was any question before, Punk gibt’s nicht umsonst! (Teil III) makes it abundantly clear that Axel IS Wizo.
Despite the album’s long runtime, it’s still mostly hit after hit with only a little lull near the album’s center.
“Seegurke” is arguably the band’s best album opener, immediately making it clear that not only is Wizo back, but they’re sounding better than ever. Following the opener is another banger in “Scheissefresser” (the best track on the album to feature the whole band).
Once again setting their sights on fighting Nazism, “Ganz klar gegen Nazis” is a powerhouse of track — big, catchy, and lyrically sound while “Kein Empfang” allows Axel to play around with a little reggae using a bass line similar to The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton”.
Axel even manages to write an old school Oi song with “Unpoliddisch”, singing it with gruff, deeper vocals to really give the song that old-fashioned feel.
The band has often played around with acoustic songs before, but “Meine Wut” has got to be their best, applying layered vocals to make it very full sounding.
The fact is, this album is an absolute powerhouse that never disappoints and it’s honestly one of the best comeback albums of all time.
Recommended Tracks: Ganz klar gegen Nazis / Seegurke / Kein Empfang
