8kids is a German

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band based in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, Hesse, formed in 2013.

History

8kids was formed in 2013 by Hans Koch and Jonas Jakob, both being Vocalists and guitarists in the band, who previously played in local underground bands in

. A short time later Emma McLellan became the band's

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

.Benjamin Metz: ''

FRIZZ Frizz is hair that does not align with the surrounding hair, but stands up or curls independently, creating a fuzzy or irregular texture. The three main causes of frizz are genetics, hair damage, and humidity. Frizzy hair can be seen as a positive ...

''
„Besser hätt’s nicht laufen können“ Das Darmstädter Trio 8Kids startet durch!
(German) On 26 March 2016 the band signed a contract with music distributor Melodie der Welt and concert agency Ever Ever Management. The band signed a label contract with Austrian metal label

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

a month before signing to Melodie der Welt. In April the band released their first music video for the song ''Alles löst sich auf'' (engl. ''Everything Dissolves'') which premiered at the homepage of German music magazine ''

Visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

''. 8kids released their debut EP ''Dämonen'' (''Demons'') at the end of the same month.Florian Zandt: ''

''
VISIONS Premiere: 8kids präsentieren Video zu "Alles löst sich auf"
(German) In August 2016 the band performed at Olgas-Rock in

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Northrhine-Westfalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabi ...

. The band toured alongside To the Rats and Wolves in Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Shortly after the release of the debut album '' Denen die wir waren'' (''Those Who We Were'') the band toured Germany again as headliner with support of German metal band

Anorak A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ano ...

.Dirk: ''RSD Radio''
8kids- Poeten aus Darmstadt
(German) In September and October of the same year another tour throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland followed, this time supporting German rock act Van Holzen. In January and February 2018 the band toured Germany again. 8kids spend the summer performing at several music festivals including

With Full Force Full Force (previously With Full Force) is a German heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented music festival held annually since 1994. The 2011 edition took place between 1 and 3 July at Roitzschjora airport in Löbnitz. Lineups ...

, Mini-Rock, EselRock and

Hurricane Festival The Hurricane Festival, also just Hurricane, is a music festival that has taken place at the Eichenring, a speedway race track, in Scheeßel, Germany, since 1997. With more than 80,000 attendees (2022) it is one of the largest music festivals in ...

Musical style

At the beginning of their career the band's lyrics were written in English. When McLellan joined the duo to become the band's drummer, they switched from English lyrics to German. The band's music on the debut EP ''Dämonen'' was described as dynamic, containing emotional components and influences from pop music mixed with a blend of

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

. The music was compared to German

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

act

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell ...

and some

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

bands.Björn Backes: '' Powermetal.de''
8kids – ''Dämonen'' Kritik
(German) The lyrics were described as profound. The song ''Zeit'' (engl. ''Time'') deals with the theme of sorrow. The song is based on a past relationship of band member Hans Koch, with which he struggled with for a long period of time. The band worked on the song for almost two years.

History

Musical style

Discography

Members

External links

References