Those who we were

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Those who we were
8kids studio album

Publication
(s)

May 26, 2017

admission

2016

Label (s) Napalm Records

Format (s)

CD, MP3 download, vinyl

Genre (s)

Post-hardcore , alternative rock

Title (number)

13

running time

58:44

occupation
  • Hans Koch (electric guitar, vocals)

Guest musicians:

production

Kristian Kohlmannslehner

Studio (s)

Coal cellar studio

Location (s)

Seeheim-Jugenheim

chronology
Demons (2016) Those who we were Flowers (2019)

Those who we were is the debut album by the German post-hardcore band 8kids , which was released on May 26, 2017 via Napalm Records .

The album houses thirteen tracks and has a total playing length of 52 minutes and 42 seconds. The album received mixed reviews in the specialist press, with the positive reviews slightly outweighing it.

Kristian Kohlmannslehner from Darmstadt works as a producer on the album.

History of origin

The musicians began working on the album at the beginning of 2016. In February the band spent picking out and pre-producing the individual pieces for the album, which was initially announced for October. In June the musicians wanted to move into the studio to record the album.

Kristian Kohlmannslehner acted as the producer , who produced the album in the Kohlkeller studio in Seeheim and recorded the bass tracks .

Track list

# title composer length Remarks
1. Intro 1:31
2. Curbside 3:34
3. Over the mountain 3:28 • Live music video
4th I can feel the world 5:17
5. In the stars 4:02
6th time 5:20 • Music video
7th Break 2:16 • Music video
8th. lightning strike 4:26 • Music video
9. ghost 4:48
10. Chimney trophy 4:51
11. Can anyone hear me 4:28
12. Vis-a-vis 3:50
13. Winter in you 4:30

canditature

In order to be able to advertise the album, a music video was released in advance for the songs Zeit , Blitzschlag and Zerbbruch . A music video for Über den Berg was released on September 30, 2017, showing live excerpts of the band from previous concerts.

Even before the album was released, the group promoted their album for the first time during their tour with Rantanplan . This was followed by a concert tour with To the Rats and Wolves , which led through Germany , Austria and Switzerland . Shortly after the album was released, a short release tour with anorak followed. Between September 29 and October 7, 2017, there will be a short tour through the German-speaking area as the opening act for Van Holzen , before a headlining tour will take place in January and February 2018. 8kids have been announced for the With Full Force for summer 2018 .

Press reviews

Those who we were received a mixed impression from the trade press, but the number of positive reviews slightly outweighs them. Reviewer Michael Klaas from the online magazine Metal.de describes the music by 8kids on the album as “ Fjørt with icing and balloons”, with the post-hardcore predominating. Influences from shallow indie and German rock can also be discerned. The critic cites the album length as a negative point. The lyrics in German only seem demanding and full of content when they are heard for the first time, but the critic gets the impression that the musicians are only trying to package simple content as complexly as possible. So the song "Zeit" drips full of kitsch and pathos, yet the song brings the content back well. He sums up that a solid debut album is a solid debut album for those who we were , that there is still room for improvement. Gerrit Köppl from Visions , meanwhile , writes that Jonas Jakob will tell stories for almost fifty minutes with multi-faceted images and elegant linguistic style, whereby the alternation of scratchy chanting and distorted screaming ensures that emotions such as anger and despair are like in a "post-hardcore poetry slam " being brought across dramatically. According to Christian Laude from Plattentests.de , 8kids mix post-hardcore with pop melodies on the ones we were . The musical scheme that the musicians used on the EP Demons , released the year before , will continue to be used. Emotional roaring in the stanzas meet poppy choruses, which runs consistently through the entire album. The only bright spots are in the songs I can feel the world and the chimney trophy , which either build up slowly or come up with borrowings from post-rock . Jonas Jakob's singing is compared to Casper ; the music in harder moments with Marathonmann , Fjørt and Heisskalt . In his conclusion, Laude sums up that the group would do well with more musical variety in order to be able to play in a league with the aforementioned bands. Björn Backes from online music magazine Powermetal.de writes that he does the lack of variety at this time of the band's history hurt, because the critic perceives those who we were as a "fine" album, which will make speeches themselves without spending a hype to need to achieve this.

Morten Wenzek from the online editorial team of the German-speaking Metal Hammer was able to gain more from the album. The songs are about past relationships, former partners, the youth of the individual and, despite the prevailing melancholy mood, always about love . The words of the singer Jonas Jakob sound bittersweet, but never nasty. He writes that the songs Zeit and Blitzschlag can best describe the music of 8kids: Pop-Hardcore. In the piece Zerbrechen , the influences of skate punk , in which the group were active in their early days , even come up . Jazz from the Austrian metal magazine Stormbringer.at writes that those who we were will not appeal to full-blooded metal fans , but there are also in these circles who should enjoy 8kids. The critic describes Those Who We Were as an almost perfect album with German-language lyrics that are both poetic and direct. She attributes the band to become the AnnenMayKantereit des Metal, but with a Casper-esque lead voice. She hopes the group will stop turning to mass pop in the future. Benjamin Metz from FRIZZ writes that musically the band swims with the times and has already won a lot of pop appeal with their mix of post-hardcore .

Musical similarities between 8kids and Fjørt are also recognized in the Ox-Fanzine .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Benjamin Metz: FRIZZ : "It couldn't have gone better" - The Darmstadt trio 8Kids is taking off!
  2. ↑ Jakob Uhlig: Album of the Week : Interview with 8kids
  3. ↑ The ones we've been to Discogs
  4. ↑ According to the supplement booklet
  5. ↑ a b Kaja: Noisiv : NOISIV PRESENTS: 8kids together with anorak. on tour!
  6. ↑ a b Pressure Magazine : 8Kids: Post-Hardcore Band with a new music video “Time” for the upcoming debut album
  7. ↑ Chrischi: Burnyourears.de : 8kids: Video zu Zerbrechen
  8. ↑ Jan Termath: Legacy : To the Rats and Wolves on "Spring Bangerz" Tour 2017
  9. ↑ Dirk: RSD Radio : 8kids- Poets from Darmstadt
  10. ↑ Kevin: Gringoz Magazine : Van Holzen on a big tour through Germany
  11. ↑ Gerrit Köppl: Visions : VISIONS recommends: 8kids will be on tour in early 2018
  12. ↑ Angela: Metal.de : With Full Force - pre-sales start on October 1st, 2017!
  13. ↑ Michael Klaas: Metal.de : 8kids - those who we were criticism
  14. ↑ Gerrit Köppl: Visions : 8kids - those who we were criticism
  15. ↑ Christian Laude: Plattentests.de : 8kids - those we were criticism
  16. ↑ Björn Backes: Powermetal.de : 8kids - those who we were criticism
  17. ↑ Morten Wenzek: Metal Hammer : 8kids - those we were critic
  18. ↑ Jazz: Stormbringer.at : 8kids - those who we were criticism
  19. ↑ Benjamin Metz: FRIZZ : 8kids - those who we were criticism
  20. ↑ Frank Weiffen: Ox-Fanzine : 8kids - those we were criticism