Hometown: Magdeburg, Germany.
The line-up: Bill Kaulitz(vocals, guitar), Tom Kaulitz(guitar), Georg Listing (bass), Gustav Schäfer (drums).
The background: Germany's Tokio Hotel, the hard-rock Hanson,have such an enthusiastic female following across Europe that on a recent visit to France the screams from the young ladies as the band left their hotel (see here) blew the dials on the local Richter Scale, a fact verifiable by Sylvie, 13, a local schoolgir. "Mon dieu!" she cried as she caught sight of one of the depressingly cute pop-metal band as he attempted to reach a waiting limo. "Zis screaming, it will blow ze local Richter Scale."
We're not saying Tokio Hotel are good-looking, but even the most ferociously heterosexual male staff up here at Guardian Unlimited Music have been found whispering, in hushed, awed tones, "Mmm, yummy, mummy" when confronted by images of Germany's handsomest export. Identical twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz are especially delicious. Bill is the one with the piercings, tattoos and belief in "freedom without boundaries", while Tom has the gorgeous mousey blond frightwig (sigh). The bassist and drummer are bowsers in comparison, but we'll let that pass because they're only, you know, the rhythm section.
We interrupt this swoonfest for a little history. Tokio Hotel, named after the great Japanese city and the great alternative to houses, formed in 2001, when the four players were amoeba - okay, they were 11 and a half, but still pretty young. They were called Devilish, but for some reason (maybe because people - call people unfashionable - felt uncomfortable with the idea of a death-metal band with a Satanic name) they didn't happen, commercially speaking, until they became Tokio Hotel. After a flurry of hit singles, the band achieved total domination and submission of the European mainland, with something approximating lebensraum being accomplished in Germany itself, including numerous Number 1 singles, tours played to over 400,000 willing sinners, various MTV Europe statuettes and more than 2.5 million units shifted from shops to homes.
The music? Oh, that. Not bad. Generic pop-metal, innit, with an impressive balance between power and melody. But, ooh, those cheekbones! Have those boys scrubbed and sent to our tent.
The buzz: "Tokio Hotel are the sexxx!!!"
The truth: They're the puppydog Pantera, the tweenybop Sepultura, the MiniPops Metallica.
Most likely to: Make you faint with delight. You girls, too.
Least likely to: Be taken seriously by the metal press until they get a bit older and uglier.
File next to: Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Hanson.
What to buy: The album Scream is released by Universal on June 4 with the single Ready, Set, Go! to follow on August 20.
Links: Official site MySpace page
Tomorrow's new band: Von Südenfed
Paul Lester