The Robocop Kraus were formed by Thomas Lang, Matthias Wendl, Johannes Uschalt and Roman Maul in Hersbruck (Nuremberg) in 1998. The line-up changed shortly afterwards when Maul left the band to be replaced by Tobias Helmlinger on Bass and Markus Steckert joined on the Organ. Their first release followed shortly afterwards: a Split 12" from the band The Cherryville, appeared on Swing Deluxe Records, a label founded by Uschalt and Lang. After the first German Tour with Yage the band released their first full length album on Swing Deluxe. The Vinyl-only release Inferno Nihilistique 2000 is, according to the band, a concept album about the impending end of the world. The positive response of the European press was intensified by copious tours through Germany, France and Spain. The self produced video to the song Poor Soul Relax, which appeared on the Swing Deluxe Compilation Achtung Autobahn, was shown on VIVA 2. Instead of resting on their laurels, at the beginning of 2001 the band released a new album. Tiger, which was released on the Czech Underground Label Day After Records, was the first worldwide release of the band and was a combination of everything the early Robocop Kraus was. A US-American underground and British post punk sound with, poise, daring and an obvious love to play music. The band subsequently went on tour through Germany, France, Holland, The Czech Republic, Poland, England and Ireland. The band continued their tour with the New Yorkers, The World Inferno Friendship Society, and went on a Headlining Tour to Japan in November. The Robocop Kraus toured for nearly a whole year, non-stop through Europe and the rest of the world. There was hardly one club they didn't rock, barely one festival they didn't play; They were headliners at the Primavera Festival (2006) and Benicassim (2005) in Spain. Their friends Art Brut took them on tour twice in the United States, they even went to Canada and Russia and their reputation as the best live band in Germany was then written in stone. The fact that this never ending tour could have some negative affects is obvious, but that only became clear to the musicians when they were already and the point of total exhaustion. Bassist Tobias Helmlinger left the band, this unavoidable break allowed the other band members to contemplate the situation and to summon strength.