German collective Electric Callboy have made waves across festivals with their fusion of dance-party disco and metalcore, crudely dubbed “electronicore”. Since the release of 2022’s Tekkno, they have blown up and gained a reputation for their fun and energetic live performances. Tanzneid is their latest attempt to bottle that same party atmosphere and turn it into another album.
As far as mixing electronics with metal goes, the flavour of electronica offered up by Electric Callboy is closer to what you’d expect at your kid’s school disco. The stink of the cheese is incredibly strong. There is something inherently juvenile about it that I find a bit cringe, although I’ll admit there are a couple of catchy hooks and moments here, and I can definitely see the appeal. This is not music to take seriously or over-think.
The first couple of tracks are amusing enough, but the novelty wears off pretty quickly for me. The parts where Electric Callboy’s two sides are separated out – the braindead chuggy metalcore and the cheesy Eurotrash pop – are pretty bad. It’s when they really intertwine these two sounds that the band are at their best. Take “The Way You Are” for example, which starts as basically a 90s boy band number before flipping 180 degrees into a heavy meathead chugfest complete with gurgly deathcore growls. It’s a total gimmick track, and feels like one of those aggressively mediocre Hangover sequel: it might get a couple of chuckles the first time you hear it, but has zero replay value.
My favourite track is probably “RATATATA”, the collaboration with BABYMETAL, who we all know can bring the pop sensibilities and sense of fun for an occasion like this. The track has a fun, soaring chorus typical of BABYMETAL, only to be dragged down by one of the album’s many cringey edgy heavy sections on the back end. I can also see the fun in the big “woah” singalong on the Offspring collaboration “Let The Good Times Roll”, which feels custom-built for a festival crowd.
And that is where Electric Callboy’s act works best. All of these songs feel engineered for the live stage, which is where the band seem to shine the most. I can absolutely see how this translates into a fun live show and why they have earned their growing standing in the industry. If you’ve already decided Electric Callboy aren’t for you, this will do nothing to convert you. If you’re already on board with their disco-metal party, you may well have a blast with this.
What goes against the band, however, is how undercooked this feels as a release. Among the 45-minute runtime is: the BABYMETAL collaboration (which is now two years old and already featured on BABYMETAL’s last album), a cover song (of Sum 41’s “Still Waiting”), and FOUR remixes. That leaves only just over half an album of actual new original material. Despite the four year gap in album cycles, it feels like Electric Callboy were struggling to pad this album out, which makes me wonder whether they may already be running out of ideas for this disco-core gimmick.
This might be the backhanded compliment to end all backhanded compliments, but I didn’t hate Tanzneid nearly as much as I thought I would. I can absolutely see the appeal, and I can see how what Electric Callboy do translates to a fun live show. At the same time, the novelty is already beginning to show cracks, and their act is starting to look a little thin on the studio side. Perhaps another reinvention is due on their next album.
For now, I’m glad some people are enjoying the party, even if I’ll be firmly elsewhere.
SCORE: ★★1/2
FAVOURITE TRACK: RATATATA
FOR FANS OF: BABYMETAL, We Butter The Bread With Butter, Attack! Attack!
Tanzneid is available through Century Media.