ALBUM REVIEW: TANZNEID – Electric Callboy

There’s a particular kind of chaos that ELECTRIC CALLBOY have spent over a decade perfecting. It’s a gleeful, unapologetic collision of Eurodance euphoria, boyband bravado, and punishing metalcore – a combination which no one else does quite like them. On TANZNEID, the German six-piece outfit lean so hard into every facet of their identity that the album often feels like it’s splitting at the seams. The record is a mixed bag of massive highs, baffling detours, and enough previously released singles to make you wonder whether this is an album at all or simply a very loud mixtape. Those opposing sonic forces sit at the heart of the project: individually, most of these tracks are wildly fun; collectively, they’re a grab bag of candy where every other song is a different flavour. The only way to dissect the album is therefore, to sample the courses as they come on the menu.

The title track opens with everything the band have weaponised over the years. TANZNEID is an upbeat blend of boyband serenading, fast-paced techno beats, and guttural metal growls, and the kind of song that commands hip-shaking and foot-tapping from the get go. The earworm quality is immediate, particularly the chorus, making it an unsurprising choice for the opener. The hard techno breakdown that takes over the bridge is quintessential Callboy, and executed with strong confidence, yet for all its immediate appeal, the lyrics are a tad repetitive. While it’s a solid, reliable banger, it never quite tips into mind-blowing territory, making it an odd choice to be the eponymous title for the album; but still, as a statement of intent, it works.

RATATATA follows like a delayed confetti cannon. Originally released in 2024, the track has been waiting longingly for a permanent home, and it slots into TANZNEID with the energy of a festival main-stage anthem. BABYMETAL were the PERFECT choice for the collaboration, with their youthful, hyper-melodic delivery adding a spark that lifts the song beyond its already formidable danceability. Everything enmeshes remarkably well -the vocal trade-offs, the electronic flourishes, the bursts of metal weight- and though it’s not the heaviest entry in CALLBOY’s catalogue, it doesn’t need to be. This is the kind of song built to be screamed back by thousands at Slam Dunk Festival, hands in the air, with all sensibility stripped away.

Three songs deep and still with no new material, the album’s pulse dips. Hypercharged, a cross-promotional track with the online battle game Brawl Stars, leans into some surprisingly modern EDM textures right from the start but the song still can’t shake a lingering 90s corniness. The chorus should land with a bigger oomph than it does; after the first refrain, the energy flattens out, and it becomes difficult to stay fully engaged. There’s a sense of something missing in the production, a gap where a more explosive hook or more drastic dynamic shift should be. The feature itself is bizzare and possibly explains why the track feels vaguely evocative of anime closing credits. It’s not bad, but it is underwhelming, especially coming after such a highly strung opening.

Adding another powerhouse collabs to the ranks, Let The Good Times Roll brings in THE OFFSPRING for a more rock-heavy turn, and on paper it should be a sure thing. Released before this album’s debut as yet another single, the track is absolutely a danceable banger, but the album’s energy has undeniably started to sag. The breakdown leans on tongue-in-cheek lyrics that kind of miss the mark, and the final stretch lacks the oomph needed to close out a song so packed with crowd-ready “woah”s. Dexter Holland’s instantly recognisable voice slots into the CALLBOY formula with ease, and overall it’s fun while it lasts, but it probably won’t be remembered as a classic. The ingredients are there, but the execution feels a little too comfortable.

Fortunately, Elevator Operator yanks the energy back up with two hands. The last pre-album single (for now), it remains one of the record’s clear standouts and is a gloriously ridiculous exercise in what the band do best: pairing absurd, almost nonsensical lyrics with punishing screams and razor-tight metallic instrumentation. How an elevator inspired something this lewd is known only to the band, but… The bridge is a wonderful touch, seamlessly blending silly SFX noises with throat-shredding growls, and a reminder of just how much skill hides beneath the chaos. It’s dumb, but still somehow brilliant.

For those who worried that the band had drifted too far from their metalcore roots, Heartclub delivers a swift corrective. Finally injecting some new blood into TANZNEID, this is the most overtly heavy track on the record, packed full of punishing riffs, ear-splitting squeals, and novel bleghs scattered like landmines. There’s an unmistakable MOTIONLESS IN WHITE glam-metal strut to the whole thing, all stomping grooves and gothic excess, but the emotional lyrics remain endearingly corny. THIS is the angry mosh pit call song, but even at their heaviest, ELECTRIC CALLBOY simply cannot resist a winking sentimentality.

Then comes the curveball; The Way You Are is CALLBOY’s twisted version of a ballad. For the first minute, it sounds exactly like a genuine 90s boyband slow-dance number, complete with syrupy vocals and heartfelt delivery. But then, it’s as if the radio channel slips, and punishing screaming takes over, transforming the track into something shockingly dark. The two halves feel like BACKSTREET BOYS and ICE NINE KILLS were locked in a studio and forced to collaborate, and the result is jarring, confusing, and strangely mesmerising. It’s either a brilliant subversion or a total mess; the answer probably depends on the listener.

Swinging back to the singles, Still Waiting featuring drummer Frank Zummo (now a member of the German group at hand) is a cover of the SUM 41 classic, and a masterclass in how to pay homage without losing your own identity. The track walks a careful line between accuracy to the source material and the signature CALLBOY treatment, and manages to feel respectful while still sounding like the band themselves. But then we reach The Savior, and the rare genuine miss. Lyrically, it’s a surprisingly bleak meditation on wanting to feel happy and high while the world decays, but the upbeat tone undercuts the nihilism at every turn. The chorus is lacklustre and simple, flattening the song’s emotional weight when it should have soared. The latter half tries to inject some urgency, but the damage is done. This was perhaps the one opportunity for CALLBOY to strip away the irony and deliver something truly serious, and they sidestep it. It’s frustrating because the potential is palpable.

Revery brings the core album to a close, and yes, it’s yet ANOTHER older single that’s been slotted into the tracklist. Its gothic, Halloweeny whimsy is a pleasant change of pace, and the harsh vocal runs are, as ever, technically impressive. It’s not a standout in the context of their discography, but it will delight the darker corners of their fanbase – a fan favourite more than a defining statement.

Just when you think it’s all over, the record rather abruptly extends into four remixes: a Sullivan King remix of We Got The Moves, a Paolo Ferrara remix of TANZNEID, a Paul Elstak remix of Hypercharged, and another Sullivan King rework of Revery. For those who love the danceable nature of ELECTRIC CALLBOY’s music, these additions are genuinely exciting – there’s something salivation-inducing about the thought of these tracks blasted at full volume at a rave. But for others, they’ll feel like filler, padding out an album already overloaded with old singles.

Ultimately, TANZNEID is an album full of individual gems that never quite coheres into a unified statement. It feels like someone plunged their hand into a bag of sweets and pulled out the most random assortment possible: some sour and harsh, some straight-up weird, some refreshing and delicious. Individually, the majority of these songs stand up (some are even among the band’s best) but as a whole, the record lacks a distinct theme or message. There’s no through-line, no sense of journey, just a collection of bangers and experiments arranged loosely side by side. What cannot be denied is that this quintessentially sounds like ELECTRIC CALLBOY; no one can take that away from them. They know intimately the facets of their sound inside out (the metal, the EDM, the retro-pop nostalgia) and they have absolutely nailed every single corner. But calling TANZNEID an album feels like a stretch – it would be more honest, and more satisfying, titled as a compilation. For the die-hards, that will be enough. For anyone seeking a cohesive record, it’s a beautifully chaotic mess that leaves you grinning but slightly unsatisfied.

Rating: 8/10

TANZNEID is out now Century Media Records.