Electric Callboy – Tanzneid

The NWOSM (new wave of satirical metalcore) saw its resurgence with one band and one band only: Electric Callboy. I'm of the generation where hyper-energetic, Pixy Stix-snorting acts are either harshly condemned or praised to oblivion, and after I caught whiff of Electric Callboy's rejection to be the German entrant for the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Pump It," I fell into a strict limbo. On one hand, I appreciated how the band took absolutely nothing seriously and still drew in tens of millions of views, but I deemed myself unready to earnestly listen to a full-length album of their uber-loud, electronic material. At the time, my adrenaline levels couldn't possibly handle the onslaught of cheesy choruses, the electronicore production, and the relentless attitude of the sextet. Fortunately, I've grown as a listener and as a reviewer, and Electric Callboy has given me a prospect to listen to fourteen whole tracks on their seventh LP, Tanzneid.

Well, less than fifteen percent are truly brand-new. The final four pieces are remixes of both past and current cuts, with "Heartclub" and "The Savior" as the sole fresh songs. Singles for Tanzneid trace all the way to 2024–"Ratatata," featuring Babymetal, was released on the Tokyo-based, kawaii collective's latest record, already over a year old. The other singles create a timeline of anticipation, which is understandable given the context of modern marketing tactics, but it dilutes the ultimate impact of a new album releasing new music. In essence, Tanzneid isn't all that new.

That doesn't mean the album isn't enjoyable, however. Its forefront focuses on hosting gimmicks, like Eurodance-infused breakdowns on the title-track, collaborations with established artists like The Offspring on "Let The Good Times Roll", pairings of wildly different styles, like rap metal/elevator music in "Elevator Operator", and tongue-in-cheek pop culture parodies, with Backstreet Boys-turned-deathcore number "The Way You Are" ironically being one of the harshest songs in terms of vocals, all situated closely together running order. Each piece achieves these merits within a digestible, radio-ready runtime and never comes off too farcical.

Electric Callboy thrive in satire, meaning that weaker tracks—the ones that have no direct sonic gimmick—are unmemorable. These are shoved to the latter half of the album. The momentum doesn't hold for long though, sadly. At the halfway point, they begin instead to rely heavily on electronic metalcore that's comparably domestic compared to Callboy's rabidness. Even a duet with Frank Zummo of Sum 41 fame can't propel "Still Waiting" from the stretch of forgettability. When Electric Callboy abstain from silliness is when they start to chameleon themselves with the incoming waves of electronicore. "Heartclub," amongst other straightforward compositions, is unexpectedly brutal without any outside influence to contort its atmosphere, sitting in torpor amongst Scene-esque territories that the band supposedly ditched after their name switch. Tanzneid further overstays its welcome with some nine minutes of extra remixws, showing that they're still holding onto their past.

I wouldn't mind hearing ten back-to-back gimmicks if it meant that Electric Callboy had freedom to poke fun at and experiment with as many styles as they please. It feels unorthodox to suggest that a band lean deeper into trivial, parodic themes, but for an entity like Electric Callboy who are already immersed in frantic craziness, I wanted to hear some truly hilarious music, with enough metal to mosh to. I chuckled, but guffaws were few across the multicolored brain of Tanzneid.