Somewhere between serious and tongue-in-cheek, Electric Callboy have become a major force in European electronic metalcore. Frankly, a success of this scale and magnitude was hard to predict, even if, logically speaking, the combination of danceable, easily digestible, flashy electronics with the most immediate “core” solutions has a substantial fanbase on both sides of the fence. The tracks on “Tanzneid” are pretty much all familiar, having already been released as singles in recent months (a sign of the times in itself), and if the band’s ambition is to leave you torn between breaking into a dance or unleashing full-on headbanging, tracks like “Elevator Operator“, the title track and “Hypercharged” do exactly that. Personally, we find things more enjoyable and on point when the band reins in that gaudy, overly dance-floor-ready mood, as on the enjoyable collaboration with Babymetal (“RATATATA“) or the cover of Sum 41‘s “Still Waiting“. The remixes tacked on at the end of the record don’t shift the verdict one bit on an album full of highs and lows. Perhaps, and this is probably a limitation on our part, we don’t fully grasp the irony and intentions behind it. Take it or leave it.
Tanzneid (2026 – Century Media)
