There was a time when hearing Electric Callboy felt slightly dangerous. Not dangerous in the church-burning, police-raid sense, obviously, but dangerous because you genuinely had no idea what ridiculous idea they were about to ram into a metal song and somehow make work. Schlager? Fine. Eurodance? Absolutely. Boyband choreography? Why not? The joke worked because underneath all the fluorescent tracksuits, moustaches and deliberate stupidity sat a band capable of dropping a breakdown that could rearrange your internal organs.
That balance is why Electric Callboy became so successful. Unfortunately, “TANZNEID” leaves me wondering whether the band have mistaken which half of that equation made them special.
This is their seventh album, released on 7th August 2026 through Century Media Records, and commercially there is little room for argument: it has already followed “TEKKNO” to number one in Germany. If the intention was to broaden Electric Callboy’s audience even further, the strategy is clearly working. The more difficult question for a metal publication is whether commercial success has come at the expense of the tension that made this band so compelling.
I had concerns before hearing the album. The singles increasingly suggested a transition from electronicore band incorporating pop into metal towards a pop band occasionally reminding us that they own guitars. Having found their Slam Dunk 2025 performance surprisingly flat, I approached “TANZNEID” hoping the album would prove me wrong.
It didn’t.
The title track “TANZNEID” still contains enough of the familiar formula to reassure existing fans. There are electronics, ridiculous hooks and heavier passages colliding together in recognisable Electric Callboy fashion. “RATATATA,” the collaboration with BABYMETAL, similarly works because both artists understand exaggeration. Nobody involved is pretending subtlety has suddenly become fashionable.
Likewise, “Hypercharged” and “Elevator Operator” are polished to an almost absurd standard. The production throughout this record is enormous, crisp and ruthlessly contemporary. Every electronic flourish occupies exactly the right space, vocals are stacked to perfection and the low end arrives with all the control expected from a major international release. The problem is not execution. The problem is what that exceptional execution is increasingly being used to deliver.
For me, “Revery” exposes the shift most clearly. Strip away the metal signifiers and what remains is essentially an extremely accomplished contemporary pop song. The guitars and heavier moments feel less like the foundations of the composition and more like the rock mix of something originally designed for mainstream radio. It reminded me immediately of growing up with radio edits of rock and metal songs where someone had apparently decided that the guitars might frighten commuters and therefore pushed them safely behind everything else.
That is frustrating because Electric Callboy previously understood subversion exceptionally well.
“Hurrikan” remains a perfect example. Taking German Schlager, embracing every ridiculous aspect of it and then smashing the entire thing into extreme metal worked because the contrast was the joke. It remained unquestionably heavy music invading another genre. Earlier material played the same game with trance, techno and pop. You never needed to ask whether Electric Callboy were still a metal band because eventually they would hit you hard enough to answer the question themselves.
On “TANZNEID”, that relationship feels reversed.
“The Way You Are” is at least knowingly constructed around the late-90s boyband ballad, eventually turning dramatically heavier; the band themselves described exactly that contrast as the premise of the song. That makes sense within their established humour. “Heartclub” also provides some desperately needed aggression, while “The Savior” helps prevent the latter half from becoming completely detached from their metallic identity.
But these moments increasingly feel like reminders rather than foundations.
Then there is “Let The Good Times Roll,” featuring The Offspring. On paper, this ought to be glorious. Two bands with a history of irreverence, enormous choruses and refusing to treat themselves too seriously should have created something wonderfully obnoxious. Instead, I found it painfully generic. The Offspring’s presence should give the track character; instead, it feels like an expensive guest appearance dropped into a commercially efficient pop-rock single. I have no idea what The Offspring themselves think of the finished product and will not pretend otherwise, but as a listener I cannot escape the feeling that their contribution has been thoroughly wasted.
The regular album closes after ten songs with “Revery,” but the edition supplied for review continues with four remixes: “We Got the Moves (Sullivan King Remix),” “TANZNEID (Paolo Ferrara Remix),” “Hypercharged (Paul Elstak Remix)” and “Revery (Sullivan King Remix).”
Here is where things become awkward.
I had enormous fun with them.
Once the pretence disappears and Electric Callboy simply commit to electronic music, the remixes become infectiously entertaining. They are stupid, energetic and completely unapologetic. But when four bonus remixes become some of the most enjoyable moments on what is ostensibly a metal album, I am not entirely sure that is the compliment the band intended.
And perhaps that is ultimately where “TANZNEID” loses me. I have absolutely no objection to musicians changing direction. Artists do not owe me the album I want them to make, and asking Electric Callboy of all bands to respect genre boundaries would be spectacularly missing the point.
But subversion requires something to subvert.
When Electric Callboy brought techno, Schlager and boyband pop into metal, the collision created something distinctive. When the metal itself becomes the occasional novelty inside predominantly pop and EDM songwriting, the equation changes. The band’s own store describes “TANZNEID” as blending metalcore, EDM and pop, and that is factually accurate. To my ears, however, the balance has now moved so decisively towards the latter two that continuing to treat metalcore as the defining ingredient feels increasingly generous.
Ironically, none of this makes “TANZNEID” a bad album. It is brilliantly produced, professionally performed, absurdly catchy and unquestionably fun in places. Indeed, its immediate number-one chart success suggests Electric Callboy understand perfectly well what they are doing commercially.
What it does make it is a disappointing Electric Callboy album for someone who loved the contradiction at the heart of this band.
I miss the moment where the stupid pop song suddenly turned around and punched me in the face.
On “TANZNEID,” too often it simply asks me to dance.
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 7th August 2026
Label: Century Media Records
Writer: Andy
Tracklist:
- TANZNEID
- RATATATA
- Hypercharged
- Let The Good Times Roll
- Elevator Operator
- Heartclub
- The Way You Are
- Still Waiting
- The Savior
- Revery
- We Got the Moves (Sullivan King Remix)
- TANZNEID (Paolo Ferrara Remix)
- Hypercharged (Paul Elstak Remix)
- Revery (Sullivan King Remix)
