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German electronicore sextet Electric Callboy never fails to get you dancing and moshing at the same time. And on their sixth effort ‘Tekkno’, it’s no different – as they once again blend brutal metalcore riffs with bouncy EDM synths and rhythms. At times, it takes you right back to the anthemic pop days of the late 2000s/early 2010s, and at other times it pulls you into the modern day with its djent-splattered metalcore. Clocking in at ever so slightly over half an hour in its total length, it’s an album that flies by at breakneck speed, with no time for the listener to rest and catch their breath. None of the songs on this album even surpass the four-minute mark, so the group gives you ten quick and easy-to-digest dance metal tracks, that get straight to the point and don’t drag themselves out.
Right from the get-go on the album opener ‘Pump It’, we’re thrown into a track that is reminiscent of groups like Attack Attack! and Enter Shikari, as both vocalists Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach take turns to get you all hyped up for the next half hour and ensure that you’re definitely in the party mood. The release of the group’s third single ‘Spaceman’, which has a feature from rapper/YouTuber/streamer FiNCH, was so popular among fans, that online petitions were actually created to have the group represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest, which, sadly, in the end, the jury later denied. In my opinion, this would have been a welcome change, seeing as new and upcoming rock and metal bands such as Italy’s Måneskin and Finland’s Blind Channel performed at the 2021 contest to critical acclaim. FiNCH also takes a second to pay homage to the German techno/happy hardcore group Scooter, when he raps “Fred from Jupiter, stands in front of a supermarket/Turns on the boombox and parties to Scooter” (roughly translated from German), which is an obvious influence on the Electric Callboy sound.
But it’s ‘Hurrikan’ that is by far the most surprising song on this record. Coming in at a grand total of one-minute thirty-nine seconds, it starts off with a romantic-sounding piano section and Eurobeat rhythm that would’ve fit in well with Sparks’ 1994 album ‘Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins’. Upon translating the lyrics into English, however, ‘romantic’ is definitely not the right word (“When I see all the pictures, then I only think of you/How you sat on me, my god, that was disgusting”.) But then, at approximately the one-minute mark, the sound dramatically and suddenly shifts, as we transcend into arguably the album’s most heaviest moment. The last section of the track is full to the brim with blast beats and rapid double kicks, as well as growls, screeches, and even a pig squeal thrown in for good measure. It’s a brutal and shocking end to what I honestly thought was going to be a more vibrant track.
It’s great to know that the group’s comedic edge hasn’t been lost on this record either (one quick look at the single cover art for ‘We Got The Moves’ or the music video for ‘Pump It’ should give you a rough idea at what their humour is like) and it pairs well with the rave influence of their sound – because, let’s be real here, what use is it to listen to dance music and not have fun while you do so? And it’s not every day that you hear a group sing “Shaky, shaky, sweaty, sweaty, you make my spaghetti ready/Heat up the sauce, it’s a dinner for one”, but you’re going to hear Callboy sing it on the track ‘Tekkno Train’.
When all is said and done, as the last few notes of the outro ‘Neon’ fade out, what you get is an album that would be good to play at both a nightclub at 2am, as well as in a field in Derbyshire at a certain metal festival. And in retrospect, electronicore is a genre that, on the outside looking in, shouldn’t work. But once you marry the two genres of electronic and metalcore together, what you end up with is a lively and compelling sound – one that Electric Callboy have proven they’re the leaders of the pack for.
Available September 9th through Century Media Records, more information here.
Review – Joe Richardson
Photo Credit: © Christian Ripkens
UK TOUR 2022
SUPPORT: ANNISOKAY
23.09.22 UK-Nottingham, Rock City (sold out)
24.09.22 UK-Newcastle, NX (sold out)
25.09.22 UK-Manchester, Academy (sold out)
26.09.22 UK-Brighton, Chalk (sold out)
UK TEKKNO TOUR 2023
30.04.23 UK- London, O2 Brixton Academy
ELECTRIC CALLBOY online:
https://electriccallboy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/electriccallboy
https://www.instagram.com/electriccallboy/
