Electric Callboy - 'Tanzneid' Album Review

Aug 5
3 min read

Tracklist:

1. TANZNEID

2. RATATATA feat. BABYMETAL

3. Hypercharged

4. Let The Good Times Roll feat. The Offspring

5. Elevator Operator

6. Heartclub

7. The Way You Are

8. Still Waiting

9. The Saviour

10. Revery

11. We Got The Moves (Sullivan King Remix)

12. TANZNEID (Paolo Ferrara Remix)

13. Hypercharged (Paul Elstak Remix)

14. Revery (Sullivan King Remix)

German party metallers Electric Callboy are back with the highly anticipated follow to 2022's 'Tekkno'', their 7th album TANZNEID', released August 7th via Century Media Records.

This is a great follow up to 'Tekkno'. From the get go with title track 'TANZNEID', it feels like they've expanded on the previous album. Each track feels bigger, heavier, goofier, really what you'd picture when you hear the name Electric Callboy. They're by no stretch of the imagination a new band, but after exploding in popularity earlier this decade after the departure of original vocalist Sebastian "Sushi" Biesler and the arrival of his replacement Nico Sallach, they've been given more of a platform to be themselves, and I think they really shine (no insult intended towards Sushi, he is a phenomenal vocalist and I look forward to the next Ghostkid record very much).

It has to be said, though, that it does feel like they are repeating moments from 'Tekkno'. From the outright goofiness of tracks like 'Pump It' and 'We Got The Moves', to the bait and switch nature of 'Hurrikan', those same beats are echoed on 'TANZNEID' with tracks like 'Elevator Operator' and T'he Way You Are'. Does this mean I dislike the songs and the album in general? Far from it, in fact 'The Way You Are' is one of the highlights of the album for me, but it makes me wonder if they'll continue this on future releases. One key difference is the inclusion of the 4 remixes, which feels like they had the intention of making a deluxe edition, but decided to just tack them on to the initial release of the album, which I do respect, however I don't think they necessarily add anything to the record.

Another positive for me is the two tracks made with icons of the pop punk scene. Creating a continuation of The Offspring's 'Let The Bad Times Roll' in the form of 'Let The Good Times Roll' fits extremely well, and expanding on the fact they brought in Sum 41's Frank Zummo as a touring drummer by covering 'Still Waiting' is a brilliant sign of respect, and neither track sticks out in a negative way for me.

One negative, however, is how much of the album has been released ahead of time. 'RATATATA feat. BABYMETAL' came out over two years ago, and was already featured on BABYMETAL's album 'METAL FORTH' last year. It's not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination, but I do question it's inclusion on the record, especially with it already being on a different album. Past that, out of the 10 non remix tracks, only 'Heartclub' (which is perhaps my absolute favourite track on the album with how all out, balls to the wall heavy it gets) and 'The Saviour' weren't released ahead of time. I know that the music industry has shifted to focus more on things like playlist inclusion, but to release so much of the album before the record drops lessens the impact of the record for me.

To sum things up, I had a great time with 'TANZNEID', but I don't think that was ever going to be brought in to question, because they are inherently a fun band. I mentioned at the start that it expands on 'Tekkno', however I don't think it necessarily exceeds that record, given the impact that it had on the band's career, but I do feel like if the roles were reversed, this would be the album everyone would flock to.