A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO ELECTRIC CALLBOY

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How’s it going everybody? Welcome back to the No Skip Blog. Today we are back with our A Beginners Guide series talking about the modern electronicore juggernauts, Electric Callboy.

No German metal band has generated more buzz recently than Electric Callboy. This European metalcore group has seen huge crossover success over the past five years with massive U.S. and global tours, collaborations with BABYMETAL and the WWE, and heavy radio play worldwide. But this ‘overnight’ success isn’t as instant as it seems—the band has actually been grinding for over a decade now, working hard to refine their sound and build their fanbase. So, how did they manage to stay consistent all those years before making it big? Let’s dive in!

Electric Callboy is riding a thrilling wave of success currently, quickly earning the title of the most entertaining metalcore band out there. Their lighthearted tracks mix catchy, heavy, and clever moments, creating a unique blend that moves the late 2000s-early 2010s sound forward. With influences from electronicore, metalcore, EDM, and comedy rock, they’ve even experimented with genres like deathcore, country, and hip-hop. This dynamic sound shines in tracks like 'We Got the Moves,' 'Hypa Hypa,' and 'Tekkno Train,' but developing their winning formula didn’t happen instantly.

The band, originally named Eskimo Callboy, was formed in early 2010 in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany—a modest coal mining town in Eastern Germany. Long before Nico Stallach's angelic voice became part of their sound the band consisted of founding members: screamer Kevin Ratajczak, bassist Daniel Klossek, guitarists Pascal Schillo and Daniel Haniß, former drummer Micha Malitzki, and former vocalist Sebastian "Sushi" Biesler. Remarkably, 14 years later four of the original six members remain active in the band. In that same year they released their first self-titled EP independently through music mail order, only to re-release it under Redfield Records, a German indie label based in Haan-Gruiten, shortly after signing. This launch marked the start of their touring career, initially supporting acts like We Butter the Bread With Butter, Bakkushan, Neaera, and Callejon, and sharing festival stages with bands such as Casper and Distance in Embrace. In 2011, they performed at Traffic Jam Open Air and Mair1 festivals, steadily gaining momentum.

Their first studio album, Bury Me in Vegas, was released on March 23, 2012, under Redfield Records. The album quickly earned positive reception, embodying the upbeat energy of 2000s pop hits fused with heavy metal riffs, fitting right into the electronic metalcore scene of the time, this debut also showcasing their skill for writing catchy hooks. Later that year they embarked on the Geki Rock tour in Japan, which was followed by tours across China and Russia. In October and November, they supported Callejon alongside electro duo WassBass on the Blitzkreuz tour, playing shows throughout Germany and Austria. Unfortunately, on the tour’s final night at the Live Music Hall in Cologne on November 10, 2012, nine fans were injured by falling debris from the ceiling. The remainder of the show was canceled and rescheduled for February 2013 at E-Werk, but Eskimo Callboy couldn't attend due to a European tour opportunity with The Browning, Close to Home, and Intohimo. After their 2012 run drummer Micha Malitzki announced his departure and was subsequently replaced by current drummer David Friedrich.

In April 2013, Eskimo Callboy made their US tour debut with Kottonmouth Kings and Deuce. Though it would be their only US tour for nearly a decade, it didn't slow their momentum. That August, they rocked Wacken Open Air, a major German metal fest, and returned to Japan’s Geki Rock tour. On September 13 they won the Up and Coming award at the German Metal Hammer Awards in Berlin, solidifying their global reputation. The band relentlessly toured, using live shows to build their name worldwide, though they still sought the hit that would propel them to the next level. In autumn 2013, the band began working on their second album, We Are the Mess, collaborating with Kristian Kohlmannslehner at Kohlekeller Studios. Released on January 10, 2014 through Redfield Records in partnership with Warner Music Japan, the album received mixed-to-positive reviews. To promote it, they performed five release shows in Germany with Annisokay, followed by a tour in Japan. After hitting No. 8 on Germany's charts and No. 64 in Austria, the band toured Europe in March with experimental metal giants Iwrestledabearonce, Her Bright Skies, and To the Rats and Wolves, who featured vocalist Nico Stallch, who we will get to later in this article.

The band continued producing new music consistently, with 2015’s Crystals and 2017’s The Scene, the latter becoming their biggest release yet, featuring fan-favorite MC Thunder and a title track collaboration with Attila’s Chris Fronzak. In 2019, they launched their fifth album Rehab, marked by the single Hurricane. Although the album received mixed reviews, it was significant as it was the last with original clean vocalist “Sushi” Biesler, who departed to form the project Ghostkid. In 2020, the band searched for a new vocalist, eventually welcoming Nico Sallach on June 4. They quickly released new music, starting with Hypa Hypa on June 19, followed by Hate/Love on July 24, leading up to their EP MMXX on September 11. The Hypa Hypa video, popular among YouTube reactors like metal ambassador Nik Nocturnal, amassed over 36 million views by November 2023. Nico’s fun, energetic style added a fresh contrast with Kevin’s screams, helping MMXX become their biggest release yet while further boosting their popularity overseas.

In 2021 they kept up the momentum with singles like We Got the Moves and Pump It. In December they submitted Pump It for Germany's Eurovision 2022 entry, though it sadly wasn’t selected. Shortly afterward they announced plans to remove songs with offensive language, and even considered a name change. Revealed on March 9, 2022 the band officially became Electric Callboy, shedding the old name due to negative cultural connotations and reissuing past releases under the new one. Lead screamer Kevin state's:

“Hey friends, today we have big news for you! Some of you that watched our last videos might have expected it already, but today is the day that we change our name! From now on we are ELECTRIC CALLBOY! Actually we recorded some more videos with lots of more information… but with the senseless violence that is happening to the people of the Ukraine at the moment, it just doesn’t feel right to push that topic any further. Still, we don’t wanna wait any longer with our name change with the knowledge we gained during our journey. So here we go! We hope you like our new name as much as we do! But now, we need your attention to present you 2 charities, that are really important to us! So please check out this new video and let’s use our energy for peace and solidarity! Stay safe, We ❤️ You! #endwar #westandwithukraine #peace #electriccallboy”.

April 8, 2022 marked their first release as Electric Callboy with the single SpacemanI, featuring German rapper F!nch. A week later they announced their sixth album, TEKKNO, set for a September 9 release and including previous singles like We Got the Moves and Pump It. Due to high demand, TEKKNO’s release was pushed to September 16 and became their most successful release yet, debuting at No. 1 on the German charts as well as charting in multiple countries. Singles like Pump It and Spaceman reached German chart spots 31 and 93, respectively, with We Got the Moves amassing over 65 million Spotify streams. It also appeared on Australian charts at 66th, Belgian at 9th, Finnish at 13th, and 27th in the Netherlands, then peaking on Austrian charts at # 3 and Swiss at # 6, with a critic score of 72 and user score of 74 (albumoftheyear.org). Luke of The Soundboard didn’t give this one a specific rating this time but he did have this to say about it;

“It illustrates how thin the line is between an album like Tekkno working, and barely being able to hold itself together. The jumble of ideas evidently yields lesser ones, and when they do show up, it’s not an insignificant gulf. Saying that, it’s a borderline miracle that they’re the minority here, and Electric Callboy have otherwise primed and tightened themselves up in a way that does actually pull its weight for them. It’s a rarity, definitely, and one which it’s not even clear if they’ll be able to pull off again given their past record, but the results speak for themselves, at the end of the day. The willfully idiotic, guilty pleasure-defining mess of an album that Electric Callboy have been threatening for a while is here, and you might as well try and have some fun with it while it’s around. It might even surprise you.”

However, just weeks after TEKKNO's release they had to postpone their UK/France tour and withdraw from the US Level Up tour with Attack Attack! due to frontman Nico suffering from a jaw and ear infection. However, this would not keep the band from celebrating their massive success in the US, eventually launching the TEKKNO World Tour in August with Conquer Divide and Solence as supporting acts. TEKKNO’s success stemmed from the band’s ability to capitalize on viral moments, energetic singles, and radio play, becoming a milestone that further expanded their fan base. Creating memorable moments catered to reaction channels has really worked for the band as well, jumping up millions of monthly listeners with each release. After TEKKNO they didn’t rest, continuing to release music in 2024 including the collaboration with Japanese band Babymetal titled Ratatata, which topped Sirius XM’s Octane charts and became the theme for WWE's 2024 Bash at Berlin premium live event. Their 2024 tours included sold-out stadium shows in Germany, drawing over 10,000 fans per night, and selling out their entire North American tours in 2023 and 2024.

Electric Callboy is the perfect example of a band staying true to themselves and finding a system that worked and kept resilient until their break came, and when the missing piece in the way of Nico Stallch joined the band it was only a matter of time before their hard work paid off. Callboy was a band that really used reaction channels and social media to cross overseas where bands of their size and geographical location couldn’t, and they knew how to take the ball and run with it without letting critics and shortcomings get the best of them. In a scene of metalcore that is much more serious than when they broke out into the scene, Electric Callboy are a nice change of pace, proving that metalheads aren't that serious all the time and love to joke around. The band took the foundation seen from bands like Attack Attack! and I See Stars and made it their own, and are now arguably bigger than both of those bands were in their prime, all because they never sacrificed who they are. Even seen in their touring vlogs and videos by TanktheTech, a Youtuber who tours with the band and offers additional insight behind the scenes, the band is unapologetically themselves.

Electric Callboy’s journey exemplifies a band staying true to their roots and finding the right formula to break through. Nico Sallach’s addition catalyzed their success, while their engagement with social media and reaction channels helped them cross into new territories. In a metalcore scene often marked by intensity and no bs, Electric Callboy’s blend of humor and energy, as seen in tracks like Hurrikan and TEKKNO Train, is a refreshing departure of conventions established in 2020s metal, which seems to be more serious and “professional”. Drawing inspiration from bands like Attack Attack! and I See Stars, they’ve surpassed many of their predecessors, proving that staying genuine to yourself and your sound pays off. Even with major setbacks including canceled tours, a name change, and lineup changes the band stayed focused and never went astray, and authenticity is the best medicine in music. Electric Callboy are exactly who they appear to be: fun-loving, hard-working German musicians who deserve every bit of the success they’ve gained so far.