ELECTRIC CALLBOY

Vancouver gets a full‑scale Electric Callboy rave‑metal takeover as the band delivers a massive debut at the PNE Forum

At Loudflash.com, I do my best to cover every corner of the loud‑music universe. Death metal, rock, black metal, metalcore — if it rattles the walls or scares the neighbors, I’m probably standing in front of it with a camera. I try to stay unbiased… well, as unbiased as someone who willingly listens to blast beats at 2 a.m. So why not add some electronicore to the chaos?

Tonight I’m genuinely excited to see Electric Callboy finally hit Vancouver for the first time, rolling into the PNE Forum with Polaris and Scene Queen, who are also making their Vancouver debuts. If you remember, we caught Electric Callboy in Seattle back in August 2023, and I left that show wondering if I had just witnessed a concert or a cardio workout disguised as one. The band was fun, the crowd was wild, and I’m pretty sure half the room burned their weekly calorie count in one night.

But this time, things are different. Instead of the cozy little Neptune Theatre in Seattle, we’re now in a hall that can cram in around 4,000 people. Since 2023, Electric Callboy has only gotten bigger, louder, and more unhinged across Europe. So the real question is: what happens when that level of chaos gets unleashed on Vancouver?

Not much has changed since I last saw these German maniacs tear up Seattle. Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach are still running the circus up front on vocals, while Pascal Schillo (rhythm guitar), Daniel Haniß (lead guitar), and Daniel Klossek (bass) keep the whole thing bouncing like a rave on wheels. Behind the kit this tour is Frank Zummo — yes, the same Frank Zummo who has smashed skins for Sum 41 and probably has more frequent‑flyer miles than the rest of us combined.

As for new music, we’re still living in the era of Tekkno from 2022, but not for long. The new album, Tanzneid, is coming in hot with a release date set for early August 2026. Judging by the recent singles and their gloriously unhinged videos, this thing is shaping up to be a monster. Honestly, it feels like the album that might push them from “big in Europe” to “unstoppable everywhere.”

Speaking of the new album, the boys waste zero time and kick the night off with “Tanzneid.” It follows the classic Electric Callboy recipe: electro‑pop sugar rush smashed together with modern metal chaos. They hit the stage in their puffy outfits, looking like a rave collided with a ski lodge, and the crowd immediately starts bouncing like they’ve been training for this moment their whole lives.

The second those synth grooves fire up — mixed with those deathcore‑style scream sections — the place goes feral. And then there’s that ridiculous, impossible‑to‑escape hook… doo doo dooo do doo doo doo… the kind of melody that burrows into your brain and refuses to pay rent. Judging by the reaction, I wasn’t the only one infected. After just one song, the entire room is already losing its collective mind.

From there, they jump into a very familiar punk‑pop classic: Sum 41’s “Still Waiting.” I’m pretty sure everyone in the PNE Forum has heard that song at least a thousand times, so it lands instantly. And honestly, how could they not play it? When you’ve got Sum 41’s own Frank Zummo on drums, it’s basically a free cheat code. It works surprisingly well… though I’ll admit, a tiny part of me was thinking, “Okay cool, but also… more Callboy, please.”

Before song three, we shift into crowd‑participation mode. Kevin and Nico get everyone doing the “CHI!” chant — louder, louder, louder — until the whole room sounds like a martial‑arts dojo run by hyperactive ravers. Naturally, this leads into “Tekkno Train,” which chugs harder than a locomotive full of energy drinks. And if you weren’t already out of breath from that one, you had better be ready to completely lose it when “Hypa Hypa” hits right after. At that point, the floor basically turns into a trampoline.

By the time they hit “MC Thunder” and “Neon,” the chaos level is fully unlocked. Costume changes, mullets flying around like they’re powered by their own wind machines — it’s basically a full‑body workout just watching an Electric Callboy show. Then comes “Pump It,” which does exactly what the title promises. If you’ve seen the video, you already know the whole thing is one giant flex, and that breakdown hits like a protein shake to the face. The mosh pit didn’t just open — it churned like someone dropped a blender into the crowd.

By song eight, “Hurrikan,” things start off exactly the way you’d expect — the usual build‑up heading toward that ferocious deathcore back half. Except… nope. Not tonight. Instead of dropping the heavy section, they flip the whole thing into a bass‑blasting rave meltdown. Did I miss the deathcore part? Absolutely. Did the rave detour absolutely slap? Also yes.

Somewhere between the silliness, the costume changes, and the cardio‑level chaos, we hit song thirteen and get one of the strangest drum solos I’ve ever witnessed. Zummo is destroying the kit while simultaneously battling a robot on the giant screen behind him. The crowd is glued to it. Then — plot twist — everything stops. Nico suddenly goes, “Hey everyone! We are down here!” and somehow the band has teleported into the middle of the packed floor.

They set up a piano and guitar right there in the crowd and launch into an acoustic version of “Fuckboi.” Sadly, Scene Queen didn’t join in, which felt like a missed opportunity since she could’ve filled in for Kiarely Castillo of Conquer Divide, who originally did the track. Still, the whole surprise moment was wild enough that nobody seemed to mind.

I think a lot of people have only really discovered this band in the past year, and their following has exploded because of it. By song seventeen, the biggest reaction of the entire night wasn’t even for an old classic — it was for “Elevator Operator,” a track from the upcoming August album. If that’s the crowd response to a song that isn’t even out yet, you can only imagine what other hits they’re hiding up their sleeves.

And if the crowd wasn’t already completely wiped out, the last three songs finished the job. The band comes out wearing those disco helmets and, in perfect synchronized fashion, puts them on at the exact same time. Honestly, the choreography is so tight you’d think you accidentally wandered into a Beyoncé concert instead of a metal‑rave hybrid.

They launch into the insanely catchy “RATATATA,” with Babymetal appearing on the big screen (pre‑recorded, of course). Then comes one of my kids’ favorites — the song that replaced “Baby Shark” in our house — “Spaceman.” The whole room is screaming along to “Spaceman, I got a rocket on my back, Spaceman, I am raving like a maniac,” and trust me, they meant every word.

One last burst of chaos hits with the over‑the‑top costumes for “We Got the Moves,” and by the end of it all… PHEW. This band absolutely has the moves, and I’m calling it now: next time they come through Vancouver, it’s going to be in a much bigger arena. If you remember my last review, I predicted this would happen — and here we are.

Bravo, Electric Callboy. What a ridiculously fun show.

SET LIST:

1. TANZNEID
2. Still Waiting
3. Tekkno Train
4. Hypa Hypa
5. MC Thunder
6. Neon
7. Pump It
8. Hurrikan / Overkill / All the Small Things / Bodies
9. Revery
10. Hypercharged
11. Mindreader
12. Monsieur Moustache / Muffin Purper-Gurk / We Are the Mess / Crystals
13. Drum Solo
14. Fuckboi
15. Everytime We Touch
16. MC Thunder II (Dancing Like a Ninja)
17. Elevator Operator
18. RATATATA
19. Spaceman
20. We Got the Moves