Electric Callboy have made metal silly. Really silly. Sillier than GWAR. Sillier than Lordi. Sillier than Tenacious D. Crucially, though, and much like those greats, the German techno-pop-metalcore crew don't treat their music with any less respect than the most po-faced, basement-level extreme metal artiste.
It's why they've become one of Europe's most popular rock bands in recent years - understandable when you've got ravers moshing like hardcore kids and diehard metalheads singing their hearts out to 90s pop covers. We got together with vocalists Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach to pick their brains on Europop, collabing with BABYMETAL and the alternative lives they could have led.
Do you think you’ve helped metalheads broaden their tastes with Europop and dance?
Kevin: “I once read a headline that said that we make metal more accessible for people, and I love that! We didn’t fit in 15 years ago because we used some instruments and sounds that were ‘dance’ based. People always strive to give music names, to pigeonhole. Why? If you like something, you like it.”
Nico: “I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. These typical metal heads, long-haired with their jackets on and everything, they’re the ones standing there and singing [Cascada cover] Every Time We Touch with us with tears in their eyes and singing along to Backstreet Boys. It’s an evolution that I really love, because we don’t have to feel that it’s wrong anymore.”
On that note, what’s your least rock’n’roll hobby?
Nico: “I play darts.”
Kevin: “Isn’t that like throwing needles at things? Isn’t that metal in some way?”
Nico: “I’m addicted. I went down that rabbit hole a year ago now, I play nearly every day.”
Kevin: “Honestly, compared to other musicians, my life seems so boring, but it’s so satisfying! I’m the daddy with his two kids at the playground. It’s my birthday in two weeks and I asked for this box thing that wraps your garden hose up after watering the plants. I am not rock’n’roll at all.”
Do you reckon your kids will ever form a band?
Kevin: “My kids are two and four years old at this moment, and they love our music. At first it was very flattering for us, because our kids enjoy what we’re doing, but now I can’t
listen to our own music anymore! It’s every single day, and people come over and must think I’m so vain listening to my own songs.”
Nico: “My son’s biggest hero right now is Kevin. He’s not into my singing voice; he loves his shouting voice. He’s also listening to our music all day long, and he’s doing the same
movements that Kevin is doing on the videos. I bought him a little drum kit, and the others have microphones and ukuleles, so we’ll see! I will support them in whatever they want to do, unless they start writing folklore songs. [laughs]”
If you weren’t a musician, what job would you be doing?
Kevin: “I’d be in sales, selling stuff. I used to work for a car company in the wholesale section. I love to talk to people and be sociable, and with that comes the ability to sell things. I’m so happy music worked out though.”
Nico: “I have more than 500 games in my library, so I would be a professional gamer, who wished he was a musician! I’m always afraid this is going to go away though, you know?”
You’re known for bringing the party. Are there any other genres you’d like to try?
Kevin: “Our music is not simply made, but it sounds simple. I’d love to do something really complex, a little bit more involved in the instrumental part. I’m usually the piano guy, and I used to be in a jazz band when I was younger, so I could definitely do some of that.”
Nico: “I would love to write a love song! Imagine being Bon Jovi and writing Bed Of Roses. Obviously, we can do whatever we like, but I think if we wrote something like Bed Of Roses, nobody would actually take it seriously and think it’s a joke!”
You’ve collaborated with BABYMETAL and your shows are getting bigger and bigger. Are you pinching yourselves yet?
Nico: “Look at this smile on my face! This is our life now. Do you know that feeling when you were, like, 16 or 17, and the small amount of pocket money from your parents was not enough? So you decided to do a small job alongside school, and all of a sudden, you had enough money to buy things that you wanted to buy? This is the feeling [we have] right now. Suddenly, we can do things that we couldn’t before with our staging and the scale of things, and that’s a crazy feeling.”
Kevin: “We just collaborated with another artist, too, and we’re desperate to tell you, but we can’t.”
Electric Callboy headline London’s Alexandra Palace on November 11 supported by Bury Tomorrow and Wargasm. New single TANZNEID is out now
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
