{"id":873500,"date":"2026-08-27T16:02:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873500\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:02:41","slug":"we-wanted-to-be-bright-and-funny-how-slipknot-linkin-park-and-the-backstreet-boys-helped-turn-a-car-salesman-and-a-nurse-into-metals-biggest-party-starters-electric-callboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873500\/","title":{"rendered":"“We wanted to be bright and funny.” How Slipknot, Linkin Park and the Backstreet Boys helped turn a car salesman and a nurse into metal’s biggest party-starters, Electric Callboy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mysterious pink box is making its way across Los Angeles. It travels through the skies above Santa Monica by pigeon, interrupts a sandwich for Nekrogoblikon\u2019s John Goblikon, and is lost down the subway by comedian, actor and metal musician Brian Posehn, before inexplicably landing in a taxi with Dexter Holland, frontman of The Offspring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Moments later, Dexter and Electric Callboy open the box with great anticipation. Is this going to be a \u2018What\u2019s in the briefcase?\u2019 Pulp Fiction moment? No\u2026 It\u2019s Electric Callboy in miniature, dressed in flamenco-style shirts with thick moustaches and gelled coiffes. Shaking their hips enticingly, co-vocalists Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach utter the immortal line from The Offspring\u2019s 1998 banger, Pretty Fly For A White Guy<\/a>: \u2018Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis!\u2019 If any of this sounds\u2026 odd, rest assured it\u2019s all completely in line with what we\u2019ve come to expect from Electric Callboy.<\/p>\n

We love the combination of metal and techno<\/p>\n

Nico Sallach <\/p>\n

The video for Let The Good Times Roll, the latest single from the German electrocore band\u2019s upcoming album, Tanzneid<\/a>, is the latest in a long line of wacky music videos that have won the hearts of metalheads everywhere. The band have just kicked off their European festival season with two massive shows at Germany\u2019s Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring, and played a tremendous main stage set at Download festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

Tanzneid is their seventh album since forming in 2010, but their second since 2022\u2019s Tekkno turned them into one of the biggest success stories and most beloved bands in modern metal. Since then, they\u2019ve made a name for themselves for their ridiculous, inventive music videos, which have almost all gone viral. Babymetal collab Ratatata was voted the best song of 2025<\/a> by Hammer readers, while their gigs have become legendary half-rave half-mosh blowouts. To take the party further, Tanzneid feels like it\u2019s been written to capture the energy of those rabid, day-glo live shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the combination of metal and techno that gave Tekkno its name,\u201d explains Nico.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

He and Kevin have dialled in, all smiles and high spirits, from backstage at Heavy Week-End festival in France, where Electric Callboy are headlining the final night at the Z\u00e9nith du Grand Nancy outdoor amphitheatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanzneid is an evolution of Tekkno. We wanted to go a bit deeper into that and force the Tekkno vibe even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Let The Good Times Roll is pure summer \u2013 a riff on The Offspring\u2019s 2021 song, Let The Bad Times Roll. More of a tribute than a cover, Dexter even sings on the track. It\u2019s a multigenerational crossover that captures the spirit of both bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we knew that Dexter would be on the song, we put little Easter eggs in it,\u201d Kevin says of the Pretty Fly For A White Guy reference.<\/p>\n

They met Dexter and Offspring guitarist Noodles two years ago, at Belgium\u2019s Graspop festival.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told their crew to tell our crew that they wanted to talk to us that day, and we actually thought that they wanted to tell us that we did something wrong,\u201d remembers Nico. \u201cBut they just wanted to tell us that they like our music!\u201d<\/p>\n

Electric Callboy feat. The Offspring – LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL (OFFICIAL VIDEO) – YouTube
\n\"Electric<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

In 2010, Kevin Ratajczak was living a double life. He was 24, and working as a car salesman for Mercedes-Benz in Castrop-Rauxel, the German town where he grew up \u2013 clean-shaven, suit, tie, the whole nine yards, and he quite liked it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love cars,\u201d he says. \u201cThat is my other passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only did he enjoy the job, he was good at it. Who knew the skillset needed to entice people into a moshpit isn\u2019t that much different to persuading them to drop tens of thousands of Euros on a new Mercedes-Benz?<\/p>\n

\u201cI can find a connection to nearly every person on this planet, so I was a good salesperson,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

His colleagues knew him as \u201cthe friendly student who doesn\u2019t do any harm\u201d. Little did they know that Salesman Kevin had just formed a metalcore<\/a> band, known back then as Eskimo Callboy. On weekends, the rest of the band would pick him up from work and drive to play gigs at local youth centres. He struggled to keep the two existences separate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese freaked-out guys with the Sprinter van would park up with loud music, opening the doors, beer cans rolling out. I would take off my suit and get out the building, trying [to ensure] nobody saw them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had wanted to perform from an early age. Pushing his way into the front of his family\u2019s camcorder home movies, he describes himself as \u201cthe annoying kid, the kid that\u2019s a little bit too much\u201d. In school plays, he was always the \u201cguy that freaked out onstage and had no problems with embarrassing stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n

Joey Jordison had this huge drum set-up where he was lifted in the air and was circling around. I\u2019d never experienced something like it.<\/p>\n

Kevin Ratajczak<\/p>\n

This is the Kevin that Electric Callboy fans know, the all-round goofball and hedonist whose roars contrast with Nico\u2019s clean vocals, but there\u2019s a surprising side to him they don\u2019t usually see. One that\u2019s more sensible and \u201crational\u201d than you might expect from a man whose day job involves conducting mass raves in garish outfits and wigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy character has got a bit more polarising,\u201d he explains. \u201cOnstage, I\u2019m way over the top, and it\u2019s me, it\u2019s not that I\u2019m playing a role. But it\u2019s an exaggerated version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Kevin\u2019s not on tour, he prefers a quiet life. He still lives in Castrop-Rauxel, and has a wife and two children, along with a small circle of friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very homebound,\u201d he confesses. \u201cI need my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born into a working-class family, he grew up with his sister, while his mother was a housewife and his dad was an electrician. His dad was into classic rock and had a vast record collection, through which Kevin discovered bands such as Led Zeppelin, Toto and Deep Purple, with the latter\u2019s Made In Japan 1972 double live album proving particularly formative.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father was passionate, and he transferred that passion to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a teenager, Kevin started going to local thrash<\/a> and death metal gigs, but the real lightbulb moment came on January 26, 2002, when Slipknot<\/a> rolled into the neighbouring town of Essen on their Iowa World Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a show when Joey Jordison had this huge drum set-up where he was lifted in the air and was circling around,\u201d he remembers, with a sense of wonder. \u201cI\u2019d never experienced something like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long for him to join a band himself. In 2008, he became the keyboardist and backing vocalist for Her Smile In Grief, the metalcore band of Electric Callboy guitarists Daniel Hani\u00df and Pascal Schillo. After their singer left in 2010, they advertised for a new vocalist on MySpace, eventually finding Sebastian \u2018Sushi\u2019 Biesler, and rebranding themselves as Eskimo Callboy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all came together in short pants,\u201d Kevin grins. \u201cWe felt like summer inside our bodies!\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before he quit his day job to do the band full-time. Quickly, Callboy became the linchpin of the German metalcore scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing authentic is very important,\u201d Kevin says. \u201cWe had our music, but we also showed our personality. We had some vlogs out. We just drove around town, talked to the people, and I think we were one of the first bands that did it that way. We hosted some gigs and invited bands from other cities, so the whole scene grew. That was a cool time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He fondly describes the early days as free and hedonistic, driving from gig to gig, getting wasted and sleeping on floors. The music they were making sounded like a party, influenced by larger-than-life scene bands of the time, such as Attack Attack!, Asking Alexandria and Bring Me The Horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be hard, but we didn\u2019t want to be black and serious,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe wanted to be bright and funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Nico\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ben Gibson)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not surprising that Nico Sallach ended up in a party band too. In his 20s, the singer threw weekly house bashes in the cheap, cramped flat he shared with his best mate, until one time it got completely out of hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its peak, we had 80 people in this tiny flat. People that we didn\u2019t know were ringing the doorbell,\u201d he says, likening the situation to the 2012 film Project X, where a party spirals into chaos. \u201cPeople started smoking everywhere and didn\u2019t use an ashtray. They treated our flat like shit. I wanted to go to bed, and there were drinks and liquids that I couldn\u2019t identify all over my bed!\u201d He laughs. \u201cVery good memories, even if it doesn\u2019t sound like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like his bandmate, Nico craved the spotlight from a young age. The first instrument he picked up was the drums, but he quickly realised he wasn\u2019t suited to it. He wanted to be up front.<\/p>\n

\u201cSitting there in the back, I didn\u2019t feel it,\u201d he smiles. \u201cAfter a couple of years I recognised that singing is way cooler.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a kid, he was the hyperactive \u201cclass clown\u201d \u2013 the guy who was always \u201ctrying to make anybody laugh, even in situations where you just should have shut up\u201d. At school, so as not to be \u201ctoo infectious\u201d (read: disruptive), he was seated on a separate table from his classmates, for his own good, he says, as well as theirs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was more or less my life as a young kid, but it never changed,\u201d he says of his hyperactivity. \u201cI just learned how to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He grew up in Essen, a town close to D\u00fcsseldorf, only 30 minutes from Kevin\u2019s hometown, Castrop-Rauxel, and was introduced to rock by his dad, who had been the singer in a prog band. There was a healthy local music scene, and teenage Nico would spend his time watching emo and metal bands at various youth centres, sometimes taking in several gigs in one weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t even about the music. It was about being there, being connected to other people,\u201d he explains. \u201cI made a lot of friends during that time that I still have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having people in front of you singing along to the songs that you have written was the best thing on Earth<\/p>\n

Nico Sallach<\/p>\n

On June 28, 2008, he attended Linkin Park<\/a>\u2019s Projekt Revolution tour in D\u00fcsseldorf, which included HIM and Pharrell Williams\u2019 N.E.R.D. on the line-up \u2013 and that was it. He knew what he wanted to do with his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed me,\u201d he says. \u201c[Late Linkin Park vocalist] Chester was and still is one of my biggest idols.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nico was in a few bands before joining Electric Callboy. The first, metalcore outfit Through Your Veins, was \u201cbasically trial and error\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t play many concerts,\u201d he says. \u201cBut when we quit, I knew that I\u2019d never want to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2012, he joined To The Rats And Wolves, whose genre-hopping sound wasn\u2019t a million miles away from Electric Callboy\u2019s sound today, albeit much less refined. Two years later, To The Rats And Wolves supported Callboy on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gained our first fans,\u201d he smiles. \u201cHaving people in front of you singing along to the songs that you have written was the best thing on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the five years before joining Callboy, Nico worked as a nurse, first in the geriatric department at his local hospital, and then in the Intensive Care Unit. He reckons there\u2019s not as big a jump as you might imagine between the two professions: taking care of people is still part of his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get messages from people that are like, \u2018I\u2019m having the toughest time right now, and whenever I see you live, I feel way better afterwards,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Even so, working on the Intensive Care Unit was tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, it was really hard for me to deal with, because I\u2019ve seen too much. It\u2019s not as rewarding as you might think,\u201d he admits. \u201cEven if I hadn\u2019t joined Electric Callboy, I would have searched for another job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Electric Callboy – THE WAY YOU ARE (OFFICIAL VIDEO) – YouTube
\n\"Electric<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

In 2020, it seemed like To The Rats And Wolves and Callboy were on a parallel crash course, their futures intertwined by something larger than fate. That year, both bands disintegrated. Callboy were five albums in, their momentum had plateaued, and relationships between vocalist Sushi and the others had completely broken down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, it was just toxic,\u201d Kevin says today. \u201cFive people had one opinion, and then one was totally going against it. It took all the fun away, it took all the passion away.\u201d<\/p>\n

They recorded one last album together, 2019\u2019s patchy Rehab, a record Kevin now brands as \u201csoulless\u201d. But when Sushi finally left in 2020, Kevin faced a reckoning: \u201cI quit my job, I quit everything. The band was my world, my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

As luck would have it, they had found themselves in the market for a new singer just as Nico was searching for a new band. Having stayed friends with the Callboy guys since supporting them with To The Rats And Wolves, he auditioned for the job, submitting a video of himself singing Callboy cut Prism, far and away the best track on Rehab. After joining them for a couple of rehearsals, Nico had a good feeling about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt pretty natural and felt right. I was driving home and I remember looking at my wife like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m probably going to do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to believe now, looking at them finishing each other\u2019s sentences, completely at ease in each other\u2019s company, but, for Kevin, the choice wasn\u2019t as immediately obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot from the beginning,\u201d he admits. \u201cI knew Nico, but didn\u2019t know him [as well as some of the others in the band]. It was a sad situation where we were coming from. I wasn\u2019t sure a new singer was gonna work.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went over to Nico\u2019s house, and the two hung out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about being onstage, and that\u2019s when we actually got to know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, things fell into place pretty much immediately; it was like a switch had been flipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the same feeling we had had when we started the band,\u201d Kevin smiles. \u201cNo responsibilities, nothing in our heads, just working, just doing what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever I did something in my life, I’d call my dad. I can\u2019t call my dad, so in the end, being successful means being sad.<\/p>\n

Kevin Ratajczak<\/p>\n

The first song the new line-up wrote together was Hypa Hypa, a garish party anthem that blended 80s synths with aggressive breakdowns, and which immediately went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cHypa Hypa was created within one or two days; it was very fast,\u201d recalls Kevin. \u201cAnd that was the time when we were sure: let\u2019s do this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, amid the neon, laugh-a-minute momentum, Kevin received a call from his sister: his father had passed away suddenly at the age of 61. He dealt with his grief privately.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, it was hard,\u201d he says. \u201cMy first reaction whenever I did something in my life, when I achieved something, was to call my dad. I can\u2019t call my dad, so in the end, being successful means being sad. That\u2019s one thing that I have been suffering from, but it\u2019s getting better and better. It\u2019s a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not long after the release of Hypa Hypa, the band changed their name to Electric Callboy, and released a spate of personality-packed singles. Their live shows grew with every tour, and the band had a clear camaraderie that made their gigs seem more like a wild night out with thousands of new mates. So, it was a shock when drummer David Friedrich left in April of last year. (Currently, ex-Sum 41 drummer Frank Zummo is behind the EC kit.)<\/p>\n

In a candid post on Instagram almost a year after his departure, David revealed how much the band\u2019s rapid success had impacted his mental health, admitting: \u201cAs the venues got bigger, I felt smaller inside.\u201d Did it come as a shock?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main problem is we didn\u2019t talk much,\u201d says Nico. \u201cOver the last months, he started driving on his own, and slowly but constantly separated himself from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite trying to reach out, they haven\u2019t spoken to David since he left. \u201cI just hope that he\u2019s feeling better.”<\/p>\n

\n

\"Electric\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ben Gibson)<\/p>\n

A lot is riding on Electric Callboy\u2019s new album, Tanzneid. In the four years since releasing Tekkno, they have kept busy by drip-feeding singles, including a cover of Cascada\u2019s 2005 Eurodance anthem, Everytime We Touch (the video saw them dancing in satin shirts at a country manor) and playing to bigger and bigger crowds. But the success of Tanzneid will determine just how big things can get. Right now, Electric Callboy are one of metal\u2019s hottest bands, and a stumble would be disastrous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure during the last three months of recording pushed us to the limit,\u201d admits Nico. \u201cWriting an album that is successful as Tekkno\u2026 you can\u2019t force it, you can\u2019t plan it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not good for your creativity,\u201d adds Kevin. \u201cYou want to be free of all those expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

They needn\u2019t worry. Tanzneid will easily satisfy the fans who enjoy both the serious and silly sides of Electric Callboy\u2019s songwriting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to go a bit rougher and harsher,\u201d said Nico, referring to songs such as dark rager Heartclub, and The Savior, which combines hard beats and classic 80s metal riffery. On the other side of the coin, the silliest moment by far is The Way You Are, a 90s boy band ballad in the vein of Backstreet Boys, which implodes in a cacophony of pig squeals, blastbeats and Lorna Shore-esque apocalyptic synthwork. It\u2019s reminiscent of Hurrikan, a track on Tekkno which mashed German schlager music with deathcore, and is destined to become a moment in future sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fans of Backstreet Boys,\u201d laughs Kevin. \u201cThere were so many great songs coming out of that era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Footage from their sets at Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring, filmed by a drone, has landed on social media. We comment on the size of the crowd \u2013 a sea of ravers and moshers as far as the eye can see, all united in joy. It\u2019s a scene that underlines how far Electric Callboy have come, and hints at how far they could still go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are always goals that you want to reach,\u201d says Nico. \u201cAll our tours are arena tours right now, which is unbelievable, but playing in a stadium once, that\u2019d be crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or maybe it\u2019s not so crazy at all. Surely only a fool would bet against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that\u2019s going on at this point is so much more than we could process,\u201d says Kevin, who is still trying to wrap his head around how big his band has become. \u201cLast night, I was sitting on the bus, checking social media, and I was like, \u2018Wow, that was us onstage\u2026 That was me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanzneid is out now via Century Media. Electric Callboy tour the UK in January 2027 and headline Bloodstock Open Air on August 7 2027. <\/p>\n

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