Alexandra Palace, London, November 11 2025
Electric Callboy brings out the best in all of us, that’s for sure.
On the approach to Alexandra Palace tonight, the atmosphere can only be described as jubilant. All walks of life, young and old, rubbing shoulders with each other, laughing hysterically and sharing stories on where they picked up their curly wigs and tracksuits for tonight from. It’s a genuine feeling of community, one that warms the heart in the drizzly November air, and that has come from such an unexpected place.
However, the fact that so many have taken to Callboy over the last five years is a testament to how important it is to let loose and have a blast in these uncertain times. And for just one night in the UK, as part of this extravagant tour across the world, the chance to forget about the toil and let the euphoria take over is being grasped with both hands.
Few bands could match the sheer hedonism that Callboy embody, but Wargasm get mighty close, and that’s why they are on opening duties here. Their raw and rallying take on rock and roll carnage is the perfect pace setter for any occasion. Still, the caustic demands of ‘D.R.I.L.D.O’ and throbbing intent of ‘Salma Hayek’ feel even more hot and heavy in these extravagant surroundings. Between Sam Matlock’s frenzied leaps into the crowd during a gritty ‘Do It So Good’ and Milkie Way’s crystalline tones coating a savage ‘Feral’, the pair are sure to have made themselves a few new friends here.
Bury Tomorrow follow and change the tone beautifully. Their triumphant metalcore has always felt well at home in gargantuan spaces, but it is in the harsh and harrowing performance from Dani Winter-Bates where they truly shine tonight. From the frantic bars of ‘Let Go’ and guttural chugs of ‘Boltcutter’ to the unrelenting debauchery of ‘Abandon Us’, he is as locked in as it is possible to be. And the rest of the band feed off that fire, with ‘Choke’ and ‘Cannibal’ sounding more crushing and cathartically brash than ever before. Hard work continues to pay off in abundance.
Though the ten thousand strong here came for a party, and what a party Electric Callboy have conjured for them. From the moment that the freshly unleashed ‘TANZNEID’ kicks things into life – with the sort of deafening bass kicks, billowing smoke and violent strobe lights usually reserved for the big room at Tresor – the band are in total control. By the time that a neon-soaked ‘Hypa Hypa’, and the first of many costume changes, has fists pumping from front to back, their victory is already cemented. This is as slick and sensational an arena show as you are ever going to see, and it is impossible to take your eyes off it.
There are the exceptional visuals, from the chugging locomotive bursting out of the backdrop that accompanies ‘Tekkno Train’ to the densely detailed churchyard and mountainside that amplify the atmospheres of ‘Hate/Love’ and ‘Revery’. There’s the unrelenting pyro that makes the breakdowns at the core of ‘Mindreader’ all the more powerful, and the rainbow of lights that perfectly sum up the schlager schmultz of ‘Hurrikan’.
There’s the break in proceedings for the band’s rave-ready alter ego Electric Bassboy to take over, dealing out a techno edit of ‘Bodies’ by Drowning Pool and an EDM cut of blink-182’s ‘All The Small Things’ like they are headlining Tomorrowland and another for vocalist Nico Sallach and Kevin Ratajczak to play a bit of, somewhat dangerous, darts. It is Ally Pally after all.
There’s even a piano-led rendition of ‘Fuckboi’, a generally hilarious choice, and cover of ‘Everytime We Touch’ from the middle of the crowd, a proper utilisation of the space that they have been granted on this massive run of shows.
What connects it all is just how much fun has been put at the forefront. Of course, when you have songs like ‘Pump It’ and ‘Elevator Operator’ in your arsenal, you are already looking to induce a smile or two. But it takes a special band to be able to make such tomfoolery compelling. To take songs about raving so hard that you feel like you’re blasting into space and make them feel vital. But in letting their imaginations run more wild than ever before and pushing the limits of what a metalcore band’s performance should look like, they have set a new benchmark for their peers. That you too can make your shows this joyous; you just have to ride the wave.
Although there is one moment that stands out the most from the pomp and theatre, it is one hell of a throwback. With a quickfire medley of ‘Monsieur Moustache vs. Clitcat’ from their 2010 debut EP, ‘Muffin Purper-Gurk’ from 2012’s ‘Bury Me In Vegas’ and the title tracks from 2014’s ‘We Are The Mess’ and 2015’s ‘Crystals’, the band not only pay tribute to the journey that has led them here but show those who have joined the hootenanny late just how long they’ve been striving for this moment. Finding your footing isn’t an overnight venture, and though they are now at the peak of their powers, it’s taken plenty of perseverance and patience for everyone to catch up with what they have been trying to create. In allowing these songs to have their moment on a stage of this stature, it’s a moment of well-earned vindication, and a reminder of just how bludgeoning they could be.
As things come to a wondrous close with a bold and brilliant ‘We Got The Moves’, there’s finally a moment to soak in just what has taken place. In marching to their own effervescent beat, Electric Callboy have crafted a space where anything goes. Where you can dress how you want, dance like no one is watching and smile until it makes your cheeks hurt. From the silliest of places come the most life-affirming of sentiments, and in going the extra mile to make this very special tour as grandiose as possible, they have transcended themselves once again.
To the moon? To the moon.