December 2025 saw the release of “Last”, A Spell Inside’s first new studio album in six years. The German band has been active for over 30 years, though their output has slowed in recent times. This new opus offers listeners a generous 15 fresh tracks.

After all these years, A Spell Inside may no longer surprise in terms of style or genre, delivering a mature form of Electro-Pop with a subtle touch of Cold-Wave. Everything is meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail, with melodic choruses that allow the songs to fully unfold and, at times, even invite sing-alongs. The tracklist varies nicely, ranging from catchy and uplifting numbers to harder, more danceable tunes. A few songs feel slightly too soft for my taste, but there are also several true gems—songs to die for.

While not an absolute leading formation within the Electro-Pop scene, A Spell Inside remains a reliable guarantee of quality music. (Rating:8).

Read the news on “Last“.

Listen to “Love Will Remain”:

About A Spell Inside

A Spell Inside is a German electro-pop band active for more than three decades, releasing through the Scanner label. The group pairs electro-pop with a cold-wave undercurrent and melodic, chorus-driven songwriting. The band set out its independent approach in a 2019 Side-Line interview. “Last”, issued in December 2025 on Scanner, is its first studio album in six years and carries 15 tracks.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

German synth-wave-pop band A Spell Inside release their new album “Last” as a limited digiCD on Scanner (Dark Dimensions Label Group) on 5 December 2025. The 12-track full length appears as a first edition digipak and marks the trio’s first full-length album since “Masterplan” in 2019.

“Last” continues A Spell Inside’s mix of electro-pop, darkwave and synth-wave-pop, combining melodic vocals with programmed beats and atmospheric synths. The album also includes the advance single “Faces”, issued as a digital-only track on ProNoize/Scanner in June 2025, and “One More Century“, released as a digital single two weeks ahead of the album.

“Last” also features the German-language song “Still jetzt”, staying loyal to the band’s alternation between English and German lyrics first explored on “Autopilot” and later releases.

About A Spell Inside

A Spell Inside formed in 1989 in Neuss, Germany, when vocalist and programmer Michael Roeder (Mel Row) and synthesizer and samples player Peter Kirchmeyer (Dr Decay) started working together. Guitarist Klaus Rodewig joined in 1990, expanding the project from a purely electronic duo to a trio that combined synth arrangements with guitar elements until his departure in 1996.

The band issued early demos such as “The Wrong Spell”, “A Spell Inside” and “Revenge” between 1991 and 1994, gaining radio exposure on regional stations and playing shows around Neuss and Saarbrücken. In 1995 they signed to Discordia and released the mini-CD “Return to Grey”, followed by the first full album “Visions from the Inside” in 1996.

After more material got released, including the “Brothers” maxi-CD and a period of live work, the group moved to Triton, which issued the double CD “Stories from the Inside” and the album “Hit” in 2002. In 2003 A Spell Inside joined the Scanner / Dark Dimensions roster, releasing “Vitalizer” in 2004 and later the compilation “Essential – A Collection of Rare and Exclusive Tracks” in 2008.

The album “Loginside” followed in 2009, with concerts at events such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig and shows in Düsseldorf, Oberhausen and Scandinavia. After a longer studio phase, A Spell Inside issued “Autopilot” in 2014, notable for its mostly German-language lyrics, and then “Masterplan” in 2019, again on Scanner. The EP “Frei Sein 2020” appeared at the end of 2019, including remixes by Olaf Wollschläger and Neuroticfish. Read the review of ‘Last’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, EBM, Cinematic, Tribal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Denis Tverdokhleb this released the third full length album of his Stairway Maze sonic brainchild. After two albums released by Aliens Production, the new opus has been released in his homeland, Russia, by ScentAir Records.

Content: After the great “Kelevra”-album Stairway Maze released a surprising work on which he collaborated with multiple guest artists. The main evolution is the addition of vocals, although some songs are still instrumental edits. It creates a diversified work which moves from Dark-Electro-Pop to EBM but also from Industrial/Tribal to the familiar Cinematic style. Human Vault, Martin Rudefelt (Cryo), Ryby (Disharmony), Bettina Bormann (Oberer Totpunkt), Peter Vercauteren (Pro Patria), Michael Roeder (A Spell Inside) and Emma Barson (Promenade Cinéma) contributed by vocals to this work. 

+ + + : This new opus stands for a major evolution in this project’s history. I regretted there were no vocals featured on the previous album and “DecisionFatigue” brings a nice -and sometimes surprising selection of vocalists. It creates a varied work mixing different styles together. I’m totally convinced by the Dark-Pop approach on “The Final stand” featuring Martin Rudefelt which sounds a bit like Skinny Puppy going Electro-Pop like. I also recommend “Invisible Threat” featuring Peter V. and “Flames” featuring Ryby, both cuts sounding as harsh EBM. There also is “Conspiracy” featuring Michael Roeder which is a refined Electro-Pop song. But the absolute masterpiece is “Gaia’s Mantra” featuring Bettina Bormann on a Tribal-Industrial song with a true uplifting effect.

– – – : I can’t say there are songs to throw away but the final track “Neon Eyes” featuring Emma Barson sounds totally different from the rest and is a a bit like an antithesis to the rest of the work.

Conclusion: Stairway Maze remains a great and intelligent Electro format. It’s also surprising to see this kind of artist being released on ScentAir Records which definitely enlarges the sonic horizon of the label.

Best songs: “Gaia’s Mantra”, “The Final Stand”, “Flames”, “Invisible Threat”, “Conspiracy”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/iamstairwaymaze

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

About Stairway Maze

Stairway Maze is the solo project of Denis Tverdokhleb, a musician from Petrozavodsk in the Russian region of Karelia. He mixes IDM, ambient, EBM and cinematic music.

Aliens Production released the first two Stairway Maze albums, among them “Kelevra” in 2019. Tverdokhleb discussed that record with Side-Line in “‘Click Interview’ with Stairway Maze: ‘What Is A Tower Block If Not A Stairway Maze?’”.

“Decision Fatigue”, the third album and the record reviewed here, was released on 18 February 2022 on the Russian label ScentAir Records and holds ten tracks. The Bandcamp track titles credit Bettina Bormann of Oberer Totpunkt on “Gaia’s Mantra” and Martin Rudefelt of Cryo on “The Final Stand”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro, Electro-Pop, Body-Pop, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, 2 CD.

Background/Info: Scanner is a subdivision of Dark Dimensions, which this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Set up by Francesco D’Angelo, Scanner has been always and mainly devoted to Electronic genres like EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop. The compilation features twenty six artists and songs reminding us of the great artists from this label.

Artists: Gin Devo, BhamBhamHara, Autodafeh, Kreign, DSTR, Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Blue Images, Twins In Fear, Cyan Inc, Vomito Negro, [:SITD:], Eden Synthetic Corps, Mechanical Moth, Centhron, Intent:Outtake, Disorder:Mankind, Das Werk, X-Fusion, Spetsnaz, Grausame Töchter, Epinephrin, Black Heaven, A Spell Inside, Absurd Minds, Straftanz. 

Content: This sampler is a perfect way to (re)discover the Scanner label roaster, which features some great EBM names such as Autodafeh and Spetsnaz while other names such as [:SITD:], Vomito Negro + Gin Devo, Eden Synthetic Corps and Absurd Minds were more active in a darker EBM format, getting pretty close with pure Dark-Electro. Centhron and X-Fusion are for sure Dark-Electro! Other bands like BhamBhamHara and Straftanz are more representative of the progressive (Techno)-EBM format. A Spell Inside remains one of the ‘oldest’ bands from the roster and still one of the few to deal with Electro-Pop. And then there’s Grausame Töchter, which remains a very unique experience in sound. The compilation also features a few bands we’ve a bit forgotten like Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Epinephrin. It’s also a while ago we’ve heard something from Cyan Inc. And there’re new signatures like the promising EBM formation Kreign and the Experimental-Electro Twins In Fear plus a few totally unknown names like Das Werk and Disorder:Mankind.

+ + + : When you take a brief look at the names featured at this compilation you can only, but agree Scanner has been for numerous years one of the leading labels from the Dark-Electro scene. But this compilation becomes really interesting when you’ll know that nearly all of the tracks are exclusive ones and/or rare edits. Frank D’Angelo always has had a nose to sign great artists, Kreign being the new sensation! My favorite cuts from the album are the ones by X-Fusion and Grausame Töchter remixed by And One.

– – – : This compilation doesn’t cover the entire Scanner roster, which says something about the Electronic welfare from the label. Some artists that haven’t been featured (because they’re no longer part of the label) are Amnistia, Stromkern, Distorted Reality, Sleepwalk, Page 12, The Eternal Afflict, Cycloon, Sara Noxx, Re:Work, Spiritual Reality, Inside, Das Präparat.. More than enough to fill an extra disc and they all are still part of this great label’s history.

Conclusion: This compilation is a part of history; 20 years of great underground music by Scanner!

Best bands: X-Fusion, Grausame Töchter, Autodafeh, Straftanz, BhamBhamHara, [:SITD:].

Rate: (8½).

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Scanner

Scanner is a label run by Francesco D’Angelo as a subdivision of the Dark Dimensions Label Group, set up in the year 2000 and focused on EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop.

“A Human Scanner – The 20th Anniversary Compilation” marks the label’s twentieth year. Released in December 2020, it gathers twenty-six mostly exclusive or rare tracks from artists including Autodafeh, Vomito Negro, [:SITD:], Centhron, X-Fusion, Grausame Töchter and Twins In Fear, whose debut album “Unification” appeared on Scanner the same year.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Michael (Mel) Roeder and Peter Kirchmeyer set up A Spell Inside in 1989! The German electro-pop duo this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary. While ‘Mel’ reveals in this interview how the band will celebrate this event, A Spell Inside recently released their newest full length album “Masterplan”. The work has been again released by Scanner (Dark Dimensions) revealing one of the band’s most accomplished and mature productions to date. I talked about it all with Michael (Mel) Roeder.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q:  I noticed A Spell Inside this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary! What does that evoke to you and what does the band stands for today compared to the early years and releases?

Mel: Indeed, we are actually celebrating our 30th anniversary, while other bands can’t manage to stay alive 10 years at least … haha. But honestly, it fills us with pride that we have been able to stay in the music business for such a long time without being distraught or broken down on other things. On the other hand we are also shocked how fast time has passed since we’ve started in the 90ies. Of course we would have wished for a bigger success in the meantime, but in the end it´s just fine as it is. We are still independent, can make our own music when and how we want it to sound and we do not have to be attached to major events. Thus we live the ideal of an independent band. We can lean back and relax, because we have seen many other bands come and go, but we are still there and hopefully will stay there for quite a while!

Q: I would have expect a ‘best of’-album to celebrate this happening, but A Spell Inside simply strikes back with a new work! Tell us a bit more about the background, ideas, composition of “Masterplan”?

Mel: Everybody would do exactly this, right? That’s the reason why we haven’t. Of course a ‘best of album‘ would have been an option, but with the possibilities that the internet offers today, in our view such releases don’t make much sense anymore. Everybody puts together his own playlists, so that’s why we did not promote this idea. In fact it is true that this year we will come up with a peculiarity that has not existed yet in our looooong history. It’s about time to reveal it now, exclusively for you. There will be a very, very special release with remixes and partly unpublished songs, but furthermore there will be a strictly limited vinyl release on top. For this we let design each front cover by the famous artist Emil Schult, so that each record will become a unique masterpiece of its own. If everything runs well the release is going to happen in December this year.

Q: When did you start the writing of “Masterplan” and was there something like a ‘structure’ or ‘plan’ you followed? What have been the main difficulties you encountered when composing this album?

Mel: It might sound unbelievable, but we start working on a new album immediately after the last one hoping to be faster than every time before. But after each album the batteries are low and need to be refilled with new impressions. We always have a focus on the quality of our work; quantity is not our way of working. But you can say the ‘main’ work on this album started one year before that we had a 12 months production process including the full recordings/mixing not to forget the mastering in the end. 

Q: “Masterplan” is probably not my favorite A Spell Inside-work in history, but at the other side I’ve to admit the songs reflect ‘maturity’ and impressive production skills. Where do you place this album in the band’s discography and do you’ve personal references and/or criteria when it comes to song writing and production?

Mel: How can “Masterplan” not be your favorite album? We love it a lot and think it´s one of our most consistent ones. It seamlessly follows our previous composition while exhausting all of today´s production possibilities. We think it’s some kind of a ‘back to the root’ thing we have done, but in a more skillful and modern way. And we think that English fits a little bit better to A Spell Inside, to get that certain mood, to let the lyrics more flow with the music.

Q: Since the “Vitalizer”-album you don’t really release new work at regular basis. I can imagine you now have other priorities in life and not only just making music, but what are you doing in between two albums and what means music to you today?

Mel: Well, you have already noticed we have been there for a very long time. And it feels like the older you get, the faster time seems to pass. For this reason, even these distances are not so incredibly long for us. But, in fact to stay independent in the way we understand independence we naturally have to make a living from other things which costs much time. We both had to face personal strokes of fate in the meantime, that also costs time and energy. It´s definitely not that we’re running out of ideas. More that we have to handle several things that are also important in our lives.

Q: When it comes to music and the entire ‘business’ around I can imagine you’ve seen a lot of things evolving and/or changing over the years. According to you, what have been the main changes and are there some aspects from the past you’re missing? And how do you see things evolving?

Mel: Of course we think a lot of things have changed in the music business. First it has become much easier to produce and publish stuff because of the affordable computers and software. Not to forget these publishing platforms where you don’t need a record-company neither. According to this the transition from analog to digital has made things a lot easier too; unfortunately we can’t say that thereby necessarily the quality of music generally improved. There is so much crap outside and it’s hard to break through the clutter. That makes it more stressful and also annoying from time to time.

Then the so called ‘independent music scene’ has developed and split into a lot of diverse subgenres. Funny enough, but you still see the same ‘old’ bands (like us) appearing on a flood of festivals over and over again. This is a development we can’t understand. Probably the consequent result of a general advancing commercialization, also in the independent area. But luckily we’ve got our personal ‘Masterplan’ to deal with that…lol

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: “Masterplan” stands as bit as a comeback for A Spell Inside as it’s their first new album since “Autopilot” (2014). The German formation set up in 1989 (!) by Michael Roeder (vocals, music) and Peter Kirchmeyer (music) strikes back with eleven new cuts.

Content: “Masterplan” is an album that will appeal to all lovers of electro-pop music. But A Spell Inside never has been what I would call a ‘Depeche Mode clone’ composing ‘classical’ electro-pop. They have this unique approach for mixing harder cuts driven by EBM-inspired bass lines together with pure electro-melancholia and dark reverie. “Masterplan” is a diversified piece of music, which has this power to now make you dance and then make you cry.

+ + + : I can’t really speak about a comeback, but I think it’s a damn good thing A Spell Inside has finally achieved this new opus. I can’t say “Masterplan” is the band’s best work to date, but I like it for its diversity and some potential hit songs. I’m referring to some of the most powerful cuts from the album, which are “Rise” and “Ballerina’s Poem”. Some of the tracks are empowered by guitar sounds adding this little extra boost.

– – – : As I already mentioned “Masterplan” is not what I would label as A Spell Inside’s most convincing and original work to date although it’s a mature and accomplished production.

Conclusion: “Masterplan” reflects the experience of A Spell Inside, which always remained in the shadow of greater German electro-pop bands, but always has had the merit to compose enjoyable music.

Best songs: “Rise”, “Ballerina’s Poem”, “Hundred Years” “Fehlermeldung”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.aspellinside.com / www.facebook.com/aspellinside.band

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark–Dimensions–Label–Group/486014725206

About A Spell Inside

A Spell Inside is a German electro-pop band set up in 1989 by Michael Roeder (vocals, music) and Peter Kirchmeyer (music). “Masterplan” was the band’s first new album since “Autopilot” in 2014. The band’s next full length, “Last”, followed on Scanner (Dark Dimensions Label Group) in December 2025, six years after “Masterplan”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com