After debuting with an album released by Danse Macabre, followed by three more under Infacted Recordings, the German duo The Saint Paul returns with their fifth opus, marking their first release on Scanner. Their signature style continues to blend clear, explicit Electro-Pop elements with harder, more menacing EBM influences, creating a dynamic interplay between the two genres. While I personally gravitate toward the edgier, more danceable tracks, the softer side of the album doesn’t resonate as strongly with me. Overall, the album is an enjoyable listen, featuring some standout tracks, but I can’t shake the feeling that they have even more to offer. (Rate:7).

Listen to “DNA”:

About The Saint Paul

The Saint Paul is a German act built around vocalist Paul, blending EBM and electro-pop. The project debuted on Danse Macabre before releasing three further albums through Infacted Recordings. “Interference” is the group’s fifth album and first release for Scanner.

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.

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“The Breaking Waves” is the title of the new Llumen album which comes as a 2CD set / Bandcamp download and which is available now. The album was already teased in November with the EP “Die Stille Totgeschwiegen”.

Llumen is the project by Belgian artist Pieter Coussement who brings a very updated EBM blending it with influences from old-school EBM, techno, and future pop. Influenced by acts like Front 242, Haujobb, Diorama, Assemblage 23, Suicide Commando or yet Covenant, Pieter has been able to develop an own mature sound.

Following the 2017 debut album “The Memory Institute” and the 2021 release “Polygon Heart”, “The Breaking Waves” is his 3rd album to date.

The accompanying CD holds remixes, edits, reinterpretations plus collaborations with Grendel, Aesthetische, Aiboforcen, Neuroactive, Implant, Mind.Divided, Dimethoxy, J Wølf, Nacht Nackt and The Saint Paul.

You can check out the full album below. Recommended!

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: This is the fifth full length album by Leipziger (Germany) formation Intent:Outtake. The work comes four years after the previous album and is their second opus released by Scanner.

Content: Intent:Outtake remains faithful to their powerful Electro sound which lays somewhere in between sophisticated EBM and intelligent Dark-Electro. The songs have been sung in German and English but whatever the language the sound remains dark and furious. This music is pure club-food and the previously released EP-title song “Tic Toc Tod” remains a true earworm.

The bonus disc features 3 extra songs plus 3 remixes by Centhron, The Saint Paul and Vdoc.

+ + + : Intent:Outtake don’t reinvent any Electro underground genre but are talented artists elevating familiar Dark-Electro and EBM standards to a higher level. The songs are well-crafted and achieved with cool, overwhelming, strings. The most noticeable cuts reach a climax by carrying choruses and easy, but cool, vocals like on the unavoidable “Tic Toc Tod” (probably the biggest hits of the band so far). But Intent:Outtake is much more than a powerful production as the work also reveals poppy elements. The bonus disc features cool extra songs as well. This band is once more reminding me of In Strict Confidence which I think is much more than simply a reference.

– – – : I don’t see real minus points although the remixes -which are okay, aren’t the best exponents from the album.

Conclusion: I’ve never been disappointed by Intent:Outtake and this new album only confirms the talent and strong potential of a band which, according to me, deserves much more recognition.

Best songs: “Toc Toc Tod – Album Edit”, “Panopticon”, “We are Stars”, “No regrets”, “Time Is Running Out” + “Gib Nicht Auf”, “Wttna”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/INTENTOUTTAKE

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

Andreas Engleitner and Bastian Polak discussed the making of “Der Stille Tod” in a Side-Line interview.

About Intent:Outtake

Intent:Outtake is a duo from Leipzig, Germany, set up in 2014 by Andreas Engleitner (vocals) and Bastian Polak (machines). The project mixes Dark-Electro and EBM, sung in German and English, with lyrics addressing social and political themes. “Der Stille Tod” is the band’s fifth full length album and their second released through Scanner / Dark Dimensions, following singles including “Tic Toc Tod”.

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: Dark-Electro-Pop, Industrial-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Jay Taylor -known as the live drummer for  Tactical Sekt, Tyske Ludder and Harmjoy, strikes back with a new production of his own J:Dead project. “Vision Of Time” features six songs while the CD format includes seven more songs (remixes).

Content: J:Dead remains an artist with his own approach in sound. Some might call it Electro-Pop but the harder and harsher approach rather sounds like a Dark- and/or Industrial Pop format. The vocals are switching from clear, powerful passages to harsh parts. The choruses are melodic.

Remixes have been provided by Teknovore, Lights Of Euphoria, Nature Of Wires, Rotersand, The Saint Paul, Station Echo and Life Cried.

+ + + : I especially like the atypical ‘Pop’ format of this artist. Dark, Industrial and even a bit Punkish mixing enraged sound- and vocal parts together with melodic, carrying, choruses. My favorite cuts are “A Little Time” and “Afraid” both driven by an angry production. Among the remixes I especially want to mention the extra boosting remix of “I’ll wait” by Teknovore.

– – – : I expected a bit more out of the remixes.

Conclusion: J:Dead seems to be one of last months ‘hot’ artists from Infacted Recordings and this rough approach of Electro-Pop shows you why it is.

Best songs: “A Little Time”, “Afraid”, “I’ll Wait – Teknovore Remix”, “Afraid – Nature Of Wires Remix”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/jdeadband

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690 Read the news on ‘Vision Of Time’.

About j:dead

j:dead is an industrial-electronic solo project from Bicester, England, founded by vocalist and songwriter Jay Taylor in late 2019. Before launching j:dead, Taylor worked extensively as a live drummer with scene acts including Tactical Sekt, Tyske Ludder and Harmjoy.

The project first appeared with the digital single “Haunt” in December 2019, which introduced Taylor’s mix of synthpop-leaning melodies and darker electronic textures. In December 2020 he followed with “Feeding on Me”, released via Infacted Recordings with remix contributions from Grendel, Tactical Sekt, ES23 and Auger.

The debut full-length “A Complicated Genocide” arrived on Infacted in January 2021 in both digital and expanded CD editions. Subsequent releases included the singles “Tearing Me Apart” with Teknovore, whose debut album The Theseus Paradox Side-Line reviewed in May 2022, “I’ll Wait” and the “Vision Of Time” EP covered here, followed by the “Hold Tight” digital single and several collaboration and remix projects.

In 2023, j:dead issued the EP “Roots” on Infacted Recordings, combining new material with remixes by Mesh, Aesthetic Perfection and others. Later that year and into 2024 he released the singles “Surrendering”, “Harbour” and “What We’ll Be”, and from December 2025 he ran a twelve-month single campaign starting with “Pressure”.

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

Out today is the all new EP, “Vision of time”, by the electro act j:dead aka Jay Taylor. “Vision of time” comes after the release of the album “A Complicated Genocide” in early 2021. The EP holds 6 tracks and includes the single “I’ll wait” plus remixes by Lights of Euphoria and TeknoVore.

“Vision of time” will be released both digitally and physically with the physical edition featuring an additional 7 remixes from acts such as Rotersand, The Saint Paul, Nature of wires, Life Cried and Station Echo.

j:dead explains the concept around the EP: “It covers a range of situations and perspectives on time being the only thing we cannot change. Time itself can change things for the better, worse or for change’s sake.”

As “Vision of time” is released j:dead will already be in the final production stages of their 3rd release, expected to hit the streets in late 2022.

Jay Taylor created j:dead in 2019. After the first release of their song “Haunt” the project got signed to Infacted Recordings and released 2 further singles (“Feeding on me” and “A complicated genocide”) as well as a full length feature album (“A complicated genocide”).

You can check the release below.

Here’s the video for “I’ll wait” Read the review of ‘Vision Of Time’.

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Body-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German Gen-ZX strikes back with the band’s debut album. Three years after the rather deceiving debut-EP “Tick-Tock”, Jan Laustroer (Antibody) and Marko Hein (singer of Frame Of Mind) are back on track. 

Content: This album has less in common with “Tick-Tock”; the sound has seriously evolved revealing a more mature production. Gen-ZX has found its sound and style, which is a well-crafted Electro-Pop format driven by hard kicks and empowered by some guitar sounds. The album features 10 songs plus 2 remixes by The Saint Paul and j:dead. 

+ + + : I first of all salute the global evolution of the entire production process. This is a refreshing Electro-Pop format, which merges power together with elevating choruses and a talented vocalist. The project is a kind of generation shock between one of the youngest musicians of the scene and a veteran. But you can’t hear any generational conflict; music and vocals are in perfect harmony resulting in cool songs. The remix of “Inside Your Mind” by The Saint Paul is a damned efficient Club-driven song.

– – – : It took me a few listening to catch the essence of the album so it’s not an average and ready to consume Electro-pop production. I however think some songs need an extra catchy touch.

Conclusion: “Darkness Of The Day” is a cool debut album for a band that has gained in maturity.

Best songs: “Hide & Seek”, “It’s Not Enough”, “Inside Your Mind – The Saint Paul Remix”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/genzxband

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Gen-ZX

Gen-ZX is a German electro-pop duo of Jan Laustroer, known from Antibody, and Marko Hein, singer of Frame Of Mind. The project is signed to Infacted Recordings.

The debut EP “Tick-Tock” was released on 8 March 2018 as a seven-track download; Side-Line reviewed it in July 2018. The duo appeared on the label compilations “Infacted 9” (2020) and “Digital Infaction – Strike Four” (2021).

The single “Walking In Flames” came out on 16 April 2021, followed by the debut album “Darkness Of The Day” on 30 April 2021 on CD and as a download. The twelve tracks include remixes by The Saint Paul and j:dead. Discogs lists no further Gen-ZX releases after the album.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Core” is the fourth full length album by German Electro-Pop project The Saint Paul. It also is the third album released on Infacted Recordings and the first one in nearly four years.

Content: From the very first notes this album clearly reflects a ‘classical’ perfume of Electro-Pop music. The tracklist is mixing emotive passages and danceable tracks. From sweet, dreamy songs to a potential hit (cf. “Superficial”) and the already familiar “Be A Rebel”, which was previously released EP-title song, “Core” is an entertaining album driven by a talented singer.

+ + + : “Be A Rebel” is a cool song and that’s why it was released on EP, but “Superficial” sounds to me as the best track ever written by The Saint Paul. This is a potential hit with a carrying chorus line, which literally creates an elevating effect. The Saint Paul knows how to create fine tunes and especially when they’re mixed with harder sequences and danceable kicks.

– – – : I don’t have anything against ‘sweet’ pop songs, but unfortunately it’s not the best part of this work. When it becomes too sweet (like on “Melancholy Of The Sun” and “Expect The Unexpected”) it also becomes a bit soporific.

Conclusion: “Core” is mixing a few real great cuts with a few true bottom songs, but in the end it will definitely appeal for all Synth-Pop lovers.

Best songs: “Superficial”, “Be A Rebel”, “Your Face”, “Black Rain”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/TheSaintPaulTSP

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About The Saint Paul

The Saint Paul is a German Electro-Pop project signed to Infacted Recordings. The act released the albums “Days Without Rain” in 2016 and “Three” in 2018, both on Infacted Recordings, before “Core” followed in 2021 as its fourth full-length and third for the label. The Saint Paul later released the album “Interference” in 2024.

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

In October 2020, one of the most missed cult electro-EBM bands from the early nineties took everyone by surprise with the release of the “Come With Me” come-back EP and 2 associated video clips. We are talking about Digital Factor of course!

Out now via Alfa Matrix is “A Chemical Process”, the German band’s 9th studio album. The new album merges modern electro techno elements with synth pop song arrangements mixed with pure industrial / EBM elements. Interesting detail, for this album Mike Langer decided to create his new songs first on a guitar before recreating them on synths. He was helped in the process by Austrian bassist and guitarist Georg Kostron.

Music collectors should be informed that the limited CD digipak edition of this album holds 2 exclusive bonus tracks: the hypnotic dancefloor killer “Into My Eyes” and the club remix of “Come With Me” by The Saint Paul. These will not be made available for download.

You can order the download album via Bandcamp while the ltd CD digipak version with 2 extra tracks is available via the Alfa Matrix webstore.

Enjoy the official video clips for “Come With Me” and “I’m Dangerous”.

About Digital Factor

Digital Factor was founded in 1993 by Mike Langer, Torsten Heise and Tino Schmidt. The band soon played in the opening act of well-known electronic bands of that time such as Placebo Effect or X Marks the Pedwalk and quickly established itself as a popular live act on the electronic scene. In 1994 the band signed to the Danish label Hardrecords which released the band’s first EP called “Falling Down”.

In 1995 the Hyperium / Hypnobeat label (including Project Pitchfork , Die Form) took a license and released five albums.

But after the 1999 album “Over One Million Times”things got rather quiet around Digital Factor. Founding member Tino Schmidt left the band that year. After a long break and with guitarist Guido Litke on board, Digital Factor released their seventh album “One More Piece” on Wannsee Records in 2006. In mid-2007 the band went back to the studio and started working on a new album. After the online single “Dein Herz” the “Look Back To Go Forward” album was released in 2009. For this, Digital Factor worked together with artists such as Steril and Leonardo von Leibnitz.

In 2010 Torsten Heise left the band and was replaced by Leo von Leibnitz and they started work on a new studio album “Trialog”, which was released in 2011 via Black Rain.

In 2020 the band got revived and signed to the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. A first single / EP “Come With Me” was released in October. Read the review of ‘A Chemical Process’.

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, EBM.

Background/Info: “Three” logically is the third album by the German The Saint Paul trio. It also is their second opus released on Infacted.

Content: The Saint Paul remains faithful to the influences and ingredients of both previous albums. The songs are moving from pure electro-pop sometimes accentuated by sweet, evasive passages towards harder and somewhat EBM driven cuts. The production is fully accomplished and revealing a great progression in songwriting.

+ + + : You can feel the growing maturity of this band. The sound formula remains the same when it comes to influences, mixing EBM and electro-pop, but the composition is more sophisticated. The global production process has been improved and that’s what makes the difference with their debut work (cf. “Consequence”) released in 2013 on Danse Macabre. I noticed solid and raw bass lines, sometimes reminding me of earlier X Marks The Pedwalk, but still cool body-pop cuts. “Three” reveals harmony between the band’s influences.

– – – : I noticed an industrial-, evil-pop aspect on their previous album, which is a bit gone on “Three”. That’s my single regret as it made the sound more personal.

Conclusion: Globally speaking I can’t affirm that “Three” is a real ‘master’-album although it’s fully enjoyable and diversified because of the constant mix between pop and EBM. This band is missing a real ‘hit’ to get a bit more in the spotlights.

Best songs: “Come With Me”, “Blue Bird”, “Blood Donation”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.thesaintpaul.de / https://www.facebook.com/The–Saint–Paul-144496415600649

Label: www.infacted–recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted–Recordings/124099254321690

About The Saint Paul

The Saint Paul is a German act built around vocalist Paul, blending EBM and electro-pop. The project debuted on Danse Macabre with the 2011 EP “Rewind The Time” before moving to Infacted Recordings for “Consequence” (2013) and “Days Without Rain” (2015); “Three” follows as the band’s third full album.

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, body-pop, industrial-pop, future-pop.

Background/Info: Two years after their debut album “Consequence” (2013) released by Danse Macabre, the German project The Saint Paul signed to Infacted unleashing their new work during the last part of 2015.

Content: Globally speaking The Saint Paul remains faithful to their original inspiration, which covers EBM and electro-pop. The main difference and real evolution with the earlier work lays in the global production, which also makes the difference with traditional body-pop standards.

The work is mainly characterized by the use of rough and somewhat industrial sounds, which have been polished into a melodic format. It injects a naughty sound, which I totally like for its originality. Some of the songs make me think of a kind of industrial-pop music. I already enjoyed their debut album, but “Days Without Rain” is without any hesitation a real accomplishment for this band.

Another important element of the production consists of the vocals. The singer adapted his way of singing and his passion from song to song.

+ + + : The somewhat industrial-pop format is absolutely remarkable and creates some distance from the typical synth-pop standards. The evolution and growing maturity of this band is a noticeable element on this work.

– – – : A few songs rather appear to be album fillers and that’s a pity as this work features several noticeable tracks.

Conclusion: “Days Without Rain” sounds like a weird title, but it mainly stands for a kind of naughty-pop production. This work reveals a somewhat unexplored side of electro-pop music.

Best songs: “What Do You Want”, “But He Will”, “T1”, “Not Tonight”.

Rate: (DP:7½)DP.

Band: www.thesaintpaul.de / www.facebook.com/The-Saint-Paul-144496415600649

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

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