Ultima Engine is a German project founded by Roman Schilling—formerly active in the metal outfit Arcane Rain and also a member of the Electro-Pop duo Bysmarque & Snowwhyte. He has been developing Ultima Engine for several years, with the debut album finally released at the end of 2025.

“Failures Of Humanity” is an extremely varied work in which Schilling experiments with Cinematic soundscapes as well as Cold-Wave, EBM, and Dark-Electro. At times, the music feels as if it were composed for a film project. This stylistic diversity also makes the album more accessible to a broader audience. Vocals are present, though several instrumental tracks appear as well. Personally, I am most drawn to the more restrained yet menacing “All Cats Are Grey,” which unfolds like a slow-burning EBM track.

While the album as a whole did not fully convince me, it certainly contains several enjoyable moments worth discovering. (Rating:6½).

Listen to “All Cats Are Grey”:

About Ultima Engine

Ultima Engine is the solo project of German musician Roman Schilling, based in Karlsruhe. Schilling handles composition, keyboards and bass and works as a sound designer and composer. He was previously in the dark-metal band Arcane Rain and the synth duo Bysmarque & Snowwhyte. Ultima Engine developed over several years across releases such as “Nuclear Snow”, “Reflections” and “Wired Nightmare”, before the debut album “Failures Of Humanity” arrived at the end of 2025. The record moves through cinematic soundscapes, cold-wave, EBM and dark-electro.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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