Review by Felix on August 24, 2025.

We all know that Norway and Finland are full of misanthropic lone wolves, who prefer to run their own project instead of finding joy in a conventional band structure. Belgium does not want to stand in the shadow of these countries and so the dude who acts under the banner of Taranis also manages all instruments and vocals. Even better, he has a Scandinavian first name. And yes, M-A speaks of a line-up with three musicians and the band pic portrays even a fourth warrior, but all these other guys don't show up on "Postmortem Spheres". And the break of 15 years after "Flandriae" does not indicate many eagerly working guys too.

By the way, the gigantic hiatus has not lead to a new approach. Taranis still offer songs with a pretty smooth flow and a more or less dark aura. The structure of each and every track is easy to inhale. There are no eccentric or cumbersome riffs, no dissonant chords and even tempo changes seem to be a thing only mega-progressive academics are interested in. So what, Björn Desmet's signature shimmers through all ten tracks and gives the album a more or less individual touch, although here is nothing new or even innovative. The songs are built on stable pillars: mid-tempo, relatively dark guitar lines and the (sometimes almost absurdly extreme) guttural voice of the mastermind. And there is not just homogeneity in terms of the song designs, but also with respect to their quality. The presented spheres do not know completely outstanding zones, but they are free from any kind of ozone hole as well. Monsieur Desmet just spreads his vision of black thrash metal and he is not ashamed that it can be quite tough going sometimes. He seems to be aware of the fact that his guitar lines – in combination with the proper, neither dirty nor sterile production – have enough inner strength to catch the full attention of the listener. The spooky touch that runs through all the songs helps him to keep the audience on track and the same applies for a discreet, but very adequate catchiness of a couple of choruses. It is only slightly confusing that two or three tracks end relatively abruptly.

No doubt, those of you who have a good time with the opener "Haunting Mirrors" will enjoy the entire album. Maybe the first half is a tiny bit stronger than the second one. Songs like "Night Of The Banshee" have five percent more power than some others and their no frills attack emanates a sinister, sometimes almost dramatic aura – no matter whether the rarely used keyboards are integrated or not. There is one line in the lyrics of "Into The Lifeless Kingdom" which expresses the atmosphere of "Postmortem Spheres" in a nutshell: "I was drowning in a sea of darkened visions". To be honest, I believe each and every word, even the message of the strange line "eyes filled with frost". Who does not know the phenomenon that tears turn to ice immediately?

Fans of bands such as Iuvenes, Blackhorned and of course Bathory can check out this album, even though the strong, comparatively light-footed "The Soulbridge (Zuienkerke 1541)" surprises with rocking, almost Priest-like riffing. Is this some kind of horror punk heavy black metal? Anyway, at the end of the day, even this song fits seamlessly into the overall work and its transition from verse to chorus is excellently executed. It is a track which could have also been done by Desmet's compatriots from Ancient Rites; but, as we all know, these dudes have fallen victim to lethargy. So all in all, despite powerful crushers like the double-bass supported, pretty rapid "Face The Skull", "Postmortem Spheres" is not the most exciting work of the year. Nevertheless, it delivers ten more than robust black thrashers in an authentic way. I hope it will not take 15 years again until the next Taranis album sees the light of day.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10