Prison of Mirrors – De Sepulchris Occultis et Igne Profanationis
Release Date: 27th February 2026
Label: ATMF
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal
FFO: Gevurah, Rebirth of Nefast, Svartidauði, Deathspell Omega.
Review By: Aeons Burning
If my black metal sounds ritualistic, I want every part of it. Prison of Mirrors dropped an absolute heater back in 2020 with their debut, De Ritualibus et Sacrificiis ad Serviendum Abysso, and I’ve been spinning it obsessively ever since. They took all the best parts from contemporaries like Gevurah and Rebirth of Nefast for a totally evil-sounding record that’s still close to being unmatched to this day. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be another record, since Prison of Mirrors aren’t relatively active on social media, so when I saw they had a sophomore record in the promo bin, I was pleasantly surprised. So how does De Sepulchris Occultis et Igne Profanationis live up to the monumental hype of the debut? Well, it unfortunately doesn’t, and it leaves me feeling a bit cold.
De Sepulchris Occultis et Igne Profanationis is actually quite short, especially when compared to the nearly hour-long debut. This clocks in at two beefy songs, but only 30 minutes. Now, I like brevity, but this is the rare case where I would prefer a band adds more to the record. Prison of Mirrors specializes in a very lengthy, drawn-out black metal style, and that usually amounts to an hour or close to an hour’s worth of music when it comes to the greats in this specific style. The good news is that Prison of Mirrors have added a much more dissonant style to their music, not unlike Deathspell Omega or Svartidauði. Chants Beneath the Shunned Shrines also does a marvelous job of highlighting the bass presence and is the stronger of the two tracks. This song is exactly what I wanted coming into De Sepulchris Occultis et Igne Profanationis, which is quite simply more of Prison of Mirrors. That being said, the second track, The Devouring Fire of Demonic Doctrine, is where things get a little off-putting. The songwriting is not as engaging, and at times feels rushed, instead of slow-paced and drawn-out like it should be. Keeping in theme with the debut, the final few minutes of the last track are ambient, but where the debut excelled here, adding Gregorian chants, this album falls flat with only ambience, and no chanting.
I came into De Sepulchris Occultis et Igne Profanationis with high expectations, but unfortunately Prison of Mirrors didn’t meet them. That’s not to say this album is bad, but I would much rather listen to De Ritualibus et Sacrificiis ad Serviendum Abysso than this one, and purely due to the stronger songs on the debut. I do think any fan of ritualistic black metal should give this a listen, because it’s rare that we get this style of long-form black metal that’s quite competently written, but the debut is where the real strength is. Hopefully Prison of Mirrors bring back the strength I know they have whenever the next album comes, if ever.
(2.5 / 5)
