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Obsecration were one of the stalwarts of the Greek Death Metal scene, being active since 1989 and remaining the oldest band from the region that's still active. I don't know too much about this band, or the scene in general, but this must have been a popular release in it, since it's recently received a luxurious rerelease limited to 500 copies courtesy of Supreme Music Creations. Having listened to it now, I can see why that was the case.

Oceanum Oblivione is definitely a Death Metal album, but it mixes in a lot of influences to create a sound that even today is pretty novel and strange. I was expecting this to be more symphonic like old Septic Flesh, but while there's a bit of that in there with the odd progressive noodling, it has more in common with the Greek Black Metal style in the thumping midpace and found on most of the songs. The guitars suffer from a thin sound, but the technical riffing and excellent lead work shines through, especially on tracks like "My Vision and My Dream" and the doomy "Where the Slime Live". The technical songwriting sometimes leads to the songs being a little baggy, and it's not as inventive as some of their contemporaries, but even two decades later this is a damn fine album.

The rerelease also comes with a load of bonus cuts, starting off with promo versions of "My Vision and My Dream" and "I Am an Odious Ghoul". They actually sound much better than the album versions, with a meaner guitar sound and a production that gives more space for all the intricate songwriting to shine through. The rest are a collection of studio sessions and a few live tracks, all of which show that the band worked well live, but I'd say they're only really interesting to die-hard fans. As a whole package, however, this shows a lot of love for a release that I'd say deserves it, so get it while you can.