Review by JD on February 27, 2015.

I have heard a few good bands from the island of Crete, actually very exceptional bands like the black metallers Cursed Within and power dealers Fading Reality. The main fact of why I like a bands from there is: they tend to follow their own ways of fashioning their own sounds. Obzerv is one of these Crete based bands that are unique as hell, and yet still keep it accessible.

Combining hardcore, thrash, blastbeats and some wicked metalcore - Obzerv throws in amazing musicianship and impressive recording values to create a heavy yet melodic tapestry of pure metallic goodness. They still have amazing and memorable melodic riffs, but the caustic mixing of some real heavy styles still creates hard assed music.

I was impressed by the lyrics mostly, as they were intelligent and yet held the truth in them. Harshly rasped vocals gave Obzerv an extra level of heaviness that heightened the listening pleasure. At times the vocals were almost spitting phosphorous venom as they weaved tales of disgust and anger and inner hatred. Songs like 'You Coward' and 'Fratricide' all pummel your senses while they match up in feeding your mind.

I usually do not like metalcore but with Obzerv is not all about that. They bring that very elusive melody into a very harsh, nonconformist explosion of music and it seems to me that I see Obzerv’s star has only begun to rise in the metal world. They have the tools to rule the extreme metal world - time will end up teaching how to use them. Brutal is not only a word, but a verb and the term is Obzerv.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Levi on March 4, 2024.

The second album of this sick creation created by T.Kaos and Mark of the Devil, whom we know from such hordes as: Lvcifyre, Death Like Mass or Cultes Des Ghoules. This alone should serve as the album recommendation. But not entirely, because Benediction, Part 1 has nothing to do with what these gentlemen create in their parent formations.

The second full length of Sodality is a totally crazy, haunted and thoroughly narcotic thing. It is definitely black metal, rolling through the speakers rather in a slow and medium tempo, thick as tar, and often having a sound of a ritual character. Much of this is due to the vocals and the atmosphere they create. What Mark does with this material is fucking haunting and genuinely evil. He wheezes, screeches, melodizes, whispers, groans, spits out lines of some haunting spells, rituals – awesomeness! This is definitely not an easy-to-understand album that you can listen to and do something on the side. Definitely not. You have to fully embrace the atmosphere here, but with this you should also note, after entering and listening to the whole thing, it may turn out that you’ll emerge from this confrontation with wounds and scars. Really, this music can hurt, but that only proves how brilliant this album is. I had a big problem with previous materials, because somehow they didn't captivate me that much. Whereas the madness and darkness of Benediction, Part 1 drew me inside from first listening. It absorbed me and after a while it spat me out, because after those almost 40 minutes, when I returned to the world of the living, I authentically felt that I had just encountered something really evil, sick and… dangerous.

I commend the creators in Sodality for succeeding to create such a unique, very direct and damn creative album. It is really hard for me to imagine what conditions it was created in and what condition the musicians were in both during creation and recording of Benediction, Part 1. They created a monster. Black metal monster.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10