Getting there slowly
It's been two and a half months since I last saw the Norwegian sextet and apparently, according to vocalist Silje, it was their third visit to Manchester this autumn. The last time I witnessed their vast gothic sound was at the Academy 3, however, on the bill with Cradle of Filth they've moved up to the Academy 1. At the Academy 3 Ocatavia struggled to get all six members on the tiny stage and, as a consequence, looked uncomfortable, but on the bigger stage they were able to spread out and looked a far classier act. For a band still finding their feet, in this country especially, it was the perfect audience for them, a good mix of kids and old metal veterans, all goth, all in black. Because of this the Scandinavian crew were well appreciated, by the front third of the crowd at least. Bass player Trine was as endearing as ever with her constant passion for what she was doing, vocalist Silje looked more comfortable on the bigger stage, but her inter-song banter needs a little work.
The main problem with Octavia Seperati is that, on the musical front, they're just a little bit uninteresting. The sound was pretty huge, however their ability to create massive goth sound-scapes may be their biggest strength, but it is also their biggest weakness. Too many of their songs are slow and plodding, one or two of such tracks would work a treat, but when almost their whole set consists of such numbers, their performance dawdles. It doesn't spark much life in the band as they tended to be rooted to the spot, (however this could have been a restriction in space on stage) but like I said in my review in September, the band have something special and with a little more experience they may be able to find it.