Band:	Octavia Sperati
Album:	Winter Enclosure
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	June 13, 2005
Guest review by:	WayTooManyCDs

01. Intro
02. Lifelines Of Depths
03. Soundless
04. Icebound
05. Hymn
06. Hunting Eye
07. Future Is
08. Below Zero
09. Wasted On The Living
10. Without Air (Before)
11. Without Air (After)

Sometimes talent goes unnoticed until a spotlight is shone on it. In this case it turns out that Silje Wergeland was doing great things well before she joined The Gathering and it is easy to hear why she was a natural fit (no, it isn't just because she has red hair). Winter Enclosure may have some abstract lyrics (this is a nice way of saying English may not be their first language) and the musicianship isn't particularly technical but when you have a voice as beautiful as Wergeland these things are easily overlooked.

At just over 40 minutes, Winter Enclosure doesn't overstay its welcome and delivers a fair amount of diversity in that time. Thankfully Octavia Sperati manages to avoid the trap of trying to sound like [band]Nightwish[/b] and instead tailors its sound to the unique tone of Wergeland who delivers a great performance. In a way the very rudimentary musicianship adds a unique charm to the album and, to be fair, they do manage to capture the feel of winter quite well. It is also quite refreshing to have a band that isn't trying to show-up their vocalist every five seconds and instead focuses on building an atmosphere for her.

= In Short = Will Winter Enclosure blow your mind with all the bells and whistles of a typical goth metal band? No. It will, however, deliver a sound that you'll find yourself playing over and over because it is a very pleasant listen. It is hard to ignore the fact that most of Winter Enclosure isn't very memorable but it does have a strong beginning, middle, and end which helps give it a rare balance. Octavia Sperati is a minimalist act and I think that ultimately works to the benefit of the album. This sounds like an album created simply for the joy of creating music and that enjoyment definitely carries on to the listener.