OCTAVATE – ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND EP REVIEW

Octavate: A rock resurgence in the Northeast

There is something brewing in Boston. Like a cauldron of liquid gunpowder, slowly being stirred by revolutionaries, circling and chanting, outstretched hands to the sky. An ethereal positive vibe, a grungy guitar emerges sounding like it’s got an edge like a rusty razor blade and weighs a thousand pounds. A bass drum. Kick. Kick and Kick It has momentum. And it’s going to explode.

There is something brewing in Boston. It’s a resurgence of rock music. It’s bringing back the dynamics of bass, guitar, drums, and vocals, which have recently been overshadowed by the simple singalong approach from today’s billboard-blips. And it’s flying in the face of the instantly forgettable, commercially successful content that has painted the music industry gray.

There is something brewing in Boston. And there is one band that stands out. Octavate. As of now, they are not signed to a major label. They are not your dad’s rock and roll. It’s not your aunt’s grunge. It’s not your heavy metal. BUT – they are amazing. They carry the torch of this resurgence of rock that’s brewing in the Northeast. It’s a mutant fusion of all the amazing music Gen Xers were exposed to growing up: understood and recreated in the vision of something that transcends genres. They break the chains, and bring uniqueness and creativity back to the rock stage.

“Gen X was exposed to our parents’ Beatles and Zeppelin, Chuck Berry and John Coltrane. Then we experienced the birth of Rap and Hip Hop, while watching hairbands and metal evolve in a great way. No other generation is steeped in so many genres like this, and it’s impossible to not be influenced by some or all” says Numba9ne, bass player of Octavate.

Octavate. They released their first record in 2021, an EP titled Better Never Than Late. This EP was written, recorded, and produced by the two founding members, SV and Numba9ne. This album got some good PR, but there was no band, so there were no shows, no live events, so minimal hoopla in the music scene. But WOW. The music is the real deal from a rock perspective.

Better Never Than Late is a 5 song EP with 4 originals, and a cover of – get this – “Money Changes Everything” by Cyndi Lauper. It’s amazing how they retain that pop approach and arrangement, but add a rock grunge alternative flavor that just, in my mind, is better than the original.

“My Wasteland” is a powerhouse of a song, possibly Octavate’s defining track. You can hear influences of TOOL and Audioslave, but there is something unique and true. This song’s lyrics were inspired by “The Road”, Cormac McCarthy’s novel about post-apocalyptic America. This is a barnburner live and the song that made Octavate guitarist, Ken Cerreto, demand admittance to the band.

The album title track “Better Never Than Late” breaks the mold of cookie cutter songwriting. There is no verse, no chorus, no bridge. It’s a journey of auditory imagery with interesting lyrics that make you think. But if you’re not a musician, you probably don’t notice this arrangement abandonment – it’s simply a kick ass rock song.

“Slithering” is a song played with baritone guitars, not standard 6-string guitars. It’s borderline metal, yet it has a groove. And it has been picked up by a bunch of Spotify playlists and gets constant listens in metal communities. It’s a political anthem about the corruption in American government. “Nation!”

“I’m a lyric snob. You won’t hear Octavate sing about how the poor guy was wronged by the woman, but he is soooo strong that he got over it,” says Numba9ne. “Boo Hoo. Boooring. Our lyrics are interesting, and often about important issues we care about,” he says.

“Wearing Thin” is the covid song. So many bands have one. This one is by far my favorite. This epitomizes one of the things that makes Octavate stand out from the rest. Not only do they write intelligent lyrics about interesting things, but SV delivers them so you can actually feel and understand what’s being said. They are not over-produced with effects, they are not screamed to unintelligibility, and they are not monotone or predictable. SV’s voice is fantastic and memorable.

After the release of Better Never Than Late, SV and Numba9ne decided to recruit a band. They added three amazing musicians to the lineup. Ian Kal and Ken Cerreto on guitars and baritones, and David Jamison on drums. In early 2023, they hit the studio and recorded another EP, while playing 9 shows around the New England Rock circuit. You can see Live Octavate footage from band rehearsals and live shows on their YouTube channel. Again… WOW.

In the same week that they released their second EP, I’m The Machine, Octavate was nominated for the Best Hard Rock / Metal Act by the 2023 New England Music Awards. If you’re reading this before 9/30/23, you can still vote for them at the above link. And vote for them you should.

In June of this year, I wrote a review of a bunch of the singles from the I’m the Machine EP. The release was a culmination of singles from 2023 plus one new song, “Zerø Matter”, which I hadn’t heard until its release on 9/15. You can taste Pink Floyd in this one, although if you ask SV, he was not influenced by (or even familiar with) anything from the Floyd’s catalogue. Once again, the dynamics of the songwriting in this one are mind-blowing. I highly recommend getting some great headphones, going to a happy place, and listening to “Zerø Matter”. Let it take you on a journey. Let Octavate into your soul.

There is something brewing. I truly hope that we can watch Octavate bring new, hard rock music back to the mainstream. Go see them live if you can. And talk to the guys. They do this for you. Music is life.

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