Otep Albums (4)
'Smash the Control Machine'
Release Date 8/18/2009
Tracks 18
Label Victory
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On The Ascension, Otep Shamaya and her cohorts experiment a bit with texture, aiming toward a sense of dynamic tension on songs like "Crooked Spoons," "Noose & Nail," and "Perfectly Flawed," ending up with some blend of post-rock and new and industrial metal. There are some other attempts here, too, such as the long balladic reach of "Invisible" and the creepy-crawler metal of "Communion." Ultimately, these tracks revisit the tried-and-true trademark Otep sound. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The sophomore effort from art house nu-metal practitioners Otep only briefly flirts with the genre's anarchic political leanings ("Warhead"), focusing instead on the medium's most revered theme: angst. The lupine howl of a shattered youth proclaiming that "I hate my life" is nothing new, so when frontwoman -- and namesake -- Otep screams the phrase endlessly throughout "Buried Alive," she's channeling everyone from post-rock mouthpieces Gordon Gano and Exene Cervenka to pop/rock tunesmiths like Roger Waters and Ricky Nelson. This would be all fine and dandy if the music contained a mere particle of the cathartic spirit of the aforementioned artists. When House of Secrets isn't pummeling the listener into submission with predictable riffs and distorted vocals, it's leading the listener into a sterile waiting room -- bereft of even the most mundane periodical -- of spoken word poetry wrapped in tedious post-Nine Inch Nails soundscapes. Otep is at her most genuine on the title cut, an atmospheric dirge that finds the artist assuming a sultry Chrissie Hynde-like croon, but it's merely a deviation from an exercise that in its entirety is mediocre at best. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sevas Tra stands for "art saves," a philosophy written all over Otep's debut full-length, an album that yanks itself from the jaws of suffering with rage, anger, doom, and a sound heavier than Slipknot. Female lead singer Otep, whose name is an Egyptian suffix meaning "creative offerings," growls, screams, and throws in the occasional hip-hop sound ("Battle Ready" and "Sacrilege") as she wipes the slate clean of any preconceptions of how intense a female-fronted metal band could be. Marilyn Manson has said, "That girl scares me," of Otep, not surprising when you hear the eerie, pained opening of "Emtee" or frightening whine of "Blood Pigs." Sevas Tra is a record that raises the high watermark for goth metal. ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide
