Musicians truly have a plethora of things they can write about. Johnny Cash wrote about Ghost Riders in the Sky and we worshipped him. Britney Spears wrote about having to grow up too fast in the pop industry and we felt bad for her - well, maybe not. However OTEP, a fusion metal, rap, jazz band from the West Coast believes that as makers of media, its job is to write about something important.
After pretty much being founded by Sharon Osbourne (queen of the rock 'n'roll world), early in its career, OTEP landed a stage at Ozzfest. Since it has been mass producing thrashing, deep-voiced music with a strong punch at the music industry.
Sound like every other "metal" band you listen to? It is not, and when I say "it" is not, I mean she is not. Otep Shamaya is the lead singer of OTEP, and she expresses strong beliefs about gaining respect as a woman in the rock industry, as well as the media's job and what they (the media) owe to the people.
These inspirations are what helped write OTEP's first and second albums. However, be prepared for the third to be a little different, according to Otep.
"You can definitely tell on this one who its parents are," she said in a recent phone interview. The new album, titled "Ascension" launches in March 2007. If you cannot wait until March of next year to hear the new album, OTEP is playing at local night spot Pop's, 1403 Mississippi, on Dec. 11 to promote the album.
Otep is prepared for complaints from the fans about how different the new album and songs are. Even now with its singular video launch on YouTube, fans write comments like this one: "im a HUGE otep fan, but does anyone else think that the vocals are incredibly annoying? sounds [a] bit too screamo for me. i wish this track sounded harder."
Otep quips that the band has always been a fusion band, citing the Doors as its main inspiration. In fact, the musicians all come from differing musical backgrounds. The drummer Brian Wolff even came from such a musical extremity as Latin and tribal music.
"We all come from such different backgrounds," Otep said, "that makes it hard to stay inside one genre."
Otep believes, and I strangely agree, that the band has grown out of the "heavy metal" genre and it can no longer hold it down. With a cover of a Nirvana favorite on the new CD, OTEP is crossing genre borders and making a name for fusion bands across the board.
OTEP's music may sound as if it is progressing, and it is. However, the inspiration and message is still the same. Otep continuously speaks of journalistic integrity and the need for the media to "do its job."
"We have an epidemic in Africa," Otep said, "a genocide in Darfur, yet what do we see on the cover of papers? Lindsay Lohan's crotch as she exits a car - newsflash, women have vaginas!"
While it may seem that Otep would shy away from such lolli-pop princesses like Lohan and Britney Spears, as well as disagree with their behavior, she sends the message to let them do what they want.
"Britney just got out of a marriage, and she has a kid. I'd want to party too, leave her alone and pay attention to what is really important," she said. "What's really important is writing your own music, and making it sound good."
This is what Otep believes she is doing right. "'The Ascension' is probably our best album yet," she said.
You can hear OTEP at Pop's on Dec. 11, where they will be playing to promote "The Ascension."
All out of cash from the Christmas-consumer binge? You can also hit up its Myspace page to check out clips of a few songs from the new album, as well a segment from a new video-the full-monty is available on www.youtube.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!