Generation Doom
April 15th, 2016
Napalm Records
https://www.facebook.com/otepofficial/
http://otepsaves.me/
photo credit: Paul Brown
Otep Shamaya has admitted there almost wasn’t a Generation Doom. After the 2013 release of her 6th studio album, Hydra, Shamaya showcased tracks during the Seduce and Destroy Tour, and rounded out her cross-country travels on the Civil Unrest Tour in 2014. Then it was time for a break. Shamaya made it no secret to her fans that Hydra was to be her last album. Over the next few years, Shamaya took a break from music, re-centered herself, found love, and focused on her charity and political goals. Thankfully though, she came back to her fans.
There’s a reason that Generation Doom is the most anticipated rock/metal album of 2016. Otep embodies what it means to be an artist. On every level.
In a society full of Consume-Conform-Submit, Otep uses her talents as a musician to help us Wake-Up, and nurtures her fan’s imaginations and independent voices. Close your eyes tight, and the visual landscape that Generation Doom creates is something out of the dystopian future of Mad Max: Fury Road.
While Otep may have been a slave to her muse during her first few albums, she is now fully in control of her art. Lyrically and musically. First and foremost though, Otep is a poet. Her spoken word pieces are every bit as riveting as her heaviest tracks. Where HYDRA was a gargantuan album to add to Otep’s tremendous catalog, Generation Doom is Otep’s forthright magnum opus. Brutal, honest, unrelenting tracks who’s purpose are to open the eyes and ears of the listener to the larger world and their own personal demons. But Generation Doom isn’t all about unrelenting aural brutality. Out goes an album full of the vicious cuts that served as a catalyst for the pit bosses, and in their place are the thought provoking anthems that Otep has mastered over the past few releases.
The sense of urgency throughout Generation Doom is apparent, as is the message Otep is trying to convey. Otep uses her spellbinding words to breath life back into the social and mental carcasses that the bigots, the abusive, and the homophobic have created. While her message has always remained strong; Never Back Down, Never Give Up, Never Surrender. The means in which she delivers the message continues to grow and evolve.
Otep’s vocal prowess truly shines on her 7th full length release by incorporating several genres into its tracks. From the thunder guitars on ZERO, to the crunching riffs of Feeding Frenzy, and God Is A Gun, Otep uses the metal genre to push her point: Never back down. Otep’s aggressive whimpers that bleed viscerally into gutteral growls. Thundering guitars are laced and woven over crashing symbols through each of the tracks.
Equal Rights Equal Lefts is one of the most visceral and LGBT specific tracks Otep has written. Her down-and-dirty rap style vocals bend and whirl around twisted guitar chords and hammering beats.
Generation Doom is also another means for Otep’s subject matter to evolve once again. Where before her personal experiences were masked behind acronyms and analogies, she’s become more open and literal with her lyrics. In Cold Blood started out as a poem written to deal with a toxic and trying relationship and grew into an anthem for all of us who’ve dealt with the feelings of abusive equaling love. The track is instantly appealing, and hits very close to home for me.
No Color and Lie are both gorgeous tracks. Each offering a unique cinematic encounter. While more of the rock genre than full on metal cuts, Otep’s vocal and no less urgent, especially while damning the subject of Lie’s lyrics. While she’s only recorded a few tracks that could easily be transitioned into an acoustic format, (Perfectly Flawed, UR A WMN NOW), Lie is the track that will be universal in relating to.
The true gem in the crown that is Generation Doom is On The Shore. From a whisper to a scream, the track is entwined with her calming voice, creating a visual landscape of peace and understanding. The message is pure; It’s ok to let go of certain people, even the ones we love.
Dissecting the album further, I would go so far as to separate the release into 4 parts. Each with a story unto it’s own act. Similar to a concept piece.
(Act 1)
Zero
Feeding Frenzy
Lords of War
(Act 2)
Royals (Lorde cover)
In Cold Blood
(Act 3)
Down
God Is a Gun
Equal Rights, Equal Lefts
(Act 4)
No Color
Lie
Generation Doom
On the Shore
“Formed from the poetic marrow of creative intercourse. OTEP is an Art Project/Band/Movement/Revolution; Breaking ground. Breaking rules. Breaking barriers. Articulate. Aggressive. Pure Adrenaline. ARTCore of Heavy Mental Rock.“ This is how mastermind / vocalist OTEP Shamaya and her allies have been described and this album proves this truth!
Transcending from the darkness, like wolves into the light, OTEP is an explosion of inspiration and motivation, empowered by their dedication to the arts, being a voice for the voiceless and fighting injustice. Rising from the labyrinth of Los Angeles, California, OTEP is unleashing a roaring anthem titled “Generation Doom”.
With Otep Shamaya’s multifaceted vocal approach, from gut wrenching roars to soft seductive poetry to singing with a surprisingly magically beautiful voice, to her evolution as a writer and story teller, Generation Doom erupts with thunderous, punishing grooves that harmoniously detonate into dark industrial fury with magma flows of hard rock melodies that seamlessly shape shift into a mysterious musical beast we’ve just discovered, those who’ve heard “Generation Doom ” say it’s best described as “genius, heart stopping and one of a kind.”
Where will OTEP`s courageous odyssey take them? Nothing seems impossible.
Tracklisting:
Zero
Feeding Frenzy
Lords of War
Royals (Lorde cover)
In Cold Blood
Down
God Is a Gun
Equal Rights, Equal Lefts
No Color
Lie
Generation Doom
On the Shore
Bonus Tracks:
Lie (Acoustic)
Breathing In Fire (Spoken Word)
Crawling Up (Spoken Word)
More Fire
On the Shore (remix)
