Otep (anagram for Poet) is a
band featuring a lead female singer, Otep Shamaya. Arguably the only female singer who can pull off such a style, screamo/heavy
metal. Otep herself is a poet and writes all her songs from her
heart, based on past experiances, political opinions, and mochary of
Christianity. Otep is thought of as a religion by its fans, looked up to like a Messiah, the fans even have a religious style name for themselves, "Shadow Soliders."
"But through the veins of decay
I'll remain to betray
To live like Caesar
To die like Jesus
To build my own religion
No gods, no laws
To celebrate pain
Forsaken and ashamed
To watch them all
Crawl beneath us
On this
bed of nails and
regret
Dying of fevers, betrayal, and
sweat
I cry" - Nein
The lyrics of the
band are
hard hitting and well worded, and often people are connected and can relate to the lyrics the first or second
time they here them. Otep is a fantastic poet and all her songs seem to be exactly what the fans are feeling, but cant find the words to describe it themselves.
"If god is my
father, I am an orphan" Shattered Pieces
"I remember suffering, I remember feeling in the sting of childhood injections, holy bruises,
sweet infections" - Emptee
"My sanity wrote a suicide note but one of us is illiterate
And the other is blind" - Nein
"I am my own creation, I am self-made" - Self-Made
"I forfeit resurection to escape the pain, I hate my life" - Buried Alive
Oteps first album,
Jihad, was released in June, 2001 with only five tracks. Sevas Tra (Art Saves) was released June 02, and the most recent, House Of Secrets, released 04. Otep is currently (as of
july 2006) recording their next album, due out on 2007.
Oteps website, http://www.otep.com features a self-expression art project called Eye am Eye. Fans send in their faveroit self expression pictures of themselves, and Otep puts it on the website for viewers. Also avalible on the website are music videos, downloads, merchendise, and help websites for
gay and lesbian teens (because Otep herself is a lesbian) people who are getting abused, raped, preganat, and so on.
Shadow Soldiers