Review Summary: a new direction that worked
Generation Doom is, stylistically, Otep’s most diversely arranged album. The tendency would be to review the album track by track because every track brings something new. Instead, let us begin at the beginning. The opener (Zero) is one of Otep’s most thrash filled songs, with the declaration of her not giving a fuck repeated in various ways over maniacal screams; rather than annoying, the tongue in cheek tone is both empowering and rather funny. A fantastic opener, and the throttle continues further in…
Haters be damned, the controversial artist returned once more to boldly, and loudly declare her fight against tyranny, discrimination of all kinds, rape, police violence, homelessness, etc. If there’s an important or dicey topic needing addressing it’s approached with, “zero fucks given”. Compared to the lovesick, sheltered and cozy lyrics of modern day music, these lyrics are a breath of fresh air. Another unbalancing moment is the metal cover of the classic pop song Royals; both the lyrics and swagger of the song fit Otep’s style in a cleverly Frankenstein type way. Oddball, however, is the realm of the typically brutal, nu-metal artist.
Generation Doom is multi-faceted, revealing variety without apology. Unfortunately, the variety on offer is jarring this time. Certain tracks have an extensively clean, mainstream sound like Skillet. Others are straight hip-hop, or the nu-metal we come to expect. Adding the metallic cover of Royals further confuses things. The album barely feels anchored, tossing ideas around in a seemingly random direction. The only thing tethering the album is an overt focus on melodies and a clean, modern sound. Singing sections are not common in Otep’s music, but there are multitudes here.
While growing pains are evident, the moulding of their music into a more modern formula is successful. Looking back at it, its a product of its time, and a well made one. Choruses bump, and there is hardly a misfire. Nonetheless, it is not as experimental or outwardly thunderous as previous albums, and overall a black sheep release. It is the least Otep sounding album, but there’s plenty of fun with this stand-alone experience. Metal, it certainly is, and from an incredibly consistent artist attempting to shed light in the darkness. Fans of modern metal should eat this one up.
