Review Summary: Jesus!
A few notes:
1. Otep’s cover of Eminem is so good I didn’t realize it was a cover.
2. Her cover of the Billy Eilish song seamlessly integrated into her creepy le crepe nu-metal.
3. Ostracized is a fantastic feeling track with a sinister edge that not many but Otep can accomplish.
4. Her cover of Slipknot’s Purity goes hard.
5. Things are not all astoundingly expected with this album.
6. The A Perfect Circle cover is fine, it’s okay, but it’s weird. Pet starts off cool, but Otep’s refusal to use vocal melodies (or her typical screams) in the song flattens it.
7. Star Shopping and Good 4 U are odd. Good 4 U has mismatching razor shred vocals versus a barren soundscape in the chorus. Star Shopping doesn’t sound like an Otep track in the least. It’s not, it’s a cover, but it’s difficult to settle into.
Often times, Otep does away with hard riffs to create an atmospheric, creepy deepy song with hip-hop beats. Then, out of the blue, a song like Territorial Pissings comes on, in which she makes a Nirvana song sound like a Joan Jett song. The album does whatever it feels like, quite self-indulgent, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, it feels somewhat disjointed. I’d imagine that for a first time listener of Otep, they may wonder what exactly is Otep’s music style.
The God Slayer is a great album, don’t kid yourself. Otep combining nu-metal, hip-hop, and good ol’ rock and roll - while always attempting to find mainstream audiences - is what she excels at. She is the master of elements, and of making it all sound like a horror film. Tight production is here as always, and I do believe this album is a grower. It’s clearly not as good as the Earth shaking previous album, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. This late in her career Otep is still willing to take risks and to experiment. Her music can still sound weird as Hell, and there are moments where you may need to pause to catch a breather. Roll with the random and you’ll find heavy riffs, great screams, and a strong hip-hop flavour. It caters to a certain audience, and Otep fans know what they’re getting from the nu-metal goddess.
