Review Summary: (PART 1) Well, at least it's better than Kittie. But I'm not sure the revolution's coming.
(Disowned. I had factual innacuracies and was more of a wikipedia page so my bad.)
OTEP DISCOGRAPHY, PART 1: SEVAS TRA
----------------------------------------------
In 2002, in a pre-Evanescence rock world, women in the nu metal genre almost seemed like an niche or "special feature" of many bands during its existence; Coal Chamber had Rayna Foss. All-female bands like Kittie and Drain STH didn't seem to bring anything new to the waning scene, and were fading fast. In a scene that was largely a boy's club, it almost looked like sooner or later they would be simply gone from most people's memories.
Well, that was close to happening. Then OTEP arrived.
Having signed to major label Capitol solely based on live performance, OTEP released an EP (, made an appearance at Ozzfest, and had enough hype behind them for their debut. And that brings us to the end result: the band's debut, "Sevas Tra".
"Sevas Tra", which for the uneducated means "arT saveS" (a distant relative to "Real Eyes, Realise, Real Lies", perhaps?), is an album full to the brim with, well, lots of blood, violence and spirituality.
While "Sevas Tra" is definitely a nu metal album, it also has influences of gothic metal, rap and death metal, all mercilessly blended into one another by the band.
Otep Shamaya, the namesake of the band, is easily the star power on the album; she has the ability to switch from JD-esque whispers, rapping and a death metal growl which is really impressive (but evidently damaging)
Following close behind is Evil J, an extremely talented bassist whose riffs follow close in the style of Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne, in his clicky-but-thicky bass, which makes itself omnipresent throughout, especially on songs like "My Confession" and "Filthee". The other two members, Mark Bistany and Rob Patterson, deliver death metal style performances, complete with extensive double bass and tremolo picking throughout, though they sometimes lapse into the normal nu metal formula once in a while.
The production, handled by veteran producer Terry Date (best known for his work on acts such as Pantera, Deftones and Dark Angel), is immaculate here, and complements the band well; the pounding drums are out at the forefront, the bass is just mixed right and the guitars have a buzzy thick tone; the sound of all four elements combined is simply claustrophobic and destructive when used correctly, like in "Blood Pigs" and "Sacrelige". It's also a perfect sludgy combination: the album's slower songs like "Emtee" showcase a viscous combination when played this way.
Otep's lyrics in "Sevas Tra" have common themes of occultism, religion, and sexual abuse (this one is very obvious), combined with a vehement hatred of America, fascists, the patriarchy and, err, men(ocide). And by golly she is ***ing ready to violently obliterate them all will the power of poetry and spirituality.
Otep take shots at the "weak emcees" in "T.R.I.C." (The Revolution is Coming) and delivers bars that would make Fred Durst seem like Dee Dee King; In "Battle Ready" and "Possession", she calls upon poets and the spirits to destroy "those who pose" and the patriarchy. Like the rapper she is, Otep name drops her fellow spiritual "homies" throughout the album, such as Kali, Krishna, Ashura, Mother Jupiter and Eve.
Sometimes Otep takes shots at herself as well; regretting and hating herself and her past, her sexual abuse; ultimately, she either uses this to "shed her skin again" or basically kill. There really isn't any way around it, frankly.
Despite all the chaos and violence (which admittedly can feel cliche), this absolutely horrifying image that she is able to conjure can grab you and hold onto you tightly and leave an impression; no matter how unpleasant the experience was, it leaves a scar.
Even with all of these positive, one omnipresent issue remains throughout; the issue being... well... Otep Shamaya herself.
Otep Shamaya is the definition of "musical Marmite"; like Marmite, you either love it or you hate her, but having too much of it still tastes bad regardless. Despite of all Otep's good (or bad) intentions, she can be a bit too overbearing and awkward at points, and "a bit cringe ngl" to the point where she can be seen as just niche-y in itself. Songs like "Jonestown Tea", as horrifying as the song is (I won't discuss what it is; you can do it yourself, thanks), could just be passed off as yet another "Daddy" (Korn) clone, and her over-use of "eye m", "whut", "ewe" and other "radekul" words/pronunciation can come off as a bit too childish.
In terms of bad/childish lyrics, the most notable examples are found on "Sacrilege" ("we're smoking krshna (Krishna)'s weed/eye'm sick of these weak anarchies" and "tyranny of squares/squiggles unite"), the lyrics of which are probably on par with the quality of lyrics you find on Slayer's "Christ Illusion" (remember "I hate the *** economy/it might as well be sodomy"?).
Both these problems can be a bit of a turn-off, and reduces how seriously you can take Otep's intended messages by a pretty sizeable amount.
Furthermore, some awkward or weak sections on "Filthee", "Sacrilege" and "Menocide" can sort of kick you out of the immersion abruptly, and can be a little difficult to pull yourself back in. Finally, "Possession" is the worst of the four re-recorded songs from Jihad EP; while I understand that they were adapting it to fit the album's sound, it comes off as forced and (unlike the rest of the album) feels unnaturally "brOOtal", losing the qualities the original song had.
Overall, "Sevas Tra" earns a place one of nu metal's defining (though not transcending) moments.
The album cover suggests a terrifying beast/saviour arising from the depths of hell; unfortunately, this beast isn't as powerful as Otep might suggest, neither will it be able to act as a rallying cry for the masses against the patriarchy. But... it is still a "destroyer" nonetheless, and even with its flaws, it sounds/has aged way better than many of the acts of the time (and it's been nearly 20 years!).
3.5/5
