Representative Albums: "Sevas Tra", "House of Secrets", "Smash the Control Machine
Representative Songs: "Sacrilege", "House of Secrets", "Buried Alive
Biography
Otep got their start in late 2000, when singer/band namesake Otep Shamaya brought her Marilyn Manson-meets-Kim Gordon style of singing to a crew of musicians known only as Rob, Moke, and eViL j. The foursome began gigging around Los Angeles and scored a deal with Capitol solely on the strength of their live show (they'd not yet recorded a demo), releasing the Jihad EP the following year. Rumors of cannibalism and dabbling in the mystical arts helped add to their mysterious image, and they found themselves being complimented by the likes of Marilyn Manson himself for their antics. Their eighth live show ever was at 2001's Ozzfest, and Otep stepped back into the studio with Terry Date at the tail end of the year to record their full-length debut, Sevas Tra, which saw the light of day in the summer of 2002. That summer they again joined up with the Ozzfest tour, gaining a prime spot on the second stage. In 2004 the group released its sophomore effort, House of Secrets. Working with producer Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Mudvayne), Otep followed up three years later with The_Ascension and supported it on spring 2007 dates with Static-X. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
The band Otep was signed after only four shows, without a demo, strictly on the power of their live performance. Their live performance proved to be so impressive that Sharon Osbourne offered the unsigned act a spot on the 2001 Ozzfest tour. Since then Otep has appeared at the festival three times. To date, the band has released four full lengths, one EP and toured in support of all four releases.
Otep Shamaya has also published two books of poetry, spoken at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, and has been recognized as a painter. She openly supports Carbon Rally [1], PETA and the WSPA. In addition to lending her support to numerous groups, Shamaya has started the social networks "All Shapes and Sizes"[2] and "Girls Out Now"[3]. On December 21, 2008, Shamaya created a blog entitled "I'm Not a Monster" [4].
On April 6, 2009, it was announced that Otep is now signed to Victory Records. On April 7, 2009 Shamaya announced that the new album will also mark the band reuniting with former members Mark "Moke" Bistany on drums and Rob Patterson on guitar. Otep stated a song titled "Rise, Rebel, Resist" from the new album Smash the Control Machine is slated for release August 18th, 2009. However, "Smash the Control Machine" will be the first song to be heard off the new album, receiving air play in June 2009. Koichi Fukuda is playing piano on the new album, and Emilie Autumn will play violin.The band appeared with 2Cents, Five Finger Death Punch & Shadows Fall on the 'Shock & Raw Tour' of North America in the fall of 2009. An article in the spring 2009 issue of Broken Records Magazine states that Otep delves beyond music to focus on important issues.
In November 2009, It was announced that their single "Smash the Control Machine" would be used for TNA Wrestling's Final Resolution 2009 PPV on December 20th
