On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls Otep Shamaya to discuss her band’s thrilling new album, Generation Doom. Otep has spent nearly two decades redefining how people think about modern rock, and she tells James about all she has learned from the experience. Otep and James also discuss the fight for equality, the responsibility of artists to address the current political climate, and a whole lot more.
The music you hear in this episode is the Otep track “Zero,” which is taken from the group’s new album, Generation Doom.
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If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Some things become better with age. Wine, for example, is believed to taste better after it has been allowed to age for months or even years. The same can be said for several kinds of liquor, as well as the bond between two friends. The reasons for this are as varied as the list of things you could say improve with time, but perhaps the most interesting evolution aided by time is that of those who create. It’s one thing to write a song, teach it to your friends, record said song, and then perform that song every night for as long as people are willing to see you play. It’s something else entirely to do all of that and then, just as interest is beginning to wain, retreat to your secret lair and do it all over again, but that is the career musicians agree to when they decide to dedicate their lives to music.
For some creative types, the time between releases is a time to focus on refining what works for their sound without necessarily trying to change the status quo. There is this belief in popular music that most listeners want more of the same. They like who they like because of a certain sound or style and all they ask moving forward is for that artist or group to give them more of what they’ve already bought. What fans fail to realize, as do those artists who try to meet this demand, is that all creative types are people just like you or I at the end of the day. They might like certain things or think certain ways right now that they won’t even be able to relate to in six months times, let alone six years. People, regardless of career or status, must evolve to survive. It’s change and challenge that keeps our mind thinking and our muscles growing, and if we want to become the best versions of ourselves we have to first accept that it’s possible no one will enjoy what comes next. We have to accept that we will change regardless of our best efforts to stay the same, and when we do that we can begin to make the most out of the people we have become.
Otep has been a force for rock and roll creativity for the better of part of two decades now, but you would be hard-pressed to find any two albums in the band’s catalog that sound the same. From record to record, EP to EP, Otep has been a band that prides itself on setting a new standard not only for the members of the group, but the rock world at large as well. You might not know some of the band’s material, but the band’s you idolize do, and they’ve probably committed a large part of that material to memory because Otep is, and for some always have been, just that good.
All of this is why, just days away from the band’s seventh studio album hitting shelves, we felt compelled to bring their name to the Haulix blog. In our decade of existence we have yet to encounter a rock fan who did not know the name Otep, and that is not something that can be said for the vast majority of musicians working today. Somehow, despite changing consumer behaviors and the increasingly overcrowded genre they call home, Otep have been able to establish a presence beyond the world of cookie-cutter rock that demands just as much attention and respect as the bands currently making a living off the success of radio singles. We wish we could explain how this came to be in a way you could imitate in your own career, but to do so would be to express a basic misunderstanding about why Otep is considered so great in the first place. This band, perhaps more than any other group working in rock today, understands and embraces the uniqueness of who they are as people, and that acceptance of self is then conveyed through the art they create in such a way that fans feel inspire to live similarly lives.
When you hear Generation Doom you feel a fire ignite within your soul. You’ve probably felt this same fire before, most likely when you were just beginning to grasp how big the world actually is, and for one of the few times in your adult life you begin to believe anything is possible. When tracks like “God Is A Gun” plays you feel the strength of ten thousand armies coursing through your veins as the double bass bounces off the walls of your brain, and your body believes you can do anything. You feel empowered to express who you are, go after what you want, and altogether be whoever it is you feel you are regardless of what others might think. Even “Royals,” which is admittedly a metal cover of Lorde’s hit single of the same name, feels as if it could only be created by the group of musicians bringing this album to life. It is, just like every other song, a unique moment in time captured to digital tape in such a way as to not lose an ounce of the beauty found in the initial performance. This is raw rock, captured and preserved just as it was performed, and it’s utterly mesmerizing.
We don’t kid to ourselves and believe everyone will see this release the way we do, but it would be pretty great if that we the case. It should be, after all, as Otep have crafted an album with Generation Doom that will be looked upon in years to come as one of modern rock’s great accomplishments. It’s an intoxicating and pulsating musical romp that grabs you by the collar from the opening moments and never lets go. This album wants to make you think almost as much as it wants to inspire you to fight for change, and we believe it accomplishes both those goals in a big way. If you’re feeling as if your connection to music has begun to slip, this record may be the savior you have been seeking. This record is a reminder of the positive influence at can have on the world, and we would give anything to see more records like it appear in the years to come.
Generation Doom hits stores April 15, 2016 via Napalm Records.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Depending on where you live it may be hard to tell, but summer is fast-approaching, and with the rising temperatures comes an avalanche of new music competing for your attention and blog coverage. We cannot and should not tell you how to run your blog, but if you’re the kind of writer looking for the best of the best to share with your audiences then we know of a few upcoming releases you should definitely keep your eye on. These records criss-cross genres, but each one adds something special to the global music community that we believe is worthy of coverage.
Also, just so you don’t start believing we claim to have final say over everything that is good or bad, please know we are always in the market for new discoveries ourselves. It’s rare that more than a day or two passes without someone pitching us new music, and we do our best to hear everything that arrives in our inbox. If you know of a great record on the horizon that is not mentioned in the list below, please comment and add your suggestion. We will definitely make time to listen, and who knows? Maybe you will be responsible for kickstarting the development of future blog content down the line.
Anyways, here are our picks for the must hear albums of April 2016:
The Summer Set – Stories For Monday (April 1)
What can we say about Stories For Monday that we haven’t already written or recorded? The fourth full-length record in a career littered with hits, Stories For Monday is without question the greatest collection of material The Summer Set has ever unleashed upon the world. The album deals a lot moving on, or at least the need to move on, all while staying true to the pop-friendly sound that made the band a household name in the alternative community. We think “All My Friends” may be one of the year’s best tracks, but you can feel free to choose your own favorite when you hear the record.
Explosions In The Sky – The Wilderness (April 1)
Listening to Explosions In The Sky with your eyes closed is like taking flight in a dream, only your feet are still firmly rooted to the ground. The Austin post-rock icons have delivered yet another beautifully complex offering with The Wilderness, and somehow they manage to keep their elaborate compositions relatively short. Only one of the album’s nine tracks surpasses the seven-minute mark, and only two others crack six-minutes. Of all the records EITS have released, this may be the most accessible, but that doesn’t mean the band is dumbing themselves down to appeal to younger audiences. The bar for quality has never been higher, and EITS more than rise to the challenge.
Dreamer & Son – Written Off, Moving On (April 2)
The ambient rock band Dreamer & Son is out to change the world. Forming in Boston from across the U.S., the young quartet puts heart and passion at the forefront of their music. Patrons of Tides of Man, Gates, and Kings of Leon will hear their inspiration in Dreamer & Son’s unique and memorable songs. On the stage or in the studio, they capture the full spectrum of human emotion with soft ambient verses, aggressive choruses, and an explosive live performance. Dreamer & Son aims to break down genre barriers and build a diverse family; a community based on love and acceptance.
Deftones – Gore (April 8)
There are only a handful of modern rock bands whose every move could be considered an ‘event’ in the world of music, but Deftones certainly fit the bill. Fans of all ages from all corners of the planet have been aching for new material from the California based band since Koi No Yokan dropped in 2012, and from what we’ve heard the band will not disappoint with this release. Of all the albums hitting stores in the month of April, Gore feels like the one most likely to end up on ‘Best Of 2016’ lists, and with the band’s penchant for extensive touring we’re sure it’s a record we will be discussing for many months to come.
Sleeping With Sirens – Live & Unplugged (April 8)
Who doesn’t love a good live album? Sleeping With Sirens have been perfecting the art of the alternative-to-mainstream rock crossover for the better part of three years at this point, and with the right amount of excitement behind them heading into summer this year could finally find the band becoming the radio darlings they were meant to be. Live & Unplugged will showcase a side of the group only previously heard on their widely popular acoustic EP, and it also provides the first covers the band has officially released. We never knew we could be excited for another cover of Sublime’s hit single “Santeria,” but here we are chomping at the bit for exactly that.
Me Like Bees – There Will Be Time (April 8)
Indie rock quartet Me Like Bees are poised to catch the alternative scene’s eyes and ears with the release of their head-bobbing, imaginative new EP There will be Time. The band won the opportunity to work with award-winning producer John Feldmann (5 Seconds of Summer, Panic! at the Disco, and of course Goldfinger) on the EP after competing against over 20,000 other artists in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition, and you can hear Feldmann’s helping hand guiding every note played. If this album isn’t good enough to make Me Like Bees a household name we don’t know what could – it’s that good.
Otep – Generation Doom (April 15)
Otep does not promote themselves as band, but rather as an art project or musical revolution aimed at waking the masses from their consumerism-induced comas to reveal the rampant problems impacting our world today. When you heard Generation Doom you hear the sound of creative people yearning to show the truth of our existence on this planet to the uninformed, and they do so through infectious hard rock anthems that will have you singing along in no time at all. We’re not sure if this is the greatest album in Otep’s catalog, but it’s definitely a competitor, and there are more than enough potential singles to help introduce the band to throngs of young rock fans.
Drake – Views From The 6 (TBD)
The self-proclaimed 6 God has been telling fans for months that his long-awaited new album would arrive in April, but as of this posting no hard date has been set. It’s possible that Drizzy will follow the release plan of last year’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late with an unannounced drop on some random night, but we’re not claiming to know anything more than you at this point in time. In fact, aside from “Summer Sixteen” it’s kind of hard to know what to expect from this release, but knowing Drake it will no doubt be something worth talking about.
Sorority Noise – It Kindly Stopped For Me (April 22)
Having been awarded breakout emo band of 2015 by every major music publication you’re likely to know, Sorority Noise are offering fans a bit of their softer side with this four-track EP. It Kindly Stopped For Me tells a story of loss, depression, and recovery in under twenty minutes, and it just might be one of the greatest narratives we’ve heard so far in music this year. If Bright Eyes were to release Fevers And Mirrors today it would sound like this record, and we honestly cannot think of a better compliment to give a band that is already loved by the entire alternative community.
The Other Stars – We Were Kids (April 29)
If The Get Up Kids or Piebald had gotten their start in the new millennium they would probably sound a lot like the new album from Massachusetts natives The Other Stars. We Were Kids is filled with anthemic songs of love, life, growing up, and moving on from front to back. It’s the kind of album that could and should propel the band behind it into the stratosphere, but that only happens if music blogs like the one you contribute to or run gives the band a few digital pages of press. This is the sound of the future, and it’s rooted in the best elements of alternative music history. Don’t miss out.
