I remember 2002, when nu metal was in its peak of borrowing elements from various genres. In panoply of everything, the song T.R.I.C. happened and it ruled the universe with its sickening, powerful and demonic vocals. I remember checking out which band is it, which singer sings it and I become dazzled when I find out that it is a woman.
In the period of ten years, the leader of the band Otep, Shamaya, switched more than 30 collaborators and released several albums. In 2013, after dropping out Hydra, she promised that she is done with music. Still, Generation Doom came out and proved to be the best record of their career. But, it is not as it is brilliant.
Otep did not progress. They have not matured. If you have problem with mediocre rap-metal and cheesy riffs, do not even give this album a shot. There are some maverick sections, brutal in its strength. Few melodies stand as evidence of potential brilliance. Overall, Generation Doom offers the most when you listen to it through the prism of lyrical activism.
Zero is all about how they don’t give a fuck. I actually counted that the song has 39 ‘fuck’ and 1 ‘fucked’. It reminded me of Fred Durst who rapped: If I say fuck two more times, that’s forty six fucks in this fucked up rhyme. Lords Of War conflates with world police
More wars on foreign shores
More names for us to mourn
To misguide the misinformed
To ignore the sick and poor
Thus we praise the lords of war
On our knees and beg for more
On the other hand, God is a Gun describes conflict with religion:
Where were you when the war began
Where were you when the babies died
Where were you when the mother cried
Where were you when they changed your name
Where were you when in the darkest night
Where were you when they pulled the trigger
You were the gun in the hand of killers
You’re just a myth
You don’t exist
Show yourself
My personal favorite is Equal Right, Equal Lefts, the song in which the lead singer comes out of the closet and fights for LGBT right. It is saturated with peculiar rhymes.
Last but not least let me finish the story how I met a your girl
Then she found religion in every position screaming Oh God and singing in hymnals
Gay for a day
That’s what she claimed, but that’s what these chicks always say
She’s calling my home, texting my phone, sending me snaps, and begging for more
So say what you say, do what you do, but I’ll always get more pussy than you
The album sounds like a tribute to Linkin Park, Paparoach and Slipknot. You decide whether that’s a good thing.
