Posts Tagged ‘Otep’
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
Hydra (Victory)
There is something to be said for going out on top. Album number six for Los Angeles art metallers OTEP will apparently be the last music from the band. In the decade plus years since emerging on the scene, OTEP SHAMAYA and the band that bears her name, has tried to break apart boundaries of what an intelligent band can create with heavy music. Straddling the uneasy space between the underground, high art, and mild popularity; they have continued to evolve and refine their style with each release. Many groups lose themselves in an attempt to gain wider appeal, which usually wipes out their integrity along the way. If it is indeed the end of the road for them as a band, they can rest easy knowing they maintained their soul and never sold out.
The album opens with the intro track “Rising”. Whisper-to-a-scream dynamics build up into a grinding, slow riff. It sounds like the perfect stage entrance song, and since OTEP shows are always theatrical experience, it works well. The buildup into the next track “Blowtorch Nightlight” is excellent. The song opens with a cool chromatic riff, but quickly slides into atmospheric verses. The shift between OTEP’s sung verses and shrill screams in the chorus makes for a great contrasts, and a big start to the album. “Seduce and Destroy” is very sultry sounding, calling to mind the song “Head” from Smash The Control Machine. It also has an almost trip-hop backing beat, coupled with the main riff making it very catchy. Even though the song ebbs and flows its way to the almost seven minute mark, I think this could be a break out hit for them. Coming right back with the more economical “Crush”, you get a more of a mid-tempo metal track. The production from Ulrich Wild (DETHKLOK, THE DEFTONES, PANTERA) is really crisp with a solid range in the lower frequencies, blending guitars and bass sounds together evenly. OTEP’s voice sits nicely in the pocket and is allowed to shine. The track grows into a nice crescendo of heaviness and should hopefully be included in the live set as well. The chilling “Hematopia” is one of several mood setting interludes in a row bleeding together. The band has taken this concept and funneled this into a mural for your ear, not unlike PINK FLOYD, TOOL or ROLLINS BAND might create. The next few tracks “Necromantic”, “Quarantine” and “Voyeur” all interlock, painting a grim story with sounds and words. Occasionally little micro-blasts of riffs and screams hit your ears, contrasting the spoken word and sound-scape sections. For some reason, this part of the album makes me think of the music from the FX show American Horror Story. “Apex Predator” is the next full track and the first single. Like a Fellini film set to music, it has interesting musical elements, clever lyrics and tons of groove. Many songs, such as as the rough and tumble “Feral Game” harkins back to the Sevas Tra and House of Secrets albums. In a way this album is almost like a greatest hits-type album, with all of the facets the band excels in, firing on all cylinders. A lot of credit needs to go to touring guitarist Ari Mihalopoulos (THE DESTROPHY) whose killer tones add a lot of the weight. Collyn McCoy appears again to provide expert bass tracks, as he did on Atavist. “Livestock” is another synaptic piece, featuring OTEP’s poetry, some toy piano and little else. “Hag” is the most brutal song on the album, and one of the the best in the bands’ history. Finally “Theophagy” closes the album out on very a weird, very strange, trippy bunch of beats and words. This final album comes to a close, much like OTEP has done for their entire career: on their own terms.
 OTEP and her band have left the building, and their mark on heavy music. GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: art rock, Atavist, bassist Collyn McCoy, guitarist Ari Mihalopoulos, horror music themes, House of Secrets, Hydra, metal, Otep, Otep Shamaya, poetry, producer Ulrich Wild, rollins band, Sevas Tra, Smash The control Machine, soundscapes, theatrical live performances, tone poems, victory
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Friday, December 21st, 2012
Here is Keefy’s final Top Ten from his overall Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012 list! Enjoy!
#10. CRYPTOPSY- Cryptopsy (Self Released)
To paraphrase comedian Chris Rock, I’m tired of apologizing for CRYPTOPSY. I was in the minority among people when I loved The Unspoken King. I’m sure as people are reading this; they are scratching their heads again. No matter, CRYPTOPSY has silenced all their critics with an album that matches the best work of their career. A brutal slab of technical death metal on every level the album is great for all the reasons that made the band stellar in the first place. Obviously, people talk about the inhuman level of Drummer FLO MOUNIER. However, the real strength of the band is returning guitarist and writer JON LEVASSEUR and mainstay guitarist/uber producer CHRISITAN DONALDSON. The songs they wrote are superb. I was nervous about Oliver Pinard being able to replace ERIC LANGLOIS on bass, but even he was great too! Lastly, MATT MCGATCHY‘s performance provides the shut the fuck up moment of the year to all the haters. Well done sirs!
#9. PRONG- Carved Into Stone (Long Branch Records/SPV)
I thought my birthday came early this year when PRONG’s new album came out. PRONG has always been one of my favorite bands and all of their recorded output has been always been strong. Carved Into Stone is actually the bands best album since 1996′s Rude Awakening. Not only is the album full of sick tunes, but over the top, guitar playing in general is terrific. TOMMY VICTOR (DANZIG, MINISTRY) has been known for two things in his career: great songs and being a riff master general. The album displays an unexpected depth for any record in 2012. Packed with just the right touch of technical mastery and catchy songwriting to please and the hardcore soul, which hearkens back to Tommy’s NYC metal roots. The performances from TONY CAMPOS (SOULFLY/ MINISTRY/STATIC-X/ASESINO/POSSESSED/OTEP) and ALEXI RODRIGUEZ (ex-3 INCHES OF BLOOD) are matched perfectly too, making this one of the baddest power trio’s around.
#8. GOJIRA – L’Enfant Sauvage (Roadrunner)
GOJIRA albums, when they come out, are an event. The metal world waits with baited breath and the results are always stellar. Armed with a new deal from Roadrunner, the band put out L’Enfant Sauvage over the summer to roars of approval. Perhaps, even I was too cynical to believe that GOJIRA would continue to get increasingly popular as they stayed true to who they were? L’Enfant Sauvage is a great blend of the Progressive Rock/Metal, Tech Death, old-school Death Metal and Thrash influences they are known for. Then there is their subject matter: they are one of the most thoughtful and socially conscious bands around, lyrically. The album hits the right mood on every level, every time and has the musical confidence of a band much more senior in years. Songs like “Explosia”, “The Axe” and “Liquid Fire” are going to be talked about in metal head circles for years to come.
#7. CANNIBAL CORPSE- Torture (Metal Blade)
Like a beautifully marbled steak or a legendary work of art, CANNIBAL CORPSE truly does get better with age. It seems likely that much like SLAYER, the death metal godfathers will keep right on trucking on to oblivion, making skull splitting, gore filled albums for as long as they can. Torture is perfect in every way and all of the things you love about the band are in the mix. Perhaps due to being the most collaborative written album in the bands history, the sound from song to song is quite eclectic. Not like Dubstep, power-ballad eclectic, mind you, but the band has figured out how to blend different song styles seamlessly. Inventive new chord structures and riffs, hard to fathom bass lines and stupendous drumming are all topped off by GEORGE “CORPSEGRINDER” FISHER‘s impeccable voice from hell. Plus, don’t forget the grooves. Oh those crushing grooves! Nobody writes a grooving-ass, brutal riff better than ALEX WEBSTER. The band continues to be the yard stick by which all death metal music and consequently, all death metal bands are measured.
#6. C.O.C. – C.O.C. (Candlelight)
That C.O.C. was able to make a comeback as a trio at this point in their career is not a surprise. The fact that they reunited to make an amazing album is not even a question. What I am surprised by, is that it seems like the rest of the world has caught up to the sound of the band and the love from fans and the press is over flowing. When last we saw C.O.C. as a trio it was the 80s and they were mostly an underground phenomenon. Lots of bands like to say they were influenced by the Sludgy, Crossover Doom masters, but in this age of the Internet; flattery goes a long way to help a new bands rep.To hear WOODY WEATHERMAN tell it, the reunion circuit was totally un-interesting to the band, unless they were gonna make new music. C.O.C., the album has more quality and vitality than many of the upstarts of the genre they helped put on the map. MIKE DEAN‘s bass is full of fuzz and style; Woody‘s soloing is on fire and REED MULLEN, back for the first time in over decade, drums and sings like a man possessed. Let us not forget the poignant political lyrics, much welcomed in these troublesome times of a divided America. You might say the metal world needed C.O.C. to come back, as much as they needed to make a comeback themselves.
#5. MESHUGGAH- Koloss (Nuclear Blast)
What can you say about MESHUGGAH that hasn’t been said already? It’s not hard to run out of superlatives when talking about the most influential metal band of the last fifteen years. Whether Koloss was going to be great or not was likely not debatable. What was up for grabs, was what direction these geniuses would take the iconic music we have all come to expect. The results were stunning. Can you change things up, and still be the same band? By definition no, but that is MESHUGGAH for you. Koloss is a collection of songs much like the rest of the bands’ storied catalog: brutal, and complex. Most of the songs feature a pulsing groove that has come to the fore in the bands work of late. Every beat and riff is a maelstrom of twisting delight, overlapping time signatures and finger-defying licks galore. Most of all, the album sets another technical high water-mark for guitarist FREDRICK THORDENDAL and drummer TOMAS HAAKE.
#4. TESTAMENT- Dark Roots Of Earth (Nuclear Blast)
The return of TESTAMENT to their former level of greatness is nothing short of a triumph for all of metal. 2008′s Formation of Damnation was an excellent comeback album, after almost a decade of no new music. In the interim years since getting back together, they have toured tirelessly around the world, reignited their chemistry and fulfilled the promise of their early career. Dark Roots of Earth takes the concept of the old-school Thrash style, added a modern sensibility and took it all one step further. Only EXODUS and ANTHRAX have been able to pull of the feat of making new music for modern ears, staying true to their past and begin able to add a level of panache. ERIC PETERSON finally got his dream come true by getting GENE HOGLAN to write and record drums for a TESTAMENT album. The unrelenting bottom end of the songs gives the band a new power they have never had. Every song is a gem. “Native Blood” is one of the catchiest, yet grooviest songs I’ve heard in ages. The chorus is also the best of 2012. CHUCK BILLY‘s ageless voice carries the day and ALEX SKOLNICK displays the chops that verify his legions of fans. Even GREG CHRISTIAN is heard from, with some excellent bass lines. Dark Roots of Earth is all killer and positively no filler.
#3. BARONESS- Yellow And Green (Relapse)
One of the most anticipated albums of 2012 did not disappoint when BARONESS dropped the latest in their color-themed recent discography. The band made no pretense that this album would be not be metal and frankly, that was OK by me. If you have been following the band, they have been less concerned with the trappings of fitting in, in their career up to this point. They instead stayed true to their artistic authenticity. What BARONESS delivered is a double-album of incredible songs, displaying great chops and the best dynamics overall of any album on this list. Some of the songs are quite heavy, but more often than not, that heaviness never came the expense of melodies or tones. “Take My Bones Away” was my out and out favorite song of the entire year. “March To The Sea” was another stone cold rocker, the likes that haven’t been heard since the heyday of QUEEN or THIN LIZZY. Some of the best moments are the most unexpected ones; like the freak-out synth work in “Cocanium”. All of the keyboard work is stellar as is the bass playing, which band leader John Baizley played all of too. “Back Where I Belong”, “Eula” and “Board Up The House” will also rank at the top of the bands’ song book for years to come. The “Green” side of the double set is equally tuneful and more mellow, but no less mint song-craft wise. Finally, tying it all together is the brilliant cover artwork, the years’ best; also by Baizley once again.
#2. DYING FETUS- Reign Supreme (Relapse)
DYING FETUS is such a great band in its current incarnation that one almost forgets there were entire years in their history marked by upheavals and departures. The present day lineup has been intact since 2007 and the comfort level they have together creating the most brutal Death Metal possibly known to man is sky high. Through it all, JOHN GALLAGHER has been the one constant: constantly growing as a guitarist and writer and constantly writing pissed the fuck off, baffling and sick lyrics. Reign Supreme might be remembered years from now as one of the top three releases of the bands’ career with its non-stop violence inspired songs. GALLAGHER and his p-i-c SEAN BEASLEY crush it out of the park on the guttural vocals. Beasley, who was always an underrated bassist for the genre, plays some of the best passages ever recorded for the instrument in the context of technical death metal. TREY WILLIAMS also one-ups his performance from Descend Into Depravity, being a might less technical, but still precise as fuck and bludgeoning as all hell. His blasts are far and away my favorite of any drummer on album this entire year. The album is a masterpiece of death metal brilliance, and that is really saying something considering how deep the sub-genre is these days.
#1. IHSAHN- Eremita (Candlelight)
In what was a high quality year at the top of the heap of metal music, IHSAHN‘s fourth solo outing is my choice for the album of the year. It’s not the sexy choice compared with typical years past, but it is the best choice, by far. Eremita is a sprawling, ambitious album full of musical twists and turns, yet perfectly coalescing into a sensible piece of art. In an interview I conducted with him for Metal Army he talked about the creative process as a continual evolution, a death followed by a rebirth. That would just begin to cover the emotional and lyrical depth in the music. In many ways, this is the album that IHSAHN, famously known as the legendary front man of EMPEROR, has been building up to for his entire career. His mastery as a composer, guitarist, vocalist and lyricist is without equal at this point in his career. Musically the songs cover the gamut of emotions and styles and reveal a complexity that mirrors the artist himself. Songs like “Arrival”, “The Paranoid”, “Something Out There”, “The Eagle And The Snake” and “Departure” are among the best of the year. Topping off the package are the guest performances by the likes of DEVIN TOWNSEND, JEFF LOOMIS, EINAR SOLBERG (LEPROUS), JEFF MUNKENBY on sax and IHSAHN’s wife HEIDI S. TVEITEN‘s enchanting vocal turns, which sends the quality of the album into the stratosphere.
 Genius level achieved. KEEFY PREVIOUS TOP METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
2011: TOMBS- Path of Totality
2010: EXODUS: Exhibit B
2009: MASTODON: Crack The Skye
2008: OPETH: Watershed
2007: MACHINE HEAD: The Blackening
2006: MASTODON: Blood Mountain
2005: MESHUGGAH: Catch Thirty-Three
2004: MACHINE HEAD: Through The Ashes Of Empires
Tags: 3 Inches of Blood, alex skolnick, Alex Webster, Alexi Rodriguez, Anthrax, Asesino, Avant Garde, Baroness, C.O.C., Candlelight, Cannibal Corpse, Carved Into Stone, chuck billy, cryptopsy, Danzig, Dark Roots Of Earth, death, Death Metal, descend into depravity, Devin Townsend, djent, doom, Drummer FLO MOUNIER, drummer/vocalist REED MULLEN, dying fetus, EINAR SOLBERG, emperor, EREMITA, eric peterson, EXODUS, FREDRICK THORDENDAL, Gene Hoglan, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Gojira, GREG CHRISTIAN, guitarist JON LEVASSEUR, guitarist/uber producer CHRISITAN DONALDSON, HEIDI S. TVEITEN, Ihsahn, Jeff Loomis, JEFF MUNKENBY, John Gallagher, Koloss, leprous, Long Branch Records, L’Enfant Sauvage, MATT MCGATCHY, Meshuggah, METAL BLADE, mike dean, Ministry, Nuclear Blast, Otep, Possessed, power groove, prog, Prog Metal, Proggressive Death Metal, Prong, Queen, reign supreme, reviews by Keefy, roadrunner, rock, SEAN BEASLEY, slayer, sludge, Soulfly, spv, Static-X, tech death, testament, Thin Lizzy, Thrash Metal, Tomas Haake, Tommy Victor, Tony Campos, Top Albums, Top Ten Metal Albums of 2012, Torture, Trey Williams, woody weatherman, Year End Best Metal Album Lists, Yellow and Green, “Native Blood”
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews, Top 10 Lists | No Comments »
Sunday, December 2nd, 2012
 Cristina Scabbia of LACUNA COIL It’s debate time again at Metal Army. We figured you were all burned out by the election and enough time has passed by now, so we could bring you all a worthwhile topic: Women in metal. We are always interested in analyzing social paradigms (I know, a heady concept for metal heads). I’ve always felt there was a wide contrast between how many powerful and talented women there are in the metal community and how they are treated and portrayed by that same community. Since I am not a woman, I consulted three of Metal Army’s best writers (of any gender) in Melissa Campbell, Rachel Hacker and Lynn Jordan. They each have a unique perspective to share on the subject. We have also included some concert photos of our favorite women in metal, doing what they do, so read on…..
 KRYSTA CAMERON, EX-IWRESTLEDABEARONCE
Melissa Campbell: Overcoming obstacles to love metal
Ever since I became a fan of metal, I knew that I some were going to look down on me for being a girl. There have been plenty of moments where I’ve been laughed at by male metal listeners or told by them that I can’t listen to “their” music. Thankfully I’ve found plenty of guys who don’t care what gender I am. Those more negative experiences with metal guys have not caused me to harbor any bad feelings towards guys either. I idolize men like RONNIE JAMES DIO as much as women like AMY LEE.
 LYRIS HUNG of HUNG  MLNY PARSONZ of ROYAL THUNDER
Another problem I encountered in the past was not being allowed to go to metal shows. My father forbade it because he believed all those terrible stereotypes related to shows where males were in high attendance compared to females (i.e. rapes, getting hurt in pits, being kidnapped). Even though I promised to have my sister with me at all times, he was quite uncomfortable granting me permission. In his eyes, we as women were not capable of handling ourselves alongside “those types” of men.
 KIMBERLY FREEMAN of ONE EYED DOLL
However, in 2010, my mother bought me and my sister tickets to go to Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. My father was not too happy about it and claimed he was unaware we had been planning to attend. He started to trust us more when we returned alive and we are now able to go to shows with relatively low complaints from him.
 JILL JANUS of HUNTRESS
All that being said, gender discrimination in the genre has gone down in recent years thanks to the rise of female fronted (or completely female) bands. A few decades ago women were mainly viewed as sexual objects in the metal community. To those whose main goal was to just be a groupie and have fun that was alright. Other females who wanted to be taken seriously as musicians often had trouble with it (i.e. LITA FORD). The best contribution I can make (since I don’t want to be a musician) is to continue going to/writing about gigs and representing the female community.
Rachel Hacker: The Made-up Stigma
I read Jezebel every damn day of my life. Maybe if i stopped reading it, I’d get a boyfriend.
Nah.
So. Women. Consistently considered the lesser sex throughout history. Always being chastised for what we can’t do compared to men. Men are the “invisible demographic,” making them the standard for comparison on woman. However, comparing both of them side by side on every issue is absurd. This is essentially the classic apples-to-oranges argument, but this time we’re comparing penises and vaginas.
 FARIDA LEMOUCHI of THE DEVIL’S BLOOD
In the ever commercialized musical world of “Call Me Maybe”, there is an equally commercialized world of hard rock and heavy metal. Through seeing the 1996 stock photo of MARILYN MANSON in the local newspaper, or that GUNS N’ ROSES poster your dad secretly displays in the Man Cave, almost everyone has an image of what metal is “about.” The standard for what men wear and do as a rock artist was set in the 60s, while many women were still taking care of families to develop a true voice in metal and hard rock.
 RAE AMITAY of MARES OF THRACE/THRAWSUNBLAT/WOODS OF YPRES
 SUSAN WENDELKEN of DORMITORY EFFECT It’s only been in the past few decades that women aren’t put down on account of not having a family by age 30. Women don’t feel pressured to rush through getting married anymore, and we have some pretty damn good years of vitality in our 20s or older. The hoards of young women, with non-sagging breasts and sharp minds, are ready to do something different than clean diapers. Why not make play some metal and look hot doing it?
 CARLA HARVEY and HEIDI SHEPHERD of BUTCHER BABIES Some women and men find the “hot chicks in metal” to be degrading and embarrassing. Who’s embarrassed? Not me. The sex industry is huge, which means there are obviously people buying the porn that women and men make. Separating our sex and our music isn’t going to change much, considering most of the world is desensitized, anyways. Individuals who believe women should “cover up” are also playing the “chivalry card.” This ideal is essentially is built upon that women are “delicate flowers who can’t do anything on their own.”
Bullshit.
Women in metal are still being treated as if they can’t make their own decisions. “Oh, you’re topless, you must not be intelligent enough to know what you’re doing, let me help you.” It was only 100 years ago that masturbation was a mental illness, or that women still had sex while partially or fully clothed. So why are we still trying to cover up women- figuratively and literally?
 SOM PLUIJMERS, ex-CEREBRAL BORE If you’ve got a good rack and wanna show it, go for it. And while some tiny corner of the internet blogs about your lack of modesty, you’re too busy driving to the bank to care. Unfortunately, most of the bands with the “hot chicks in metal” don’t have music I actually like, but there will never be a moment where I feel like telling another women to cover up. The fashion standard for women in hard rock and metal should be the woman’s choice, not someone else’s choice. Therefore, if men are “apples” and women are “oranges,” the way they handle metal shouldn’t even be compared beyond the thought that “it exists.” The last thing we need is someone else like Mitt Romney.
 TRACY MYZERI GONZALEZ of EYES LIKE CYANIDE  AMANDA DANIELS of ENABLER Lynn Jordan: Women in the Metal Scene
PAUL STANLEY of KISS was once asked his opinion about a female hard rock performer. His response? “You need balls to rock ‘n’ roll”. MARC STORACE of KROKUS was doing record reviews for a magazine, and when one for a female performer came up he said,”…she should be doing better things. Like giving me head.”
I read both of these quotes many years ago. As you can see, I haven’t forgotten them; they remain etched in my brain.
 ARCH ENEMY, led by ANGELA GOSSOW I have to admit that when I first started playing bass, my inspirations were mostly male. There were women I loved that were famous with the heavier music that I admired that were writing their own songs, putting out great records and putting on incredible shows. As talented and gutsy as these women were, many male music fans still had a hard time giving them props. How dare these women get onstage and think they have what it takes?
How dare they?
But despite that, to this day no female Metal artist or all-female band has garnered the gushing recognition or respect that their male contemporaries receive as a matter of course. Why not?
 STEVIE FLOYD of DARK CASTLE/TAURUS I believe that for men to acknowledge and respect the female presence as Metal musicians is to give power to women that they don’t want them to have. Heavy Metal is a testosterone-fueled monster with images of blood, war, cars, devil worship, drinking, fucking, death, etc. None of these things are considered feminine. Men do these things. Women were intended to hang in the sidelines to worship, clean up, pay the bill, swallow, look pretty and smile while providing various services (comfort, food, shelter or sex-related) to these battle-scarred warriors of musical carnage. Many men don’t like women to be sweat-streaked, angry and storming a stage. Many men don’t like it when women speak their mind. Others don’t like a cursing, spit-fire bitch not taking their shit. Some men get defensive when a woman does something they think is exclusively theirs. And they certainly don’t like it when a woman can do something as well as they do, and does not need their approval to proceed as they please. So the very genre that prides itself on speaking its mind, empowering its listeners and letting its aggression out really doesn’t want their women to be a part of its voice.
 SIGRID SHEIE of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE There is also that double-standard of image vs. talent. If a female musician is beautiful, even if she is gifted, she had to have used her looks to get ahead. If she isn’t that attractive, but is talented, she is dismissed because some dude doesn’t want to “pee in her butt”. It’s a bitter pill and a tough choice for female musicians to make. Do you tone down the sex for respect and get shorted in attention and sales, or do you ramp up the sex, get the attention, alienate some female fans and get less respect from the male ones? It’s a tough call. Male musicians do not have this dilemma. They either are good or they aren’t.
 OTEP SHAMAYA of OTEP As 2012 comes to a close, I do not see this changing much. Metal has popular bands with women in them, We have noted bands with women in them, such as ARCH ENEMY, IN THIS MOMENT, OTEP, LACUNA COIL, THE AGONIST, NASHVILLE PUSSY, FIREBALL MINISTRY, SISTER SIN, ALL THAT REMAINS, STRAIGHT LINE STITCH, a slew of female-fronted Goth and Symphonic Metal bands, and (on the lighter side), EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM. With all the females that can play Metal well, the mystery remains as to why it never coalesces into a one kick-ass band, and when they do…it’s a cover band playing songs originally made popular by men. We still can’t have our own voice from the stage, but we do get the annual “Hottest Chicks in Metal” pictorial. That’s another tough choice – to pose or not pose for band promotion (if you’re deemed “hot” enough to make the cut)? Is one reduced to something less than an equal once you’ve shown your ass?
 G THÉRÈSE LANZ of MARES OF THRACE  MEG CASTELLANOS of TOTIMOSHI
 JEANNE SAGAN of ALL THAT REMAINS All that said, let us be the women behind the men, and we soar without barrier. OZZY would be dead, or at least strung-out, broke and on Skid Row, if it wasn’t for SHARON OSBORNE. Love her or hate her (I happen to think she’s awesome) without her, OZZY would have been a footnote in BLACK SABBATH‘s history and Ozzfest would never have happened. MELISSA CROSS has been the vocal coach for male Metal screamers in SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, among many others. SUSAN SILVER was a manager who brought us SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS. DEBBIE ABONO managed such extreme bands POSSESSED, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, FORBIDDEN and OBITUARY. “METAL” MARIA FERRERO was mentioned in many a Thrash band ‘thank you’ list as a promotional force back in the day, which she continues now as the founder of ADRENALINE PR. MARSHA ZAZULA, is co-founder of Megaforce Records with her husband Jon, and they have signed METALLICA, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT and more. Many bands have started out with their girlfriends or wives acting as managers, promoters and helping to book shows. Many Hair Metal bands have admitted that if it weren’t for the ladies that gave them a place to sleep, something to eat, encouragement and support, they would not have made it – literally and figuratively. Maybe the day will come when males of the Metal scene will truly appreciate the depth of strength women bring on AND off the stage. The more we succeed as a unified supportive front, the more Metal music succeeds overall, and the more powerful we all become.
Do we dare?
Tags: "METAL" MARIA FERRERO, ADRENALINE PR, Alice In Chains, All That Remains, AMANDA DANIELS, among many others, Amy Lee, angela gossow, Anthrax, Arch Enemy, Black Sabbath, BUTCHER BABIES, Cerebral Bore, Dark Castle, Debbie Abono, DORMITORY EFFECT, Enabler, evanescence, EXODUS, EYES LIKE CYANIDE, female-fronted bands, FIREBALL MINISTRY, forbidden, glass ceiling, Goth Metal, Guns N Roses, HALESTORM, Hammers of Misfortune, heavy metal, Hottest Chicks In Metal, HUNG, HUNTRESS, in this moment, IWABO, JEANNE SAGAN, Jezebel.com, JON ZAZULA, Kiss, Krokus, Krysta Cameron, lacuna coil, Lamb of God, LITA FORD, LYNN JORDAN, machine head, MARC STORACE, Mares of Thrace, Marilyn Manson, MARSHA ZAZULA, MEG CASTELLANOS, Megaforce Records, MELISSA CAMPBELL, Metal Army Great Debates, Metallica, Nashville Pussy, Obituary, ONE EYED DOLL, Otep, Otep Shamaya, ozzfest, Ozzy, paradigm shifts, paul stanley, Photos by Echoes In The Well, Possessed, RACHEL HACKER, RAE AMITAY, RockStar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, ronnie james dio, ROYAL THUNDER, SHARON OSBORNE, sister sin, slayer, Soundgarden, stereotypes, STEVIE FLOYD, straight line stitch, SUSAN SILVER, SUSAN WENELKEN, Symphonic Metal bands, TAURUS, testament, the agonist, The Devil's Blood, thrash, THRAWSUNBLAT, Totimoshi, TRACY MYZERI GONZALEZ, Vio-lence, women in metal, Woods of Ypres
Posted in METAL ARMY DEBATES, The Bunker | No Comments »
Monday, November 7th, 2011
The annual concert and horror convention known as Rock And Shock brought me back to Worcester MA once again and right in time to get into the Halloween spirit. Three plus day affair is always a good time for all and usually has something for everybody. The convention gets better every year with great guests like Robert Englund, Lance Henriksen, William Forsythe and Camille Keaton among the many name actors in horror in attendance. Even though I was only interested in the second night of the music portion of the proceedings which had a pretty amazing lineup of talent. I certainly enjoyed the convention at the DCU Center and you can see my coverage of it and another funny story here.
Although there was a bevy of side stage bands I only caught the main stage acts between the convention activities and some bands interviews I needed to do. I managed to catch THE OCEAN who put on the top performance of the early evening. For those not in the know these guys are inventive, philosophical and tight musically. Even though the venue was alarmingly empty when they began, they definitely had their own heads in the house who were feeling it. Opening with “Firmament” the band tore into their short set with abandon. The group plays music beyond the scope of typical bands and shifts in motifs and tempos fall on each other like dominoes. In particular vocalist Loïc Rossetti and guitarist Robin Staps make a compelling case for the future of metal. I urge you to check them out if you don’t know them already. They not only played part of their “Grand Inquisitor” suite they closed with the hypnotic and sick “Origin of the Species”. Also up early was reunited hardcore kings EARTH CRISIS. The room filled in a little more by now with some core dudes ready to karate kick and pick up change like crazy. The rest of the crowd just starred blankly and disappointed me with their lack of respect. EC’s militant hardcore and metal mix per-dated today’s mosh-core, tough guy bands and deathcore except, they had something smart to say. Even if you didn’t love the music vocalist Karl Buechner (FREYA) and company played their balls off as always. Mixing classic cuts like “All Out War” and “Wrath of Sanity” with newer cuts from Neutralize the Threat (Century Media) they put on a great, high energy show. At least by the end of their set there was some decent moshing by the end of their set, but I think it just was a weird crowd that would prove to be even more adversarial and weird as the night wore on.
 Otep leads the crowd in a ritual.
Next up was OTEP who always puts on an awesome show. By now the floor had filled up pretty well and the band always draws well when they come to Massachusetts so they also had a lot of heads in the house. Otep herself makes every show an emotional ritual and the crowd was ready for some heavy mental music. Hitting the stage with a frightening baby mask on, the famous blend of theater and artistry was already on display as the band launched into “Eet the Children”. Backed by members of OTEP’s Victory records label-mates DESTROPHY, the band was tight and Otep was as usual dominating as a live performer. She sang, she screamed and generally led the crowd in a communal exorcism. Next up was the bands live staple “Battle Ready” which is still a killer track to hear after almost ten years. For the most part “Battle Ready” represents the remaining vestiges of Otep’s rap style that she doesn’t rely much on anymore. Still, she has an effective flow and combined with her severe growls it is a winning combo. “Fists Fall” off of Atavist is also a killer track. The energy of the crowd was significantly raised and Otep tries to connect with them to make a personal connection. Even though I was conscious of the short set I was unconcerned when the band led into “My Confession”. The song is one of the best of the bands has an the release it brings is far worth the sacrifice of other songs that may have been played in its stead. Closing out the all too short set with “Blood Pigs” they left the stage triumphant as if it was a headline set. All par for the course for this band.
Set List:
Eet The Children
Battle Ready
Fists Fall
My Confession
Blood Pigs
Next up was another headline worthy name in THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT. Devin definitely brings his own crowd and easily could have filled this venue by himself on this night. Many DevyHeads rushed the front after OTEP to get a spot. Still other camped out for later acts held the rail and we not going to budge no matter who was coming on next. The band has been playing deep cuts and long sets on their headline run, but on this night they would play half their total number of songs in the middle slot. Still a DTP show is superior to most other acts mainly due to Devin being on of the premier forces in modern heavy music. The music played before he they hit the stage and the hilarious video projections are all from the crazy mind of Townsend. Be sure to pay close attention to this before the band hits the stage next time you see them.
 Devin Townsend is so awesome he practically levitates himself off the stage!
Meanwhile The bands gear was set cross the stage side by side, even the drums! This was due to the rest of the back line being so huge. The band hit the stage one at a time with Devin coming out last, resplendent once again in his silvery suit. Before the band played a note he remarked that “Zombies are stupid!” Opening with “Truth” always seems like a good bet to combat the fans who only want to hear STRAPPING YOUNG LAD songs. The track is super heavy and Devin relishes playing it, clearly. He jammed out on his axe, grinned and humped it as he soloed like a modern day JIMI HENDRIX. Of course he is also a stupendous singer and skilled performer too. “Om” and “By Your Command” quickly followed in succession. Both tracks are also top notch and very hard even though not classically heavy like his earlier material is. Complimenting the music was all manner of bizarre videos and images projected over head on screens. Trippy! The band was also tight and in fine form, especially drummer Ryan Poederooyen whom I got to watch up close and personal. The man is a powerhouse behind the kit. “Kingdom” was next and was truly flawless to see and hear again. Dev is so in skilled and in control of his playing it hardly looks like work to the veteran star. “Supercrush!” is so slow and beautiful that is made the whole front row of Devheads loose their minds and me too. The track is almost like a mantra it is so singular and perfect, Dev’s operatic singing in particular. Just once in my life I’d like to see Anneke van Giersbergen perform her part of the song live rather than piped in. Sigh. I need to move to Europe! Meanwhile Dev was great as usual between songs and he baited the crowd by say he wanted to see more of them look disinterested and bored. I think this was a jab at a block of MUSHROOMHEAD fans who didn’t seem to even remotely like any other band. More theatrics abound on “Stand” and its grinding chug. “Juular” is likely the one track that states the ears of the doleful stubborn fans, not that the band cares any. They just go about being professional and awesome. “Vampira” closed things out in style with the hilarious video plying behind the band. It would prove to be hard to follow this act.
Set List:
Truth
Om
By Your Command
Kingdom
Supercrush!
Stand
Juular
Vampira
As the stage switched over for CAVALERA CONSPIRACY I got really excited. Even though I was totally mind jobbed by the previous two acts it had been years since I had seen either CAVALERA brother anywhere so I was intrigued to see them together again. The band came on strong opening with “Warlord”. Max took his customary spot center stage and led the charge. Right off the bat the band was cooking and Igor was just decimating his massive kit. I t was great to see him up there where he belongs. The crowd seemed to be eating out of Max’s hand the entire time too. The pits were pretty consistent since the band played a very up tempo set. Aside from the brothers the star of the band is guitarist Mark Rizzo. He was a madman on his side of the stage shredding his face off on solos and holding down his rhythms with a lot of style. If it’s possible he is almost underrated in the current scene and should be more top of mind when people do their best of lists. Bassist Johnny Chow was also solid held down the low end. “Inflikted” and “Sanctuary” came next as the band asserted their own material rather than go to the easy cover route too soon. “Inflikted” has an amazing solo by Rizzo. Both songs are solid, were performed great and had the crowd singing a long. Finally they did “Refuse/Resist” the place went bananas. It was a really treat to see the brothers doing this classic song together again. Max’s vocals still sound great after all these years too. This also set the pace for the rest of the night as well. “Killing Inside” is solid, but not too special. The mid-tempo groove allowed everyone to catch their breath a bit. “Thrasher” is also a solid song live too. Another gem came in the form of “Arise/Dead Embryonic Cells”. The old-school thrash anthem was awesome and the breakdown of DEC is one of the best ever with everybody on the floor moving, jumping and even skanking! “I Speak Hate” is one of the better CC songs to hear live. Max is more focused on being a front man at this point in his career than guitar work, but the axe work on the track crushes. Closing out with “Roots Bloody Roots” the entire place went ape shit as the band destroyed the stage practically. The ending groove of the track was amazing to hear and the band ended jamming a little bit of the “Troops of Doom” riff at the end of it all.
 Max and Igor: Reunited and it feels so good.
Set List:
Warlord
Inflikted
Sanctuary
Refuse/Resist
Killing Inside
Thrasher
Arise/Dead Embryonic Cells
I Speak Hate
Roots Bloody Roots
Now the preparations for MUSHROOMHEAD to take over the stage began. The now totally full venue buzzed to life by the end of the last set. I had not seen the band in many years, but I was pretty excited to see how they would do. As they set up the stage for the band the crowd rumbled in anticipation which disappointed me somewhat considering how luke-warm the crowd had been most of the night. Sometimes fans of a band can squash a good time for everyone else.
 Yes, that is Gary Busey playing the kettle drums with MUSHROOMHEAD.
Meanwhile the band hit the stage with a sense of theatrics and style as black lights the band imported washed over everything. They kicked things off with “Come On” and they crow ate up the bands antics of eight guys running around like crazy and their two percussionists St1tch and Lil Dan playing the light up water drums. Drummer and band leader Skinny played on giant drum kit resembling a car, complete with spinning rims. Newsflash: rims are passe unless you are Fred Durst and not metal at all. Both co-front men Jeffrey Nothing and Waylon traded vocals and complimented each others styles well. The band raged to their anthemic style of industrial metal and the crowd seemed to lap it up. Next track “BWOMP” added a little danceable beat to the proceedings. The performances were certainly fine even though the music was a little generic. Everyone in the band is certainly talented and each member of the band puts on a worthy show. Nothing is really charismatic in particular and is really compelling to watch. He has some fine singing chops and even raps well at times. Waylon has more of the screaming voice of the two. “12 Hundred” amounts to the bands hit song or one of them I suppose. Everybody in the place seemed to know the words and the band seemed to feed off of that energy as well. Other songs like “Sun Doesn’t Rise” have the band showing their song writing chops and their alt rock and metal influences. “Save Us” seemed to slow things down to a crawl, killing the momentum they built. “43” was at least more interesting since Gary and Jake Busey came out and played the water drums during the song. There were appearing at the convention and them showing up to jam was funny and cool. That was really the high point of the set for me. The group certainly played hard and well, but I found little of their music varied or heavy enough for my tastes save for “Simple Survival”, “Becoming Cold” or “Burn The Bridge” which ended the night. Even now I still can’t figure out their fans though. So die-hard they flipped off greats like Devin Townsend and then acting like a solid, long running band is the second coming of I don’t know what? I just don’t get it. I guess there really is no accounting for good taste.
 Jefferey Nothing is excellent. The rest of the band, not so much.
Set List:
Come On
BWOMP
12 Hundred
Sun Doesn’t Rise
Save Us/Embrace the Ending
43
Kill Tomorrow
Solitaire Unraveling
Harvest the Garden
Damage Done
Simple Survival
Erase the Doubt
Becoming Cold (216)
Never Let It Go
Burn the Bridge
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Atavist, bassist Johnny Chow, Camille Keaton, cavalera conspiracy, co-front men Jeffrey Nothing and Waylon, DCU Center, DESTROPHY, Devin Townsend, drummer Igor Cavalera, drummer Skinny, earth crisis, fickle fans, Freya, front man Max Cavalera, Gary Busey, Heavy Devy, high production values, horror convention, horror icons, industrial metal, Jake Busey, Keefy, Lance Henriksen, lead guitarist Mark Rizzo, metal concert, metal reviews by Keefy, Mushroomhead, Neutralize the Threat (Century Media), Otep, Otep Shamaya, percussionists St1tch and Lil Dan, political lyrics, Prog Metal, Robert Englund, ROCK AND SHOCK FESTIVAL, SEPULTURA classics, showman ship, straight edge, Strapping Young Lad, The Devin Townsend Project, the ocean, tough guy moshers, vocalist Karl Buechner, vocalist Loïc Rossetti and guitarist Robin Staps, water drums and black lights, William Forsythe, Worcester Palladium
Posted in Live Show Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Monday, August 29th, 2011
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY have been having a rough go of it lately. First and foremost, their new album has not been a success and the band has majorly dropped out of the eye sight of the typical metal head. They really needed to come forward with something spectacular on this tour to drive fans to go see them but the lineup they put together doesn’t seem to do that. Therefore, this fall you will be able to go see CAVALERA CONSPIRACY alongside OTEP, EARTH CRISIS and MOLD BREAKER – the last band being a hardcore/thrash band featuring Max Cavalera’s sons, Igor and Zyon Cavalera.
It seems to me that this tour really needed to have a heavy hitter on the bill, a band that really matters to make it seem like CAVALERA CONSPIRACY are still in huge demand. However, this lineup tells me that CC are just doing “ok”. I know he needs to get his kids’ band on the road too but that would be even more meaningful if there was some heavyweight band in the direct support slot instead of OTEP – she’s just not going to bring the right fans to the show that will stick around for CC or the openers. Also, on that note, has anyone heard MOLD BREAKER? I’m interested to see what people think of them…
Anyway, only a handful of dates have been announced just yet, primarily in October with one lone November date (Nov 2 @ Key Club in Hollywood). Stay tuned for more details and dates!
Tags: cavalera conspiracy, earth crisis, Igor Cavalera, Max Cavalera, Mold Breaker, Otep, Zyon Cavalera
Posted in The Bunker | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
BLACKGUARD is currently touring the USA with their label mates in OTEP. Supporting their recently released album Firefight (Victory), the band is once again slugging it out on the road and taking on all comers. Front man Paul Zinay is one of the most engaging and fun guys I have had the pleasure of talking to. As we hung out in front of Webster Hall in New York City he discussed a wide range of topics during our chat. After the interview was over he hung out another half hour with me and we just continued to talk about metal, life on the road and the fans. As you will read below he is anything, but shy and very frank at all times.
 Paul Zinay of BLACKGUARD MAA: How is the tour going and how has the reaction been to the new material from Firefight?
PZ: This tour has been going surprisingly really, really well. I didn’t think we were going to be as well received as we have been over the last couple of weeks since the tour started. Sure enough every show has felt great! The crowds have been great and really responded well to us. I don’t know how else to analyze it really. A lot of the people that are coming to these shows are OTEP fans and I don’t think they have been exposed to our genre of music so to speak. I really think we are giving them something new, even though we are not reinventing the wheel. Looking out in the crowd it is a little more of a mainstream audience and we are used to an underground audience and running in those underground circles. People are digging it. People are having a great time and are rocking out with us and treating us really well. They seem to love the newer material. And we played two old songs tonight; the older folk metal songs in the set list also went over well so it’s great. I couldn’t be happier!
MAA: How do you feel about the term pagan or folk metal and does it apply to BLACKGUARD?
PZ: I don’t like the Pagan tag at all, because we are not a pagan band. Straight up, we are not Pagan. As far as folk metal tag is concerned we have had elements of folk metal in our music. Since the beginning of the band until recently there is always been elements of folk in the music. At the same time there is a clear difference between ourselves and a band like ELUVEITIE. We are not that kind of folk metal, but we still had those elements in our music. You have to embrace that tag, because that is who we were rolling with if you play this music. Did I ever feel supper connected to that title? No, I never did. We touched on some folkier themes and lyrical fodder in our music, but it’s not the focus by any means for our band. That is why we started tagging ourselves as “Epic Metal”. We use it as an umbrella term. When you think of Epic as a name we can have all of those elements so we could have the folk influences, have the power metal influences, symphonic elements and still have the death metal elements too.
MAA: Who are some of some of your main influences as a vocalist?
PZ: That is like a two parter because there are guys that have influenced me vocally and others as a front man. Are we talking vocally or as a front man?
MAA: Both!
PZ: The singer that influenced me the most singing wise was Dan Weylandt of ZAO. ZAO is one of those bands I started listening to at a young age. His voice and vocal styling really connected to me and made me wanna sing in band. His singing voice is great, his screaming voice is great and his lyrics are fantastic. He is the reason why I sing. I don’t know why, but I started screaming so I could be like him. Also James Lee (formerly) of ORIGIN. The first time I heard him, he is a guy I always tried to mirror my death metal growls after him. And I felt so lucky to tour with him and that band a few years ago on Sumer Slaughter and I am fortunate enough to have stayed friends with him. We still talk on Facebook we call each other up sometimes and it meant the world to me to tour with a band like ORIGIN that influenced me so much. As far as being a front man standpoint my two biggest influences I’d have to say first would be Bruce Dickinson from IRON MAIDEN and second Brandon Schiappatti of BLEEDING THROUGH. Two guys that give it their all on stage and don’t hold back. They have such a flow to them and they are two of the most captivating guys ever in my eyes.
MAA: I have seen BLACKGUARD several times and it seems like you guys will play with anybody.
PZ: Damn right! (laughs)
MAA: I saw you open for DEICIDE last fall and make a lot of new fans in front of a potentially tough crowd. Why does the band appeal to fans of so many different styles?
PZ: I have no idea man! (laughs) Honestly, the only thing I can think of is kind of in a general sense I think people are very entertained by what we do as a band. We pride ourselves on putting on a very energetic stage show. That translates past genres. We’ve had people come up to us after shows and be like “hey man I don’t really like your music, but you put on a great show”. I’m not gonna get mad at that at all. Some guys are just not gonna like our style. If you are a pure death metal head and don’t like our style that is ok. I’m not going to be offended if you don’t like my band. Do I recognize that to have someone say that they don’t like us objectively, but they can still appreciate you and that you are a good band live, I will never complain about that. That is the perfect compliment from someone that might not like my music.
MAA: What are the next tour plans for the band the rest of the summer?
PZ: This tour runs until mid-July or July 14, somewhere around there. Then we have a month off. Before we head back out we’re gonna do the HVY MTL festival in Montreal. It’s gonna be huge, amazing and I can’t wait for it! We’re gonna share the stage with a lot of friends and acquaintances we’ve made the last couple of years. So I’m really excited. Easily the biggest show we’ve ever played. And it’s in our hometown! Even better. So I can show up, play the show, drink and get wasted, have fun and take a cab home and not worry too much. Then we are going on tour with KAMELOT, ALESTORM and THE AGONIST. For a nice North American run. I’m really looking forward to that tour. This is great because we haven’t done a folk metal audience in a while. ALESTORM is gonna draw huge on that tour. Their music is very high energy and goes well with us. And we’re finally getting a second chance to play with KAMELOT when Roy ducked out on the last tour we were supposed to support them on. We run well in power metal crowds too. So with those bands and the aggressive crowds for the THE AGONIST and their fans I think we’re gonna fit just perfectly. I’ve been a huge fan of KAMELOT for quite a few years. But not only that having Fabio Leone of RHAPSODY singing for them will be unbelievable. RHAPSODY is one of the bands that got me into metal period. They are the sound track to a lot of my high school days and that tour will be a real treat for me.
 "Epic Metal" on the rise....... MAA: What about Montreal makes it such a great city for metal of all kinds?
PZ: I’d like to say that Montreal started off as being a real hotbed for death metal. Some bands just set the bar, you know like GORGUTS AND CRYPTOPSY. With CRYPTOPSY, I love to go back and listen to their older records and compare them to all of the crap that is out there right now from technical death metal. Not to call it all crap, but it’s like if you listen to Whisper Supremacy, None So Vile and And Then You’ll Beg: that stuff is so far ahead of today. What they did then is still just as relevant now and better than a lot of stuff coming out. Man, I bet if you those guys would go in and re-cut those records note for note with a cleaner production it would still blow everyone away and put all those bands to shame. So there were a lot of bands that set the bar like GORGUTS with progressive death metal and CRYPTOPSY another technical progressive band and we all looked up to them. All these bands that came after had to look up to these bands. We felt we had to play as good as those guys. And I grew up in the scene with guys from bands like BENEATH THE MASSACRE, ION DISSONANCE and DESPISED ICON. And we all grew up looking up to and respecting those guys in the scene before us. We all loved CRYPTOPSY and huge fans. VOIVOD is another huge and influential band we all looked up to. KATAKLYSM is another band that really made waves. All of the forefathers of Montreal metal set the standard and we either were going to be that good or we weren’t going to cut it. We don’t play death metal, but just being surrounded by all that talent it has to influence you in some way.
(Speacial thanks to Paul Zinay, Victory Records and Return to the Pit)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: ALESTORM, beneath the massacre, blackguard, bleeding through, Brandon Schiappatti, bruce dickinson, cryptopsy, Dan Weylandt, Death Metal, deicide, Despised Icon, Eluveitie, Firefight, Folk metal, Gorguts, HVY MTL Festival, ion dissonance, IRON MAIDE, James Lee, Kamelot, kataklysm, Keefy, modern metal, Montreal metal scene, Origin, Otep, Pagan Metal, Paul Zinay, power metal, Prog Metal, rhapsody, singer Fabio Leone, Summer Slaughter Tour, Technical Death Metal, the agonist, victory records, vocal influences, voivod, ZAO, “epic metal”
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Artist, poet, author, actress and political activist; Otep Shamaya wears many hats in addition to being the front woman of her band OTEP and she is adding new roles all of the time. She changes guises naturally like snake shedding its skin and she slips comfortably in and out of every role. Out on the road supporting the recently released Atavist album she checked in with us for the interview, which was unlike any one we’d ever done before. Much like her performances, she attacked our questions with all authority and seriousness. Graciously, she touched on many topics from the songwriting process, album artwork, song meanings, activism and even her social media prowess.
MAA: You are out on the road supporting Atavist (Victory Records). Please tell us how the new record came together.
OS: Well the album sort of formed as a savage little atom inside my soul and burrowed its way deep. Then it flourished forth out of every pore of my body. It became this unyielding force that needed to be born. I wanted to go back a more personal, private, authentic, sort of not really political, a little bit personal, a little bit cultural, but more of an emotional album where the subconscious could take over and drive the record to its competition.
MAA: Do you write poetry and lyrics all the time and then fit it to the music or does sometimes a piece of music come up and inspire some concepts and phrasing as well?
OS: Yeah, it’s both. Whenever I am writing with people and I enjoy their contributions and if they are bringing in song ideas or riff ideas then I’ll add something I’ve written. I’m a prolific sort of scribble writer. I write all of the time. It’s called hypergraphia and I just write all the time. If something comes from that I might think that idea would go perfect with this thing I wrote. Sometimes I will try to give someone some intention, and idea or direction towards the song or sometimes they will hear something I’ve written and they will write something really remarkable around it. Sometimes we will just write something together. There is something about the creative process that I am really addicted to and really take so seriously. It’s not about what you can do it’s about leaving your ego at the door. It’s about allowing the songs to be born between the two of you or however many of people are in the room.
 Artist Joey James Hernandez and Otep created the Atavist album cover.
MAA: I found the Atavist artwork to be really distinctive and that it tells a story. Some friends of mine freaked out when they saw it. Can you tell me about the album artwork and what it sums up to you?
OS: I like the fact that people can make their own interpretation out of it. I use a lot of universal imagery inside our symbolism and so forth. I know what I wanted to do was have all of the different elements from the all the different albums I’ve written included in this cover. This album number five, 2 and 3 become 23 with numerology and things like that were fitting in to creating this piece. I also wanted it to touch beyond fences and back into the subconscious and into the umbra. Where true passion and our true selves exist beyond all of the piles and piles of life with cultural identities and costumes there we throw on each other. I hoped this artwork would trigger and ignite a very primal piece of the viewer.
 Poetess and provacateur....
MAA: Overall I found the sound of the record to be really heavy. However, the song “We Dream Like Lions” jumped out at me the first time I heard it. What is the meaning behind the song?
OS: “We Dream Like Lions” was initially written as a reaction to the death of Matthew Sheppard and to all of the bullying and suicides that have been going on in the Gay and Lesbian community. Then it occurred to me that there are so many other people who are bullied in this life other than people like me and for other reasons. People that are just different, they listen to different music, they think differently, act differently and just are different. So they are picked on and chosen, pointed out, exposed and exploited, pushed to the side, outcasts and cast aside. So I wanted to write a song for all of those people I wanted to tell that no matter what life throws at them, they need to continue to fight. Even though we are told that we might be ‘timid as sheep, that we dream like lions’.
MAA: You are well known for your passionate activism on a variety of issues. Why is it so important for you to speak out on these issues at a time when apathy and ignorance seem to be at an all time high?
OS: When I was a child I was smaller than most other children. I was born premature. So I was a small kid, but I was smarter than most of the bullies. I was smarter than all of the rich kids. They seemed to always get all of the privilege and all of the attention. So then I stopped respecting them at that level they wanted to be respected, or the level they were given respect at. I stopped respecting them at that level because I was better than them at a lot of things. Not many of them could draw. Not many of them could write. I could do all of that. Not many of them could fight, or fight as well as I could fight. I stopped respecting people who were bullies. I saw it happening every day. People who had more money or thought they were better looking, came from a better home, their parents had better jobs, raised in a better area and just thought they were better people. I stopped respecting them. Growing up I felt like I had to fight my own battles and I never felt like I had anyone to fight next to me. So I felt that if I got to a point in my life someday that I could be a voice for people that were like me. People who felt like they had no voice and who had nobody on their side, that they did have someone. They could find me online, they could find an OTEP record and they could listen and hear songs about themselves and feel inspired and feel empowered. They could feel like nobody out there could ever define their lives and they could go on to be better than they thought they ever could be.
 Loudmouth Radio debuted on July 4th.
MAA: What is Loud Mouth Radio and what is it going to be like for those who aren’t aware of it yet?
OS: Loud Mouth Radio is going to be a blog and talk radio show primarily focus on art and activism. I will be co-hosting with this wonderful insurgent, passionate woman named Dee who has experience in radio. I’m not sure if I can say her full name in case she will get in trouble with her current job, but already she works in radio. We’re not going to be holding back or pulling any punches. We are not going to be hippy-dippy liberals. We’re going to be Loudmouth liberals as liberals are; fight the good fight and take it to `em. For too long the airwaves have been conquered by conservative cronies and these folks who want to divide our country and suppress individualism. We’re no longer going to allow that. So Loud Mouth Radio is going to be for anybody who feels the same way we do and it will be a platform to listen and be a part of it.
MAA: I think that platform will be really key, because we are seeing a real groundswell of action and activism with a lot of internet radio and podcasting sites. For instance like what Kevin Smith has done, changing his career from film directing to podcasting.
OS: Yeah I’ve been following that. I think it’s really cool. Right on!
MAA: Lastly, you seem to be really great at energizing your fan base through social media channels. What is your secret to being so adept at it?
OS: It comes very naturally to me. I try to connect with people. I do it online seemingly better than I do it in person sometimes. I really don’t know. People are drawn to the message. People are drawn to a sense of community and a sense of safety they have with us. We are exclusively inclusive. We don’t exclude anybody. We try to support, endorse, incite people and inspire people to follow their own dreams and to find the artist within them. That’s what draws people to us. With social media, I’ve been doing since it started with all the different social media sites. I feel like they finally caught up to me with what I have been trying to do since I first started the band. We’re on Twitter and Facebook, Tumblr and Foursquare. We’re on it all.
(Thanks to Otep Shamaya and Victory Records)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: @oteptribe, activism, actress and political activist, album artwork, Artist, Atavist, author, bullying, Gay and Lesbian community, internet radio, Keefy, Loud Mouth Radio, lyrics, numerology, Otep, Otep Shamaya, podcasting, poet, poetry, social media, song meanings, songwriting, suicides, universal symbolism, victory records, “We Dream Like Lions”. Matthew Sheppard
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Thursday, June 30th, 2011
On a warm night in June the rock and metal was brought to New York City in the form of “The Doomsday Tour” featuring OTEP and other bands on Victory Records. Having just released the exceptional Atavist album a few months back, the band has hit the road filling up clubs and venues with their special brand of madness. The tour is on the Spartan side when it comes to the size of these venues. Nonetheless, the The Studio at Webster Hall was packed to the gills with fanatics ready to let loose with all of the emotional liberation Otep Shamaya usually brings to the proceedings. The basement club underneath the legendary dance hall had the right atmosphere for the mayhem that has about unfold. I must point out that the men’s room is one of the creepier places I’ve been to in many years. I was totally convinced I was gonna end up dead in a bathtub, missing a kidney after I relived myself. Any case, as always New York City represented as they always do and on a week night too no less. This is important to note for this especially diverse collection of acts. A group of bands unified more by rebel spirit and collective mindset with a mission to kill eardrums and put on an awesome show.
Opening the show early was art-rock curiosity ONE EYED DOLL. The two-person group comprised of Kimberly Freeman and “Junior” Sewell trip the light fantastic musically from punk cabaret to high theater to metal. Their manic performance was exciting for an opening act with Freeman especially calling to mind a young JOAN JETT, a delicate AMANDA PALMER or a harder edged KIM GORDON. I suspect they will mint many new fans along the way if they keep this up. Next came the Sunset Strip by way of Sweden rock n roll extravaganza that is SISTER SIN. They may be from the land of black and death metal but these three guys and a gal have a heart full of whiskey, leopard print and sleaze. With a dynamic performance and music that calls to mind all of the greats of `80’s glam rock, front woman Liv Jagrell is a powerhouse singer and performer. Whipping the crowd into a frenzy with rock anthems like “Outrage” and “The Sound of The Underground”, they definitely made their presence felt. They even had an uber fan in the house in the person of former WWE superstar Mick Foley who is obsessed with them. If you haven’t yet picked up their albums or seen them in person I’d say you’re missing out.
 SISTER SIN updates the glam rock experience for modern fans. Also appearing in opening slots were DESTROPHY and BLACKGUARD. DESTROPHY played a tight set of active rock anthems mostly culled from their recent release Cry Havoc. Led by lead singer/guitarist Ari Mahloupolus the band plays tight, high energy songs with crushing grooves and soaring chorus parts. Lead Guitarist Erik Tisinger was a standout player on most of the songs. The top songs aside from the opener were “Reconnect” and “March of the Dreamless”. Meanwhile BLACKGUARD seemed like the real wildcard on the bill. They have never failed to impress me live, but I wondered how they would go over on this bill when they certainly have their own thing going. Well neither the band nor the faithful crowd let me down because as soon as the music started to play, everything went crazy. I didn’t think such a tiny club could get such a big mosh pit going, but they did. Playing what they call “epic metal”, they were just killer, especially energetic front man Paul Zinay who kept things rolling along. They kicked so much ass you would have thought they were the headliner. Even though they had many of their own fans in the house they won over an entire new batch on this night with songs mostly from their new album Firefight (Victory). Songs like the title track, “Farewell” and “The Fear of All Flesh” were excellent with lead guitarist Kim Gosselin and drummer Justine Ethier deserving a special mention for their sweet skills.
 "Don't be silent......." Finally it was time for OTEP to hit the stage. The anticipation in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Members of DESTROPHY were setting up the gear and tuning up for quite a while before I realized they would be the de facto backing band tonight. I had hoped some of the stellar personnel from the Atavist sessions would have made it out on the road for the tour, but alas not. Still I was excited to see what these guys could do and I was already admiring their temerity for playing two gigs and teching for themselves too. As the intro music of “Carmina Burana” by CARL ORFF (often used as “Devil music”) filled the P.A. the crowd of lions let out a roar as their heroine hit the stage, bounding up to her platform and microphone stand. As she cooed the line “Hush little baby…don’t make a sound” that opens up the raucous “Eet the Children” you could feel a pulse of energy go through the crowd. It was the first of many surprises on the night. An OTEP show is as much an exercise in the artistry of theatrics as it is a rock show. Singer, witchdoctor, poetess Otep herself is the spiritual ringleader and exorcist for the evening. Following in close succession was the angry rocker “Confrontation” and the witchy “Crooked Spoons”. Both cuts feature Otep at her most wicked, alternately screaming with lusty abandon and extreme prowess. Much like on the new album, she seems to have stepped up her vocal game even more than before, mastering her bellowing death growls and singing in her melodic voice stronger than ever. As for the band they did a capable job of backing her up, especially Ari from DESTROPHY on guitars and backing vocals.
 Otep's shirt says "Jesus Saves. I Spend." After a brief interlude it was time for the usual mid-show out of body experience that is “My Confession”. As one of the center piece of their first album Sevas Tra, the alternating haunting quiet mantra of survival versus violent eruption of perseverance is really moving. Once again in between each song is a pastiche where the band explores space and Otep “has spiritual intercourse” with the crowd. These short steps in between the tracks bloom into fully realized ideas and are often as powerful as the songs themselves in some cases. Next up was “Battle Ready” which never fails to be a perfect mosh pit anthem, especially with the drawn out ending groove. Otep does so little rapping these days you sometimes forget how good she on the older material, somewhat like Chino Moreno of THE DEFTONES. Following that up with their spirited cover of NIRVANA’s “Breed”, the song is now permanent fixture in the set list due to its popularity with the fans. “Breed” had been the closer for some time so it was nice to hear it somewhere else in the set tonight. The single from their new record was the next cut heard in “Fists Fall”. It is easily one of the most brutal and unrelenting tracks the band has ever produced. I was a little surprised more of the new record wasn’t represented tonight since the songs are so strong. “Smash the Control Machine”, with its title borrowed from beat poetry godfather (and hero of mine) WILLIAM BURROUGHS is as fine a rebel anthem as any band has produced since the heyday of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Otep’s lyrical vitriol matches her activist passions so seamlessly that it just makes sense that she is opening the eyes and minds of her fans to greater social possibilities. Wrapping up the night was the original nightmare become real in “Tortured” and the bruising stomper “Blood Pigs”. The hunger of the fans was sated and the goddess of words left the scene pausing only to give thanks and respect. That was all she had left to give anyway since she left everything else on that stage.
Set List:
Eet the Children
Confrontation
Crooked Spoons
Wurd Becomes Flesh
My Confession
Battle Ready
Breed
Fists Fall
Smash the Control Machine
Tortured
Blood Pigs
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 80s metal, active rock, AMANDA PALMER, anthemic songs, art rock, Atavist, beat poetry, blackguard, CARL ORFF, Chino Moreno, Cry Havoc, DESTROPHY, drummer Justine Ethier, Firefight, JOAN JETT, Keefy, KIM GORDON, Kimberly Freeman, lead Guitarist Erik Tisinger, lead guitarist Kim Gosselin, Led by lead singer/guitarist Ari Mahloupolus, metal, Mick Foley, Nirvana, ONE EYED DOLL, Otep, Otep Shamaya, punk cabaret, RAGE AGAINAST THE MACHINE, singer Liv Jagrell, sister sin, sleazy glam rock, THE DEFTONES, victory records, vocalist Paul Zinay, Webster Hall, WILLIAM BURROUGHS, WWE, “Carmina Burana”, “Devil music”, “epic metal”, “Junior” Sewell
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Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Declamation (Self-Released)
Yet another Boston-area band that has been knocking my ears on their ass of late is MONGREL. With the release of their new EP Declamation, they are sure to garner even more attention. Playing a mix of hardcore punk and metal, they are loud, brash and surprisingly more tuneful than ever. The new album is a step away from straight ahead metal and a little more steeped in heavy rock and punk. Still, the songwriting is strong and often that is what delivers a band to higher and hallowed ground.
The opening track “Start The Riot” starts with Jessica Sierra’s authoritative vocals and a heavy blitz of punk riffs. Her delivery is both snarling and passionate at the same time which I like. Like most of their songs, this one is lean on length with the band preferring to make a bold statement and not butcher good parts with over playing. A lot of modern bands could take a lesson here. Second track “Amerikkan Way” follows suit with a good old-fashioned ferocious delivery and hyper-political lyrics. Third cut “All Coming Down” displays more Sierra’s vocal skills and guitarist Adam Savage’s razor wire rhythm playing. Next up is a cool cover of later-era THE MISFITS tune “Dig Up Her Bones”. While covers from such a popular band are everywhere, I do like the choice of an underrated song to interpret. Once again Sierra’s sensual mid-range is on display and they do a fine job here. Saving the best for last is “Fucked It All Away”. A slamming aggro track akin to their previous work, this band is one which can walk in several worlds stylistically and pull it off. Kudos to drummer Dave Kazukiewicz for his hard driving beats here. Not too mention I highly doubt I will get the haunting refrain of “I had it all and I fucked it all away” out of my head any time soon.
MONGREL has always been known locally for putting on great shows and opening for diverse acts like GWAR, KORN, PRONG, THE EXPLOITED, ALL THAT REMAINS, OTEP, MICHALE GRAVES and MUSHROOMHEAD. They are heading out on a short tour of the North East in mid-May to promote the EP which you can get here.
GRADE: B
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: All That Remains, Boston scene, Declamation EP, drummer Dave Kazukiewicz, guitarist Adam Savage, gwar, Keefy, korn, late-era MISFITS cover, metal, MICHALE GRAVES, Mongrel, Mushroomhead, Otep, Prong, punk, singer Jessica Sierra, The Exploited
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Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Atavist (Victory Records)
For record number five in their career Los Angeles art-metal group OTEP has returned with a furious slab of modern metal that will be a delight to their devotees and smack in the mouth to any haters. Encompassing every key element that has made them successful, Atavist is the bands’ finest hour. The title itself, which means the recurrence of past behaviors or traits present in past generations and is open to several interpretations here. The album is certainly a throwback to the musical ferocity of the early years of the band, while breaking some new ground in areas they had yet to touch. It is an uncompromising record for a group that has had modest success (like when their song “Head” was featured in an episode of HBO’s True Blood last year), but perhaps the massive breakthrough still eludes them. If bigger acclaim is their mission, you can’t tell that by the music they make. Led by author, poet and activist Otep Shamaya, they won’t conform for anybody.
After the opening sound-scape of “Atavist Animus” the savage riffs and beats of “Atom to Atom” will just pummel your ear drums. Possibly one of the best songs on any album this year, the scathing attack on the church sex-abuse scandal and cover-up is chilling. Otep Shamaya’s guttural voice has reached yet another new level and matches the intellectual lyrical brilliance she is known for. She screams and sings considerably more on this record and raps less than past efforts. “Drunk on the Blood of Saints” is another uptempo track that will have the pit ninjas going off. The album is really strong musically, especially considering the loss of long-time bassist and collaborator Evil J McGuire. Coming in is a vaunted group of musicians like drummer Gil Sharone (STOLEN BABIES/ DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN/FISHBONE/PUSCIFER), his twin brother Rani (STOLEN BABIES/PUSCIFER) on guitar and bass, session guitarist Markus Estrada and bassist Tony Campos (STATIC-X/PRONG/MINISTRY/ASENSINO) who all brought their A-game to the writing and recording process. The entire album is full of punishing grooves, blast beats, fluid bass licks, breakdowns and crazy metallic riffage (as in hints of black metal shredding) that in some cases the band has never had before.
Atavist is not one-dimensional at all, which is maybe the best thing about it. The heavy songs are impressive, but there are a lot of little detours for the ear and mind that take you cool places. Volcanic, emotional cuts like “Remember to Forget”, “Skin of the Master”, “I Stand Alone” and the new single “Fists Fall” all have the requisite crunch that modern heads demand. “We Dream Like Lions” slow things down to a folksy tone poem that would make JONI MITCHELL or JOAN BAEZ proud. The harrowing serial-murder, fantasy poem of “Baby’s Breath” or the trippy “Bible Belt” change things up as interesting interludes that add to the listening experience. Few bands can really put together complete albums anymore, but this one bucks the trend in spades. The album closes out with a fittingly appropriate cover of THE DOORS’ “Not To Touch The Earth” which honors the original, yet is updated and heavy too. I think “the Lizard King” would have been tickled pink by this version.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: art-metal, ASENSINO, Atavist, dillinger escape plan, drummer Gil Sharone, Evil J McGuire, FISHBONE, guitarist and bassist Rani Sharone, guitarist Markus Estrada, intellectual lyrical brilliance, JOAN BAEZ, JONI MITCHELL, Keefy, Ministry, Otep, Otep Shamaya, poetry, Prong, PUSCIFER, social activism, Static-X, STOLEN BABIES, THE DOORS, Tony Campos, true blood, victory records
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