By Jillian Locke

For such a rugged band, their inception is almost fairy-tale like. There was no struggle, no starving musician period. Front-woman Otep Shamaya simply decided she wanted to put a band together. So she did. They played the hell out of the Sunset Strip for four months, and poof ~ Capitol Records took them on board. Now, in 2007, OTEP has released their album ‘The Ascension,’ a self-proclaimed effort to jump-back and reconnect with the spirit and raw-passion of their first two albums, 2001’s ‘Jihad’ and 2002’s ‘Sevas Tras.’ OTEP will be joining Hell Yeah and Blood Simple at the Palladium December 7th, bringing all the ferocity and vicious, cut-throat spewing that has earned them so much adoration and respect amongst their metal minions. Shamaya took some time out to share her thoughts about the writing process, work ethic of the band, and her take on feminism in today’s society.

How did you end up on tour with Hell Yeah and Blood Simple?

The agent for Hell Yeah did a contest, asking fans whom they would like to see on the Hell Yeah tour. They voted for us.

Do you feel a lot of pressure, being a powerful female presence in such a boys’ club?

I don’t really feel any pressure. I like destroying impressions of what people think women should do. I like to destroy the paradigm. We’ve all been subservient. When you feel you don’t need to be submissive, some people find it disturbing, and some find it inspiring. You need to follow your dreams, and not be held back by rigid, archaic stereotypes.

You’ve said that for this album, you wanted to recapture the energy of your first two albums. How did you do that?

It was a breakthrough. I was going back and revisiting all the muses that inspired the first two records to rediscover their messages. It gave me a new perspective, revisiting the old writing. We turned off our expectations and decided to not let anyone’s judgment or opinion ~ not the media, or a genre, or a label ~ affect us. We want to write songs that mean something, move us. I want to look back at my body of work and say I’m proud of this work. By doing that, you rediscover the fire and unravel the artist you believe you are. Fans respect that kind of honesty and dedication. Some bands sit around and drink beer and record a few notes. We worked hard, ever day. We sat down and wrote and worked and studied and poured ourselves into this. It’s a new discovery, a new element.

I watched the “Ghostflowers” video and was surprised at the new image you’ve taken. It’s almost diva-esque. How did you come embrace that look for this video?

I had recently involved myself in existentialism and where that would exist in pop-culture now. I worked with Alexander McQueen, a radical designer. He creates really bizarre fashion and has magnificent shows. With “Ghostflowers,” we were exploring surrealism and the work of Salvador Dali. I think it’s funny you used the word “diva” to describe it, because I don’t see it that way at all. I’ve always had different and evolving looks since the beginning, but people just haven’t been paying attention, and that’s their mistake. I have fun with paradigms with what is pretty and what is allowed to look feminine. Amazing how many people found it to be intriguing.

How has the response been for ‘The Ascension?’

We’ve had a phenomenal response from fans-something I’ve never seen before. We’re just really proud of it.

And now for my last and most important question – at what age did you find your scream?

Ahhh, haha. I really don’t know. I always had a deep tone of voice. When I was four years old, in kindergarten, they asked me to play the Big Bad Wolf in the school play because of my voice. It’s unique, and I’m proud of my ability. It is hard to maintain; you have to take care of it like an instrument, tune the chords. You have to clean and take care of your instrument. I have a lot of vocal techniques, warm-ups and cool-downs, and I drink a lot of tea. I reached out to an amazing vocal coach who helps me maintain my vocal chords. You learn the proper mechanics, which muscles to tighten and release. One of the techniques I was taught was to try not to be as emotional on stage, which was really hard for me. But, there is a definite benefit to not exploding through my mouth.

With new tracks like “Special Pets” and a very OTEP-ized version of Nirvana’s “Breed,” ‘The Ascension’ has certainly invoked the dark, almost supernatural element that OTEP has always been expanding on, morphing, and eventually re-exorcising with their latest serving of musical debauchery, a dish best served raw, in true OTEP fashion.