Otep - Smash The Control Machine Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 09.26.2009

Otep returns with Smash The Control Machine, another album full of rebellious tunes and a deep-seeded hatred for the government and society. Can Otep remain relevant after a decade or has their sound become tired and stale?

The Band

Otep Shamaya- Vocals
Rob Patterson- Guitar
“Evil” J. McGuire- Bass
Mark “Moke” Bistany- Drums


The Track Listing

1. Rise Rebel Resist- 3:59
2. Sweet Tooth- 4:21
3. Smash The Control Machine- 3:44
4. Head- 5:11
5. Numb & Dumb- 4:26
6. Oh, So Surreal- 4:21
7. Run For Cover- 3:35
8. Kisses & Kerosene- 4:12
9. Unveiled- 3:28
10. Ur A Wmn Now- 4:19
11. Serv Asat- 2:30
12. Where The River Ends- 11:57
13. I Remember (Bonus Track)- 8:34





The Review

In the late 90s, nu-metal exploded onto the musical scene, sweeping radio airwaves and MTV (back when they occasionally played a video or two). While there were household names like Korn and Limp Bizkit, other lesser-known bands like Orgy and Coal Chamber looked to obtain a piece of the commercial pie that everybody was trying to shovel down their throats. When nu-metal died out a few years into the new millennium, only a few bands rose above the ashes to continue waving the nu-metal flag. Most changed their sound to a hard rock/heavy metal hybrid, dropping the rapped vocals and sampling to fit in with the ever-changing times.

Over the years, Otep have stuck to their guns. The band seems to be stuck in a time warp, as if 1999 never went away. Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, Otep has been able to maintain a consistent fan base that has kept the band relevant. Led by the outspoken and boisterous front woman Otep Shamaya, the band just recently dropped their fourth album, Smash The Control Machine. With guitarist Rob Patterson and drummer Mark “Moke” Bistany returning to the fold, Smash The Control Machine is the first studio album with this line-up since the band's 2002 debut Sevas Tra.

So what can people expect from Otep’s latest offering? Well, pretty much everything that is good and bad about nu-metal, with a few surprises along the way. The rapped vocals are in full force, the soft verses/harsh chorus structure is beaten into the ground, and the disturbing/rebellious lyrics mixed with random bursts of obscenities are present and accounted for. At times, the album can be cringe-worthy in how dated it sounds, but Smash The Control Machine isn’t a total bust.

Like 95% of modern albums, Smash The Control Machine starts off strong before tapering off. However, in a nice twist, the album picks up steam near the end. The journey to that point is one that has to be traversed with caution, as there are many bumps in the road that can instantly turn a listener off. Shamaya has a tendency to over-use the spoken word vocal style, which turns songs like “Kisses & Kerosene” and bonus track “I Remember” into rambling self-tirades that seem more suited for a poetry slam than a studio album.

The album works best when it deviates away from the standard formula. The title track is one of the most memorable tracks on the album, with an infectious chorus and relentless pace keeping the listener on their toes. “Rise Rebel Resist” and “Serv Asat” are aggressive and a pummeling display of power that has Shamaya bring out the harsh growls that aren’t used nearly enough. The biggest eye-raiser is the piano/violin ballad “Ur A Wmn Now,” which is a 360 degree turn from the rest of the album and seems way out of place amongst all the hatred and decay. Shamaya exposes herself with a soothing vocal performance, turning what could have been a bland slow number into a brief display of brilliance.

While “Head” and “Run From Cover” do an adequate job of following a predictable formula, the majority of the material sounds way behind the times. Smash The Control Machine begins to get monotonous near the middle, with only a few twists mentioned above. The biggest culprit is the epic closer “Where The River Ends,” which starts out with a strong Middle-Eastern guitar melody before descending into six minutes of spoken word dribble that doesn’t go anyway. A fast-paced conclusion is too little-too late at that point, and ends the album on a low note.

Smash The Control Machine is another run-of-the-mill nu-metal album that had the potential to break out and try something different. Listening to the album multiple times only reaffirms that belief. Otep has always been the band that has stayed out of the mainstream, satisfied with maintaining a loyal audience and not really attempting to out-right change their sound to further commercialize themselves. For that, some level of appreciation has to be given, but that doesn’t change the fact that Smash The Control Machine is about as generic as an album can get, no matter how hard the band tries to change things up.

The 411: Smash The Control Machine is a generic nu-metal album that would have been below average if not for the haunting and beautiful ballad "Ur A Wmn Now" and a few scorching numbers. The lyrics are poetic in nature, but spoken word passages overwhelm a majority of the album. It's nice to have the whole band back together again, though Smash The Control Machine is a pale shadow of Sevas Tra.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]