Otep Shamaya is the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Otep. The group has just released a live CD titled “Sounds Like Armageddon” and has an album of new material set for release in the coming year. Media Mikes had a chance recently to ask Otep a few questions about the groups new live CD.
Adam Lawton: What made you decide to release a live album?
Otep Shamaya: I started this band to summon my soul into existence through the power of live performance. This album brings the raw, organic intensity of our live shows to a private performance inside the intimate universe of your mind.
AL: Was there any nervousness knowing that you would not only be performing but also recording?
OS: No, we prepare diligently for our live shows. People are always recording them in some fashion, smart phones, etc so we are accustomed to it in some way. But the truth is we give everything we have to every show, no matter where it is, how many people show up, or how we feel on that night. Every show counts. Play it like it’s your last.
AL: What made you start covering the Nirvana song “Breed” during your sets?
OS: Nirvana is one of my biggest influences. We were asked to cover a song on The Ascension, I chose BREED because I thought it was the one Nirvana song (at the time) that we could honor and do tribute to without veering too far from our sound or theirs. It is now one of the staples of our live shows and fans go insane when they hear it.
AL: Can you tell us about your upcoming studio album?
OS: It’s a concept album based on a graphic novel I’ve been writing for two years. The book is about a girl corrupted by the world, corrugated by evil, ripped away from the golden, molten elixir of creativity, and abandoned on the placid, jagged rocks of a cruel and barbaric island where the rats poison themselves. This is a story of her personal revenge and righteousness. Her rise from the smoldering ash as a bruise that never heals transmuting, to the infinite, still-born messiah, a vigilante serial assassin, codename: HYDRA.
AL: Will there be plans to tour in support of the new album?
OS: Of course.