Otep - KULT 45 [Review]

When writer and musician Otep Shamaya released her seventh studio album Generation Doom (which I reviewed here) in April of 2016, I was immediately floored by how vehemently brilliant that it was and is. It is my favorite Otep album thus far and is even one of my favorite albums of all time by any artist. It is colorfully lush and beautiful and emotional and deals with personal topics to which I, at the time, strongly related, topics such as love (“No Color”), betrayal (“Lie”), moving on (“On the Shore”) and social oppression (“Equal Rights, Equal Lefts”). I therefore knew that once Otep followed Generation Doom with an eighth album, she would probably have a difficult time topping it, but I had hopes that it would still be a great album, especially since, once we saw the results of the November 2016 presidential election, I assumed that it would be filled to the brim with songs that spoke up against Donald Trump (which it is) but in a new and fun way. (The playful “To the Gallows” - which I reviewed here - is the closest that the album gets to what I had envisioned.) I unfortunately find myself rather disappointed by the album overall, however, which is especially unfortunate considering how much, as I already mentioned, that I love its predecessor, but Otep's eighth album, titled KULT 45, leaves a lot to be desired, and I am not the only fan whom I have seen say this, either; a friend of mine who might love Otep even more than I do (which is saying a lot because she is definitely one of my favorite artists) went to the extent of calling it “one of the most tragic things to ever happen to music” and an “atrocity.” While I certainly would not go that far (especially since there are several songs that I do actually really like), I would at least say that it is my least favorite Otep album thus far.

KULT 45 (the title a reference to Donald Trump being the forty-fifth president of the United States) opens with “Hail to the Thief,” but the track is really more of an intro to the album than it is a song, so “Halt Right” is really the album's first song. The song is the first of many that takes a stab at Donald Trump and his followers, and while I do agree with a majority of the album's content, hearing it repeated in nearly every single song becomes tiresome by about halfway through the album. This one is a standard nu-metal track with Otep rapping on the verses, and as I said, while I do agree with most of the lyrical content of the album, I do not agree with what seems to me to be encouraged on this track, such as when she provides this anecdote: “Confederate flags thrown at half-mast 'cause you called me a fag, and I snapped his neck back with a fist, right-hook; that's all that it took.” One of the major problems that I have always had with Donald Trump is his heinous tendency to encourage and incite violence, something that he did especially frequently during his campaign process, and I don't appreciate the fact that Otep is essentially doing the same here (if I am interpreting the song's lyrics properly). Violence does not solve problems; it merely begets itself, and while this is hardly the first song in which Otep has encouraged listeners to fight (her song “Confrontation” commands listeners to “strike back,” for example), past examples have usually been in reference to voting, protesting, and making sure that your voice is heard, not actual physically fighting. This song, however, seems to be encouraging physical violence, and I wholeheartedly disagree with such a message.

“Molotov” is KULT 45's third track; it features a catchy chorus and chugging guitar and lyrically addresses white supremacists who have been emboldened by Trump's election. I find this song to be much more agreeable than “Halt Right” and definitely prefer it, but I would still consider it one of Otep's weakest songs of her career thus far. It is very direct, not poetic like Otep's writing usually is, and it consequently feels rather uninspired, as does much of the album. “Said the Snake” is a highlight, as it tonally returns to roots found on the likes of albums such as the debut Sevas Tra. “Said the Snake” also offers Shamaya's signature poetic style: “The dead have names like biblical verses,” she purrs at the beginning of the song, “Matthew 19, Mark 21, John 33.” Another example is found in the song's chorus: “'Let me kiss it; I can fix it,' said the snake,” which seems to be in reference to rulers such as Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump promising to help make a country great when, in reality, they cannot be trusted. The fifth track, titled “Undefeated,” is another one of my favorite songs on the album, primarily because of the powerful chanting near the end of the song - “This is what democracy looks like!” The song is comprised mostly of Otep rapping over a guitar hook, and while I love the hook, most of the rapping is, once again, somewhat uninspired: “We got militarized cops,” she raps in slam poetry style, “murderin' unarmed black kids at traffic stops. They're lettin' white kids off after rapin' a girl behind a dumpster...” Shamaya is entirely just in calling attention to this outrage, especially since she is referring to specific cases such as Brock Turner's trial and sentence, but the words are very direct whereas she normally has more of an art of subtlety. It is still, as I said, one of my favorite songs on the album, however.

The first five tracks on the album, for the most part, offer an idea of what to expect from the rest of the album. Other highlights include the heavy (in more ways than one) response to rampant gun violence “Shelter in Place” (which I reviewed here), the playful and self-referential “Boss” (which features the clever line “I'm not a boss bitch; I'm just a boss, bitch”), “To the Gallows” (which should have been placed closer to the front of the album), “Be Brave” (a beautiful piano ballad that more than likely intentionally calls melodic attention to the fan beloved Otep song “Perfectly Flawed” and which should have closed the album), “Feral Oracle” (spoken over eerie ambience; it is sensual and erotic and, like “Be Brave,” unique), and “The Tribe Speaks” (which runs at nearly thirty-two minutes long, meaning that it's probably not on the album's physical release, and is a collection of vocal messages sent in by fans – I did not participate because I unfortunately had not been aware of it). I, as I said, would most definitely not call this album an atrocity, but it is rather disappointing. My favorite songs are “Said the Snake,” “Undefeated,” and “Be Brave,” and I do believe that some parts of the album showcase the artistic talent of which I know Shamaya is capable, but the album overall feels (I hate to keep using this word but can't think of a better one) uninspired. I remember how after Generation Doom was released, a lot of fans were tweeting Otep and telling her how they had hoped that the eighth album would be heavier and more hardcore, and I think that she might have taken that to heart because it definitely is, and while I have absolutely no problem with Otep's heavy songs (songs such as “T.R.I.C.,” “Rise, Rebel, Resist,” "Confrontation," “Sacrilege,” “Crooked Spoons,” etc. are some of my favorite Otep songs), KULT 45 feels far too heavy-handed with not enough tonal variety.