OTEP is an American Alternative band lead by the singer Otep Shamaya. After an eleven plus years of carrier, they delivered "Atavist", their Fifth full length album. The album served in the same line as the older albums under a mixture of Hardcore and Nu-Metal with the very special vocal style of Otep that made every song to sound fresh and energetically driven.

The album is a kick in the nuts straight from the second "Atom To Adam" after the intro "Atavist Animus. The song is a groove driven one that showed perfectly the different vocal styles of Otep. Before going on, I must point out that that the distorted vocal sounds really bad, it sounded as if she was singing through a cheap guitar amp. It is a shame because the overall work on album truly sounded good. From my end, the distorted vocals ruined the feel and vibe a little for me.

The aggressive "Blood of Saints" was definitely my favorite tune! Otep was plain amazing on that one. The rhythm work was awesome, interesting and pretty fun. Another tune that was worth mentioning is THE DOORS cover track of "Not To Touch The Earth" that gave the opportunity to listen to a very fresh version of that vintage piece. In several parts Otep really sounded as if she was Jim Morrison.

The album's lesser side didn't just end with the distorted vocals that I mentioned earlier, there were other stuff. I must say that after listening to a couple of songs in a row I got tired and slightly choked as if there was not even a second to breathe. Otep seemed to scream all around as the music around her turned even more intense. When she did sang in a cleaner voice and showed her vocal squeals it was just for a few seconds and then, back to the messy stuff. I must add that Ulrich Wild did a mixed production, which went both ways, because the way I saw it, the album sounded pretty good and the songs are good. However, as a single piece it was really hard,  at least for me, to listen to the whole album in a row. That factor, along with the some of the material, tanked the entire thing into a mediocre level. I believe the album could have been better with a little pause here and there.

Overall, if you're a fan, go get it because you will like it. If you're into intense modern Metal, it can also be your cup of tea. If you're more into the melodic side of music, don't even bother.