The Ascension (Otep album)

The Ascension (stylized as the_Ascension) is the third studio album by Otep. The original release date was set for March 20, 2007 through Capitol Records, however, the album was delayed indefinitely due to the merger with Virgin Records.[1][2][3]

The Ascension
Studio album by
Otep
ReleasedOctober 30, 2007
Recorded2006
StudioPiety Street Studios, New Orleans, and Balance Studios, Mandeville, Louisiana
GenreNu metal, alternative metal
Length60:25
70:44 (Bonus Tracks)
LabelKoch
ProducerDave Fortman
Otep chronology
Wurd Becomes Flesh
(2005)		 The Ascension
(2007)		 Smash the Control Machine
(2009)
Singles from The Ascension
  1. "Ghostflowers"
    Released: November 2006
  2. "March of the Martyrs"
    Released: May 2007
  3. "Breed"
    Released: October 30, 2007
  4. "Perfectly Flawed"
    Released: March 18, 2008

The album debuted at number 81 on the Billboard 200 with 10,200 copies sold.[4]

Recording

The album was partly recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana, where producer Dave Fortman was living. New Orleans, especially the 9th Ward was still affected by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Otep said the area and while the songs were not influenced by the area, the mood of the album was.

Several songs were written with Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett, who Fortman had worked with in the past.[5]

Songs

Confrontation

Otep explained the song to KNAC.com:

"It was about writing a protest anthem to stand up, speak out and strike back. To celebrate the unique opportunity that we have here in America. You can do anything to have your voice be heard in this country, that’s the beauty of this country. There’s no one stopping anyone in America from getting out on the street and saying something or writing a letter or e-mailing and text messaging now that everything is now, now, now."

Otep compared the song to "Warhead" from House Of Secrets.[6]

Breed

"Breed" is a cover of Nirvana, from their album Nevermind. It is Otep's first cover song. "We'd never done a cover song before but I just love the song. I listen to music before we play on tour and that song just kind of grabbed me. I couldn't get enough of it. I'd listen to it 60, 70 times, just over and over in the back of the bus before the show,” she explained to Campus Circle. “For me, it's just this amazing song that touched me in a certain way that made me miss Nirvana a lot and Kurt Cobain's touch on musical culture and his philosophy on music and art. I just wanted to do something to inspire and to, in a way, connect our energies.”[7]

Reception

The Ascension received mixed reviews from critics.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Gauntlet[9]
Metal Storm[10]
Sputnikmusic[11]
Type 3 Media[12]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Otep Shamaya; all music is composed by Shamaya, Karma Singh Cheema, "Evil" J. McGuire, and Brian Wolf, except where noted

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Eet the Children" 3:47
2."Crooked Spoons"Shamaya, G. Tribbett4:19
3."Perfectly Flawed"Shamaya, Holly Knight3:48
4."Confrontation"Shamaya, G. Tribbett3:13
5."Milk of Regret" 6:00
6."Noose & Nail" 3:40
7."Ghostflowers" 4:23
8."Breed" (Nirvana Cover)Kurt Cobain3:27
9."March of the Martyrs" 4:16
10."Invisible"Shamaya, G. Tribbett5:24
11."Home Grown" 4:20
12."Communion" 4:26
13."Adrenochrome Dreams" (Hidden track, music starts at 3:33)Shamaya9:55
Japanese bonus tracks[13]
No.TitleLength
14."Special Pets"3:56
15."Necessary Accessories"4:16
16."Breed (radio edit)"3:00
Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Special Pets"3:56
15."Necessary Accessories"4:11
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleMusicLength
14."And I Burn"Shamaya2:13
15."Exothermic Oxidation[14]"Shamaya8:30

Personnel

Production
  • Art direction, design – Otep Shamaya, P.R. Brown
  • Photography – P.R. Brown, Sam Throne
  • Engineer – Jeremy Parker
  • Assistant engineers – David Troia, Drew Vonderhaar, Wesley Fontenot
  • Executive producer – Jonathan Cohen, Otep Shamaya
  • Mastering – Ted Jensen
  • Recording, producer, mixing – Dave Fortman
  • Drum technician – Rory Facianne
  • Co-producer – Holly Knight

References
  1. Blabbermouth, "Blabbermouth.net article" Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, Posted March 3, 2007.
  2. CD Universe, "CD Universe album listing", Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  3. Digital Media Wire, "Capitol/Virgin Records merger" Archived 2013-06-27 at the Wayback Machine, Posted January 25, 2007.
  4. "AVENGED SEVENFOLD, PUSCIFER, OTEP, BLOODSIMPLE First-Week Sales Revealed". blabbermouth.net. 2007-11-07. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  5. "Otep". www.maximumink.com. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  6. "KNAC.COM - Features - Otep Feature". www.knac.com. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  7. "Campus Circle - OTEP". Campus Circle. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  8. "The Ascension - Otep | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  9. "- the Gauntlet".
  10. "Otep - the Ascension".
  11. "Otep - Ascension (Album review 2) | Sputnikmusic".
  12. "Type 3 Media Album Reviews: The Ascension". www.type3media.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. The Ascension (Japanese release) on Victor Entertainment's website (in Japanese)
  14. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-ascension/id266414342 via iTunes
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