''The Ascension'' (stylized as ''the_Ascension'') is the third studio album by

Otep Otep was an American nu metal band. The band was formed in November 2000 in Los Angeles by frontwoman Otep Shamaya. The band is noted for their style of "art-house nu metal", and their strong political stances. Throughout the course of several ...

. The original release date was set for March 20, 2007 through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, however, the album was delayed indefinitely due to the merger with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

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

Recording

The album was partly recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana, where producer

Dave Fortman Dave Fortman (born July 11, 1967) is an American record producer and musician. He is the guitarist for rock band Ugly Kid Joe, and has done production work for bands such as Godsmack, Superjoint Ritual, Snot (band), Snot, Watership Down (band), ...

was living. New Orleans, especially the 9th Ward was still affected by the effects of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. Otep said that while the songs were not influenced by the area, the mood of the album was. The band began recording the album in late July 2006, and it was completed by the end of the year. Several songs were written with

Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records wor ...

guitarist

Greg Tribbett Gregory Arnold Tribbett Jr. (born November 7, 1968) is an American guitarist who is one of the founding members, lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the metal band Mudvayne. He is also the former lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the met ...

, who Fortman had worked with in the past.

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.''

Breed

"Breed" is a cover of a

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

song of the same name. 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.”

Reception

''The Ascension'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Track listing

Personnel

* Otep Shamaya – vocals * Karma Singh Cheema – guitars *

Holly Knight Holly Knight (born 1956) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as " Rag Doll", " Obsession", " Love Is ...

– mellotron, piano, programming on "Perfectly Flawed" * Jason "eViL J" McGuire – bass guitar, backing vocals * Brian Wolff – drums

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 Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

* Recording, producer, mixing –

* Drum technician – Rory Facianne * Co-producer – Holly Knight

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascension, The 2007 albums Otep albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Dave Fortman