Otep group Biography

Fronted by Otep Shamaya and known for its brutal Alternative-Metal Goth-Metal, Los Angeles, California USA, recording artist Otep formed in late 2000 with Shamaya on vocals, Tarver Marsh and Dave 'Spooky' Aguilera on guitars, Jason McGuire -a.k.a. eViL j- on bass and Mark 'Moke' Bistany on drums.
Seven months later Otep earned a record deal without a demo, solely on the strength of the line-up's live show.

In 2001 the group recorded the 5-song EP "Jihad" and performed on the third stage at Ozzfest tour.
Following the departure of both Marsh and Spooky the group continued with a new guitarist, Rob Patterson, releasing their Capitol debut, "Sevas Tra", in June 2002; the disc hit #2 on the Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums chart and reached the #145 position on The Billboard 200.

Two years later, founding members Otep and eViL j were joined by guitarist Lee Rios, drummer Doug Pellerin plus guest drummer Joey Jordison from Slipknot to record the band's sophomore effort "House Of Secrets", it climbed into the top 100 of The Billboard 200 sales chart.

Otep's third full-length album, "the_Ascension", was recorded in New Orleans and released in March 2007. In addition to writing with longtime comrade and original bass player, eViL j, the band recruited guitarist Karma Cheema and drummer Brian Wolff. The disc debuted at #6 on The Top Independent Albums chart and reached #81 on The Billboard 200; it included two powerful Metal radio hits: "Ghostflowers" and "Breed".

In the spring of 2009 Chicago-based Victory Records signed the group. Ms. Shamaya and eViL j reunited with former band members Rob Patterson and Mark 'Moke' Bistany then recorded Otep's highly anticipated fourth full-length disc, "Smash The Control Machine". The new studio album will be released August 18, 2009.