„Rise, Rebel, Resist”. Artystyczne manifestacje grupy Otep

Abstract

The subject of this article is the artistic work of the Los Angeles-based (heavy) metal group Otep, founded in 2000, in which frontwoman Otep Shamaya plays a special role. In the domestic music media there is still little material on the work of this singer, songwriter and performer. The female artist creates an original stage and media image. She often makes uncompromising use of verbal and non-verbal means of artistic expression. In the lyrics of expressively performed songs, Shamaya raises issues such as war violence, institutionalized religions treated as forms of oppression, pathologies in social life, the problem of access to firearms or abuse of power in political arrangements. The singer also takes up a polemic against the hegemonically patriarchal system of metal culture. The purpose of this article is to attempt to characterize the artistic articulations and manifestations of the group Otep, capturing the specifics of the components of the band’s original bricolage. Attention was also paid to the “inversion” covers created by the band, led by multidisciplinary artist Otep Shamaya.