Ever since my ear caught the attention of Otep's debut album `Sevas Tra' I have been an avid fan of the band. I saw so much promise within their debut, so much potential for greatness and so I was chomping at the bit for them to release their sophomore album `House of Secrets'. Thankfully this proves to be no sophomore slump. Otep didn't get lazy here, didn't bank on instant success due to their rabid fans and thus deliver to us something half-baked and amateur. Instead they seriously deliver their finest collective works. Every track is polished compared to their debut; really fined down to lyrical and musical perfection. I know that I am in the minority here but truly I believe this to be Otep's finest hour.

They stripped away the rap influences (thank god) and instead infused a much darker and intense feeling to the majority of the tracks here. I know that many have balked at the slow tracks where Otep is basically reading her disturbing poems over eerie guitar but personally if you're going to balk about that then you obviously don't understand this band in the least and don't deserve to listen to their music. Otep is all about expression, all about finding yourself and proclaiming your message. One way that Otep does this is through the spoken word. A true fan embraces this part of the experience for everything that it is. On tracks like `Gutter' and `Suicide Trees' Otep really digs inside this forum and delivers with spine chilling precision. On `Suicide Trees' especially, Otep works magic creating a dark and intense mood that sends shivers and chills bones. It's very reminiscent of `Requiem', the opening track to the album that sports Otep's spoken word over some very questionable background noise.

Many will remember the intensity of tracks like `Blood Pig' and will thus crave an exact duplicate for their listening pleasure. Rest assured for Otep has once again delivered brutality with many tracks on the album, most notably `Warhead' which has become a immediate fan favorite. With bloodthirsty guitar work and pounding drums Otep weave through an amalgam of everything that is brutal. They keep this up on `Sepsis', which is just as brutal as `Warhead', maybe even more so. Personally I prefer `Hooks & Splinters' to both these tracks. It's such an aggressive undertaking. The drumming alone is utterly flawless. And then we have `Self-Made', another ferocious attack on our senses.

I've spoken a little on previous reviews for Otep's other albums `Sevas Tra' and `The Ascension' that one of the things I find most favorable about this band is their ability to string us along on fragile serenity only to pulverize us with sheer brutality. The title track, `House of Secrets' is a perfect example of this. It moves along at almost a folky, catchy rhythm before destroying us with crushing music and the screams of an "uprising". Another prime example of this is `Autopsy Song'. The verses carry along well, very soft and illuminating and then the pulverizing closing moments are brilliantly constructed.

The albums closing track `Shattered Pieces' is haunting and emotional. Otep merely whispers her words over a repetitive yet effective piano. The track seems to seep into your skin and flesh out your fears and inner demons beautifully.

I wanted to save two specific tracks for last because they are songs I feel truly define the band that is Otep. They are brutal and fierce, eerie and malignant yet beautifully emotional. The first of these is `Buried Alive' which capitalizes on Otep's mastery over words. Her opening whispers alone ("I speak in verses, prophesies and curses") are so honest and pure. When you think about everything that Otep stands for (the exposure of religious hypocrisy for starters) you start to understand her lyrics all the more. As she belts out "I hate my name" over and over you realize just what name she is speaking of and your soul hurts a little for this lost little girl. The second of these is `Nein', a song that is, to any fan of the band, glorious. The song verses are delicate and inviting but that is soon placed aside for a more ravenous attack with Otep spilling lines like "paper girl burn the world, I pass the flame to you" and belting out "murder, mayhem" over and over. Her religious stance is noted ("to live like Caesar; to die like Jesus") as well as her mental assessment of her actions ("my sanity wrote a suicide note; one of us is illiterate, the other is blind"), the whole while engrossing us deeper into her tragedy.

As a whole `House of Secrets' is a flawless album that speaks to the listener on so many levels. There are some who passed of over or shrugged it aside as weak when compared to their pulverizing debut but I call this poor judgment and lack of maturity. Otep has grown immensely with this album, delivering a more complete and controlled album and delving deeper into their true selves to create a very personal and very emotional album.

I own all of oteps other albums, and at one time I owned this one too. The song warhead is absolutely great. And house of secrets has it's good points too. HOWEVER, this could be the most depressing album I have ever listened to in my entire life. It put me in such a bad mood that i actually had to sell it. I liked Sevas Tra and I love the new one, ascension. This one could go down as one of my least favorite albums. Just way too depressing.

Great for workouts or if you want some extra raw energy. 3 Stars because some songs have slow intros trough which you'll have to fast forward to get to the raw stuff.

i will say this again Otep is one of the most affluent bands out there today. Yes their songs can go from heavy to melodic, from soothing to eerie, but all in all this is one of the few bands i have seen that has come out in the past few years who isnt afraid to talk about issues that they have, Otep the lead singer grew up in an abusive home and so yes she has a tendancy on this cd to vent it but it is only her second attempt and she didnt get it all out in one cd and i understand

The first track on this cd Requim is not for the faint of heart or those that would flinch at the sounds of being beat by a parent, the repeating words as long as your under my roof you will respect me but, this just sets the tempo for you in what is sure to be a gloomy yet uplifting expreince. This CD is for the open minded and the open minded only and this band is experimental so yes she has rap tendencies but you know something she is a poet that is what rap used to be not just this gangster sex driven music we see today and if that is the way she has to get it out she has to get it out

i spend alot of my time looking for bands that arent afraid to change and i get these looks like you still like them all the time and i will probably be getting those looks some time down the road for respecting otep and all she does but you know what I am I and i can not change that

I'm not really a big fan of Otep but I liked some of her songs to give this album a listen. I thought it was alright through a first few listens but I didn't feel too interested in it anymore - this music is really angry and depressing (very personal stuff). It's just not my kind of music I listen to over and over again.