''House of Secrets'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band

Otep Otep is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2000. They have released two EPs, eight studio albums, and one live album. They are currently signed with Napalm Records. The band has sold over 500,000 albums world ...

, produced by

Greg Wells Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...

(

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...

), and released in 2004. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 93. The video for the song "Warhead" made the top ten videos of 2004 on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

''. This album has been released with the

Copy Control Copy Control was the generic name of a copy prevention system, used from 2001 until 2006 on several digital audio disc releases by EMI Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment in several regions (Europe, Canada, United States, and Australia). It s ...

protection system in some regions.

Music and lyrics

The album features elements of several musical genres including

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

, hip hop,

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

and

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

. The album is noted for having lyrical topics about insecurity and self-loathing. However, the song "Warhead" has extremely political lyrics.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called the album "terrifying" and that it brimmed "with sounds that can warp the psyche." Jill Mikkelson for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' was more critical of the album, calling the lyrics "way too dramatic and adolescent to stimulate anything but scorn" and said of the overall album being a "little more than another Ozzfest headliner."

Track listing

Personnel

Otep Shamaya Otep Shamaya is an American singer and rapper, best known as the lead vocalist and founder of the eponymous metal band Otep. Career Shamaya made her debut in 2000 with her band OTEP, and released the full-length albums ''Sevas Tra'' (June 200 ...

– vocals, bass drum, didgeridoo, cymbal scrapes (11) *

Rob Patterson Rob Patterson (born November 9, 1970) is an American guitarist and composer. Background Patterson was born in Natick, Massachusetts. His first major band was the metal, female-fronted Otep. He wrote and played on the albums, '' Sevas Tra'', '' ...

– guitar (2, 3, 10) *

– metal strips (1), steel drums (1), guitar (4-6, 8-12), celeste (5), drums (5, 8, 9), percussion (10), piano (12) * Jason "eViL J" McGuire – bass guitar, back up vocals (3), guitar (4, 5) *

Joey Jordison Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, as well as the guitarist for the horror punk s ...

( Slipknot) – drums (2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11)

Production

* Producer:

* Executive producer: Otep Shamaya * Engineers: Brian Scheuble, Greg Wells * Assistant engineers: Dan Beeston, Monique Mizrahi * Mixing: Greg Wells * Mastering: Roger Lian, Howie Weinberg * A&R: Ron Laffitte * Art direction: P.R. Brown * Design: P.R. Brown * Photography: P.R. Brown

Charts

Album -

(North America)

References

{{Authority control Otep albums Capitol Records albums 2004 albums Albums produced by Greg Wells