OTEP Signs with Koch Records, “The Ascension” Hits Stores Oct. 30th

New York, NY) — KOCH Records is pleased to announce a new revenue-sharing partnership with OTEP. The deal is a multi-album, worldwide deal.

Led by riveting front-woman Otep Shamaya, Los Angeles-based OTEP has long been considered one of rock’s most extraordinary live experiences.

The first release under this new agreement is the band’s much-delayed new full-length album,

The Ascension– slated for release on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007. The Ascension is their third full-length album, and the band challenged itself to avoid clichés and classifications and find a new landscape of sound and vision. “We said ‘genre limits and music fads be damned, let’s write music that is important to us and that motivates us,” explains Otep Shamaya, the band’s namesake and driving force. “I wanted to write songs we believe in and let nothing stop us from building the album we want to make.”

Produced by Dave Fortman (Mudvayne, Evanescence), The Ascension is a “heavy duty masterpiece” as Harder Beat calls it. Metal Edge states, “The Ascension finds the band in top-form.” And Blender offers, “Otep’s third album mostly stays within the realm of four-horsemen drum attacks, wrist twisting riffage and dark-lit industrial eeriness.”

Otep Shamaya adds, “We've been called the renegades of art-rock and it's invigorating and empowering to now have the support of a label that understands and embraces the explosive trends of technology and fortifies our mission of breaking the mold of the mundane. This unification of KOCH and OTEP embraces the new business model for an artist/label partnership that destroys the fossilized thinking that has decimated the music industry. I am excited and honored to be partnering with such an amazingly forward thinking label and look forward to the many conquests and creative successes our collective future now holds.”

Look for the band to tour soon in support of The Ascension with band members Brian Wolf, Aaron and founding member eVil J. The band just completed a National tour with Static-X this past summer.

Bob Frank, President of KOCH Records states, “OTEP are positioned to be the biggest band in metal. This partnership gives us all the ability to truly work together and make it happen. With Otep Shamaya, Zen Media Group and KOCH metal god Scott Givens on point, we have an unbeatable team.”

Scott Givens, VP of Metal adds, “We feel we have perfect vehicle for Otep and all her creative visions. From musical to visual to spoken word we could not be happier that she has chosen us to be her partner as she continues her already amazing career.”

OTEP is managed by the Zen Media Group (HellYeah, Mudvayne, Bloodsimple).

To preview music please go to: www.MySpace.com/OTEP or www.OTEP.com