Howlin' Lesbian: Otep at Irving Plaza

With so many heavy-music vocalists using it as their only mode of expression, screaming doesn’t have much of an impact these days, much less meaning. But [Otep] frontwoman Otep Shamaya manages to cut through all the noise (literally) with a vocal style that alternates between shrieks, taunting melodies, whispery growls and a rapid-fire sing-speak white trash patois that hints at rapping without steering the band into the rap-metal ditch.

Where other singers simply shriek, Shamaya’s earnestness is actually intended to connect with the audience and is mercifully free of the self-absorbed victim complex that all too often befalls her male counterparts. Aside from the obvious fact that Shamaya is a woman (duh!) fronting a heavy—at times death metal-, at other times nu metal-leaning—outfit, what truly sets her apart is how she brings a feminine perspective to the form without pandering to stereotypes on the one hand or making an overt issue of who she is on the other.

In a genre still largely dominated by boneheads, an out-lesbian frontwoman with the guts to howl about abusive relationships goes a long way. But, as forceful as her presence is, Shamaya also has the grace to let the music convey power on its own by simply being herself rather than make a point of being herself, if you will. Aside from the emotional violence that she can’t seem to stay away from, Shamaya also expresses a kind of sacred reverence for creativity as the life force that sustains humanity. Now that’s some heavy shit.

Sun. Dec. 9 with Hellyeah & Blood Simple at [Fillmore at Irving Plaza], 17 Irving Pl. (at 15th St.), 212-777-6800; 6:45, $28/$32.