Kittie Re-Kindle A Fire That Threatens To Become An Inferno

To paraphrase the press release for this record – “When you discovered Kittie has a direct influence on how you see them.” No truer statement can be made about the Canadian metal unit in my opinion. I’m old enough to remember their first incarnation, having discovered them for myself in the early 2000s amongst the buffeting waves of the Nu-Metal revolution. Their debut effort Spit and its follow-up Oracle were in heavy rotation on my bedroom DJ setlists.

Since those angst-fuelled days, the band evolved into an entirely new beast, with numerous line-up changes, musical tweaks and growth, Until around 2011, when an “Indefinite Hiatus” came as a devastating blow to the cult following the band had created. In the thirteen years that passed, a lot happened, there has been the unstoppable rise of smartphones and social media, drastically changing the way we communicate and consume content. Music itself has undergone a streaming revolution, that has reshaped the industry forever, and countering that digital dominance has been the vinyl revival. What there hasn’t been, is new Kittie music… until now.

Fire marks the band’s triumphant return, seeing them sign with Sumerian Records and gearing up to take on the world once more. Still headed by the Lander sisters, Morgan (Vocals) and Mercedes (Drums), the band is now filled out with Tara McLeod (Guitars) and
Ivy Vujic (Bass). The inaugural Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas has some responsibility for the return of Kittie, following their appearance on the lineup, a new appetite for new music was sparked and well… here we are, a healthy serving of metal goodness for all to feast on.

If anything, the six albums that preceded Fire have seen Kittie grow from a Nu-Metal adjacent act, into a metal band of their own hard-earned merit who are now taken seriously. This record is the continuation of that evolution, it’s packed with groove-laden riffs, anthemic hooks vocals, tight drum lines and haunting vocals combined with those all too familiar growls that Morgan has perfected over the years.

The record is heralded by four fantastic singles, the thrashy ‘Vultures’, the absolutely crushing groove metal banger ‘We Are Shadows’, the arena scream-along anthem ‘One Foot In The Grave’, (my personal favourite) and ‘Eyes Wide Open’ which in my opinion is a bit of a homage to the bands early years and slots in perfectly with the recent revival of Nu-Metal without taking anything away from the album as a whole.

That’s not to say that the rest of the album isn’t just as good as its singles, the title track ‘Fire’ is a middle-finger-in-the-air call to arms that hits hard, right out of the gate, we know Kittie means business on this record. ‘I Still Wear This Crown’ is a sonic punch to the face and is aptly named, as Morgan reminds everyone of who she is, whilst ‘Falter’ blends chugging riffs with stunning harmonies, and that’s not even all the tracks on offer here.

Fire isn’t only a return to form for Kittie, it’s a statement, the band are back in a big way and they demand your attention. If you’ve ever written this band off in the past, Fire will turn your head, I’m sure of it.

Fire releases June 21st Via Sumerian Records