Kittie

Depending on when you discovered Canadian bashers Kittie has a direct influence on how you see them. For those that were on board from the beginning with the Spit album, released in 1999, Kittie was considered part of the nu-metal movement. Going into their later albums, In The Black (2009) and I've Failed You (2011), the band had evolved into something far more sinister, and were viewed as a serious full-on metal outfit. Just as they seemed to be hitting their stride six albums into their career, however, Kittie slowly disappeared from the scene in the wake of touring for I've Failed You. The silence was eventually dubbed an "indefinite hiatus" by the band, broken only by a one-off hometown show in London, Ontario in 2017, and the release of the documentary, Kittie: Origins/Evolutions, in 2018.

Now, 13 years later, that silence has been broken in earnest.

Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains, Korn), Kittie have unleashed Fire. In the making for the better part of 2023, the band kept things under wraps as best they could, determined to make the biggest and best noise possible when the new record finally surfaced with lead single, “Eyes Wide Open”. Incidentally, the first song written for the new album. Call it taking care of unfinished business years after coming to the conclusion that Kittie had overstayed their welcome.

Morgan, drummer Mercedes Lander, guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivy Vujic maintain that Kittie did not break up because it is an ingrained part of their identity. The documentary and the one-off show in London were intended as a cap on everything, leaving a big question mark at what might happen down theroad at the same time. Offers from promoters to do some shows in 2022 and 2023 were enough to convince Kittie to dust off their instruments, resulting in a renewed interest in the band and a label deal offer from Sumerian Records. The quartet discussed it and agreed that it sounded like fun to get back to making music again.

Fire was written unlike any other Kittie album. It was the first time in the band's history that they weren't in a room together due to living so far apart from one another. When they finally did gather as a unit, it was like putting on a pair of comfortable boots, with no need to break things in before getting down to business.

Fire lifts elements from every album in Kittie's catalogue, although that wasn't necessarily a conscious decision. Thirteen years away has turned out growth in songwriting, arranging, lyrical content and vocal melodies, creating something monstrous and volatile.