Kittie – Fire
Kittie – Fire
Sumerian Records
Release Date: 21/06/24
Running Time: 33:28
Review by Dark Juan
Score: 9/10
Greetings from a cruelly sleep-deprived Dark Juan. While Editor-in-Extremis Simon “None More” Black jets around the world doing vitally important work, Dark Juan was ensconced in a quiet, dank corner of West Yorkshire having no sleep whatsoever because one of the recalcitrant young gentlemen I wrangle decided he was staying up all night and creating havoc because he found a fucking wood louse in his bedroom. It is times like these that make Dark Juan wish for the simple times of driving his truck and being rude to the yard staff at Donegan’s civil engineers in Manchester, but then I remind myself that I earn a decent whack for what I do. Not to mention the fact that the young gentleman in question was addressed by Dark Juan this morning for over thirty minutes, without Dark Juan swearing (in English, anyway. Russian is such a good language for swearing when young people don’t understand what you’re saying. Иди домой и трахни свою мать!) or indeed repeating himself…
In other (possibly) entertaining news, one of Mrs Dark Juan’s grandkids misheard a conversation between Mrs Dark Juan and her daughter about some low kerbs that have been set near Crow Cottage, this being done to facilitate large trucks coming to J&C Joel (or, as they are pretty universally known in Sowerby Bridge, Celebrity Curtains – they fabricate specialist curtains for stage shows and theatres and the like) and said grandson (who is a tiny palaeontologist and can pronounce Latin names for dinosaurs that make Dark Juan want to commit suicide because HE CAN’T DO IT) who should not have been earwigging on an adult conversation mistook truck for drunk and asked why they made the kerbs lower for drunks. Cue much hilarity…
The above is pointless waffle, though (then why include it? – Ed) , as there is something rather more exciting to discuss here, and that is the first new album release from Canada’s Kittie! Now, if you are a person of a certain age, you will no doubt remember the advent of Nu-Metal – the likes of Static-X, Adema and Human Waste Project and (sigh) Limp Bizkit. Rory Bentley fucking loves them. Dark Juan can’t fucking stand them. Anyway, among the gaggle of strangely coiffed blokes and Aimee Echo suddenly ruling the Metal world, there was a Canadian four-piece band called Kittie composed of teenage girls, who had released a very vituperative album called “Spit” in 1999. ‘Brackish’ is still a classic Nu-Metal song. And Kittie’s cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Run Like Hell’ is absolutely fucking savage. I will die on this hill and discussion is not a fucking option because if you disagree with me, you are automatically wrong. I WILL fight you.
Anyway, back in 1999, cue the misogyny.
I remember one of the writers at Metal Hammer exhorting Kittie to (this is paraphrased incorrectly because I am old and haven’t slept for 27 hours and the only things keeping me going is my love of Kittie and coffee which I will pay for with massive anxiety later) “Tone down the swearing, young ladies.” I was pissed off on their behalf because their record wiped the fucking floor with 99% of the releases in 1999 and really did piss all over “E-Lux” by Human Waste Project and they had as much right as any number of men in their twenties and older to be fucking furious. Actually, I don’t recall Metal Hammer telling Aimee Echo to stop swearing… How interesting. Well, the last laugh is on Kittie because they have had a long and illustrious career, which has now been enhanced by the first new music from the band for thirteen years, in the form of “Fire” which has been slung on the Platter of Splatter ™ with alacrity, for Dark Juan has been quite the fan since their inception.
Let’s get something out of the way quickly – if you are expecting a throwback album to the days of silly hair, Team Satan 666 shirts and voluminous JNCO jeans, you aren’t going to get it. Kittie have grown up and are now a streamlined Alternative/ Groove Metal beast. They don’t have claws anymore. They’ve grown fucking massive talons.
I always preferred Menace jeans anyway.
One of the things that always made Dark Juan take notice of Kittie was the vocals of Morgan Lander. Well, that and her collection of classic thrash guitars… Her ability to juxtapose the most viscerally Satanic-sounding of roars with a cutesy, blank-eyed little girl voice was intoxicating and gave the music of the band a real sense of light, shade, and interest beyond simple demented yowling and crushing grooves. On “Fire”, though, Lander has changed. Although she can still bawl with the best of them and has maintained that innocent-sounding-yet-clearly-dangerous voice, her range has developed with age, and she is now capable of a smooth, clean contralto as well as bordering on mezzo-soprano at times. The music has also evolved from the scratchy, febrile Nu-Metal of “Spit” to a new level of beautifully produced melodic Metal brutality. “Fire” evokes the same kind of barely restrained violence of the likes of Prong’s “Cleansing”, where less was rather a lot more. Kittie have refined the simple magic of guitar, bass and drums and have achieved alchemy with it. The album opens with the title track and Morgan whispers viciously about being told to stay quiet before launching into some choppy, serrated riffing. On the chorus, there are lush backing vocals that hit right in the pleasure centres and squeeze every ounce of endorphin out of the poor fuckers, all underpinning that utterly luscious, full-throated howl. Shivers down the spine time…
‘I Still Wear This Crown’ is a Thrash-tinged number, all spasmodic riffs and violence until another (cleanly sung) chorus of utter majesty hits the poor listener in the balls. And so it continues throughout the album. “Fire” is designed to absolutely fuck your neck beyond repair from headbanging and for you to have a fucking awesome time doing it and it is a masterclass in achieving the perfect balance between light and shade, and heaviness and melody. This is best evidenced on the first single from the album, ‘We Are Shadows’, which is possibly the perfect Kittie song that mixes the diverse voices that the unique throat of Morgan Lander can produce with a chorus that Mutt Lange would have given at least one testicle to have written, and it is a glorious, looping skyrocket of a song and has just cemented the love of Kittie that Dark Juan has held for these many years.
The album is spectacularly perfectly produced as well. Everything sits exactly where it should be in the mix and each instrument is clearly heard, even on the faster and heavier bits. It can be a little bit heavy on the vocal overdubs at times, but even the metalwork of Mercedes Lander’s drums can be clearly heard, and they occupy a fluid place in the mix, prowling behind the music yet still being clean and sharp. The bass is ultrachunky and gives your internal organs a right vibratory workout and the guitar sound is heavily produced yet still meaty and organic-sounding and easily listenable, but retaining a predatory, throat ripping intensity.
It is that intensity that makes Kittie so special. They have always had a dangerous and violent quality, even at their most melodic, that has made them stand out in a world of contemporaries who are equally musically visceral. Kittie has a wide-eyed, staring quality that oozes the promise of disembowelment if you look at them in the wrong way. Ever has it been thus, and long may it remain monstrous, furious, and volatile. God, I love Kittie and their music.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System thanks Ever-Metal.com’s Rory Bentley for slinging this album my way even though I was being very unpleasant about Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst’s current penchant for looking like a paedophile grandpa in the EM staff chat, and awards Kittie 9/10 for a record that has been sheer pleasure from start to finish. Mainly because Dark Juan fucking adores Morgan Lander’s voice.
TRACKLISTING:
01 . Fire
02. I Still Wear This Crown
03. Falter
04. Vultures
05. We Are Shadows
06. Wound
07. One Foot in the Grave
08. Are You Entertained?
09. Grime
10. Eyes Wide Open
LINE-UP:
Morgan Lander – Vocals / guitars
Mercedes Lander – Drums / backing vocals
Tara McLeod – Guitars
Ivy Vujic – Bass
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
