Album Review: KITTIE Fire

When the considered nü-metal enters my mind, it follows a fairly traditional path. My reminiscences leap to the classics: Limp Bizkit‘s “Break Stuff”, Korn‘s “Freak On A Leash”, Linkin Park‘s “One Step Nearer”, and Slipknot‘s “The Heretic Anthem” – all which cradled my teenage goth anger higher than my poorly hidden journal ever may. However in some way, Kittie‘s lethal catchy nü-metal single “Brackish” by no means entered my arsenal. As I sit with this thought and dig deeper into why I by no means heard them spinning within the 5 disc stereo system on the cool older youngsters events, I begin to surprise…what saved them from the High 40? What would possibly these different bands have had that Kittie did not? Oh. Dicks. 

We’re first hand witnessing the 2000s style tendencies return, that us millennials labored very arduous to bury by the way in which, and boy is there so much to unpack in regards to the decade that adopted the millennium. Modifications to our on a regular basis lives had been coming so quick, as predicted by Smash Mouth‘s “All Star” (sorry), however so much was staying the identical with regard to perception methods. Being a lady within the music trade, or the leisure trade in any respect for that matter, meant your look and gender was the primary (and infrequently the one) factor critics talked about. In 2024, it usually nonetheless is.

However I feel an enormous distinction was that in 2000, it wasn’t cool to be a women woman. To be a man’s woman was what I, the final word annoying tomboy, needed to attain. “Feminist” felt like an insult to younger ladies who did not but perceive what it meant to personal the ability of divine femininity. So Kittie did not declare that and I am unable to blame them. Social media hadn’t but taken maintain, hadn’t but began to empower younger ladies to be whoever and no matter they needed to be – so to assert the id of a “feminist” may need closed them off from what they actually needed, to be handled equally amongst their friends. In order that they did not declare to be feminists, however they refused to play into the media’s “lady touches guitar?” angle a few feminine steel band. This left them in an in-between that left us questioning what may have been.

Now, 24 years later, with the huge JNCO denims, center elements and ball chains again on the streets, Kittie‘s heavy steel music lastly meets a world the place “lady” would possibly come a number of phrases after descriptors of their precise music. The most recent document Fireplace through Sumerian Data is their first full-length album they launched in 13 years and the manufacturing from Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains, Korn, and many others.) does proper by the proficient 4 piece, permitting them to lean into a elegant sound that brings forth the traditional steel bones of Kittie‘s sound. This document is clearly a far departure from their unique nu steel sound on first document Spit, since they rapidly turned additional into heavy meta on their second album Oracle.

Fireplace‘s title observe, together with a well-done shiny crimson music video, provides option to the strong document with some whisper growls, breaking into screaming instantly, part of Kittie that at all times felt just like the spine however by no means the entrance runner. These songs are well-developed and include an general energy that feels actually good to listen to coming from them.

Vocalist and guitarist Morgan Lander shares “We have labored extremely arduous over the previous 12 months, and surrounded ourselves with the final word dream workforce to make this album a actuality.” highlighting the apparent journey of enchancment that the band has been on. “Falter” and “Wound” nail distinctive guitar mixtures into your mind and “Grime” provides us some NASTY screams that actually blew me away. The general development of this band is so obvious in Fireplace and I hope Kittie lastly has the complete help and success they’ve at all times deserved.