The summer of post-hiatus comebacks continues with the return of Canadian metallers Kittie, 13 years after the release of their previous album I’ve Failed You.
They’re unrecognisable from the nu-metal upstarts who first appeared in 1999, having morphed over the years into a more straight-ahead metal band, and today good and evil rage in vocalist/guitarist Morgan Lander and her sister, drummer/vocalist Mercedes, with clean vocals bringing the light in contrast to the dark of the rasping, pained growl unleashed over a never-ending barrage of steely riffs.
With that growl-and-riff combo, Kittie have very much nailed their colours to the mast; Fire is strictly for the metal crowd, for festivals, for conjuring hair-flinging energy for like-minded people, rather than appeasing an imaginary wider audience.
The lyrics are violent and doomy, the music aggressive and relentless, but there’s a defiant joy at play, a pure love for the genre rediscovered after all this time.
