When Kittie burst onto the nu metal scene in 1999, their claws were out. Most of the gang were just 15, but the snarling rage they felt went beyond teenage angst. Their debut album Spit was venomous, and in subsequent years their scrappy riot grrrl grit would morph into a whole other beast, delving into the guts of thrash and groove metal.
Thirteen years on from their last record, the girls are back with Fire. To celebrate its release, we threw your questions at singer Morgan Lander.
If you weren’t in a band, what would you be doing today?
Mark Elliot, Facebook
“When I was in high school, I was interested in pathology. I wanted to do coroner stuff, dig into a grotesque crime scene. I was preparing, taking classes like biology so I could study it at university. It’s fitting; you could say it’s reflective of my personality. I’m a big horror fan. I’ve always been interested in gory things. In another life, I would probably pursue something demented and sick like that.”
What does the ‘mother of tears’ represent in We Are Shadows?
Allaboutmyself93, Twitter/X
“It has multiple meanings. I first saw the term as the title of a Dario Argento movie. In the context of the song, the Mother of Tears is almost what Mother Earth has slowly become; Mother Earth reflecting on all of the destruction humans have done to the Earth and realising it’s almost too late to fix things. Mother Earth has become a sort of a patron saint of sadness.”
Who are your favourite bands you’ve toured with over the years?
Jon Lefurgey, Facebook
“We went on the road with Slipknot for one of their first headline tours. Every night, the guys would be doing something disgusting or crazy before going onstage. I remember on the UK run they used to have tasers and have ‘taser fights’. But they were always so kind to us. We’ve also toured with some amazing different women. We toured with In This Moment early on in their career, and that was really cool.”
Hammer: What’s your goofiest memory from a tour?
“We had fun touring with Shadows Fall, Poison The Well and Killswitch Engage. For Poison The Well’s last show, we wanted to do something special. We hired male strippers to come onstage and dance during their set. It was very, very silly. The band were like, ‘What are these guys doing?’ They went up onstage fully clothed, and Poison The Well thought they were just going to stagedive – then they started taking their clothes off and dancing! We wanted to do something for Shadows Fall’s last show too, so we had one of our techs set Brian [Fair] up with a special microphone. It looked like a penis. So Brian had to perform the whole set singing into a penis.”
How did Kittie fit in with nu metal – and given the genre’s resurgence in popularity, are you ever tempted to return to the style of Spit?
Amyanne Richards, email
“Throughout our career, we’ve been lumped in with nu metal. As far as the music is concerned, in the early days, I’d say we fit in pretty well. But there’s more to Kittie. Even Spit was a little unhinged, a little grungy, a little riot grrrl. Since then, we’ve explored all different kinds of metal. As far as ever going back to nu metal, we naturally evolved away from the musical style. Eventually, it just didn’t feel authentic. However, there are sprinklings of nu metal on our new album. I wanted to represent all of Kittie’s eras, so some stuff on Fire is as close to nu metal as we’ll ever get. But there’s also some thrash, some pop metal…”
Do any of you have kitties?
Tiffany McGoldrick, Facebook
“I actually have five cats – two boys and three girls. They all have ridiculous names: Steven, Bill, Marla, Judy and Turkey. Turkey is basically the queen, she runs the house. She’s a tortoiseshell, and everything that they say about those cats having the bitchiest attitudes is true.”
What was it like navigating the metal scene in the mid-90s?
Amor Devanee, Facebook
“It was very masculine, so there was a lot of for us to prove. We had a lot of experiences where the media would be dismissive of us because we were young women. Some radio stations refused to play us because they didn’t have female programming, which was very strange. But we also had lots of amazing experiences. The nu metal scene was like a big family. Most people we toured with were like big brother figures. We were around 15 years old at the time, so we were everyone’s little sisters.”
Why are you raging feminazis?
Iamtheabortshitass, Instagram
“Ha!!!! I don’t know, why are we? When people say things like this, it’s very silly. I think I saw this comment on Instagram. It got screenshotted and shared in our group chat. We all laughed about it. I’d say I’m a feminist, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I believe in equality and I strive for that in everything that I do. Does wanting equality make you a ‘feminazi’? I think sometimes people just say things and don’t understand what it even means.”
Who were your favourite bands on the Ozzfest 2000 tour?
Zz_s0ulfire_zz, Instagram
“There were so many incredible bands. I’m privileged enough to say I got to see Pantera play multiple times on that tour. It was cool to tour with Incubus too. Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee was also there with his rap metal project, Methods Of Mayhem. Ozzfest was a defining experience for us, it solidified my love for the nu metal scene. We met Ozzy too! We did a photoshoot with him, an ‘oldest versus youngest on the bill’ kind of thing. We were around the same age as his kids, so we’d hang with Jack, Kelly and Aimee. Ozzy was more like your metal grandpa.”
What are the best/worst things about being in a band with your sister?
Simon Edward McMurdo, Facebook
“The best thing is that [Kittie drummer] Mercedes and I have been through everything together. We grew up together in this band, and there’s no one else on this Earth who’s had all of the same experiences as us. We have an incredibly deep bond. On the other hand, when we argue it can get heated. We have different personalities and opinions. If she wasn’t my sister, each argument would probably end with: ‘Well, fuck you, I’m never talking to you again!’ But that’s not how it works with siblings. You just dust yourself off, and the next day it’s perfect. We’re forever tied to each other.”
Is there a particular reason you’ve played a Flying V over the years?
Adam Nish, Facebook
“When I was young, I wanted to play the wildest guitar possible. So I got the Flying V and never looked back. My first guitar was a standard Yamaha guitar, but when I really committed, I had a Flying V. Now it’s the most comfortable guitar for me to play. I feel awkward playing on any other shape. It would almost be a disservice to my playing to not play on one. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, they’re the fucking coolest shape.”
I heard the instrumental song Immortal used to have lyrics – what were they about?
Jake Lawless, Facebook
“I don’t remember any of the lyrics except for the first line: ‘The eyes of the victim.’ It never came to fruition. Sometimes that’s just how it is, a song has to be changed. Bonus fact for you: Brackish had completely different lyrics and melody right up until the day it was recorded. It was a total spur-ofthe-moment decision. I remember being in the booth, my headphones on, writing down new lyrics at the very last minute. And lucky I did – because a legend was born!”
How did you feel about Poppy covering one of your songs [Spit]?
Tiago Ferraz, Facebook
“That was such a full-circle moment forme. I remember watching the video and crying. I couldn’t believe that, after all this time, there were still young people discovering our music, connecting with it. I was honoured. And it’s an incredibly cool cover. It’s definitely different, but that’s Poppy, right? If Kittie have inspired her, then I’m very happy about that.”
Fire is out now via Sumerian.
