Wikipedia

Fire (Kittie album)

Fire is the upcoming seventh studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, expected to be released in June 2024 through Sumerian Records.[1] It will be Kittie's first album in 13 years since the release of I've Failed You (2011), in between which time the band was largely on a hiatus due to rising costs associated with touring and making music, a lack of public interest, and the death of bassist Trish Doan in 2017. After receiving several offers to play shows in late 2021, the band ended their hiatus in January 2022, with bassist Ivy Jenkins returning to their lineup after a decade-long absence. Following their performances at the When We Were Young festival in October 2022, Kittie were signed to Sumerian and began working on new material. In November and December 2023, the band recorded Fire with producer Nick Raskulinecz at Sienna Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fire
Studio album by
Kittie
ReleasedJune 2024
RecordedNovember–December 2023
StudioSienna (Nashville)
LabelSumerian
ProducerNick Raskulinecz
Kittie chronology
Origins/Evolutions Live
(2018) 		Fire
(2024)
Kittie studio album chronology
I've Failed You
(2011) 		Fire
(2024)
Singles from Fire
  1. "Eyes Wide Open"
    Released: February 14, 2024
  2. "We Are Shadows"
    Released: April 4, 2024

Background and recording edit

In August 2011, Kittie released their sixth album I've Failed You, supporting its release with tours of North America and Australia from August 2011 to May 2012.[2][3] During the Australia tour, the band parted ways with bassist Ivy Jenkins and Trish Doan returned to the band.[4] Kittie played their final concert in September 2013 before going on an indefinite hiatus due to rising costs associated with touring and writing new music,[5][6] compounded by decreasing interest in the band's live shows.[1][7] Vocalist and guitarist Morgan Lander and drummer Mercedes Lander both felt that Kittie had "overstayed [their] welcome" by the release of I've Failed You;[1] the former noted that the band were sometimes playing to crowds of 50 people on their last tours, which she found particularly discouraging.[7] "That’s a hard thing as an artist to grapple with", she told Metal Hammer in 2024; "I do remember having conversations where it was like, ‘I don’t feel like I can do this anymore. I need to try new things.' "[7]

The members of Kittie subsequently moved on to various other musical projects and jobs, whilst working on a documentary about themselves with director Rob McCallum, Kittie: Origins/Evolutions (2017).[6][7][N 1] With the exception of a one-off concert at the documentary's premiere at Rum Runners in London, Ontario, in October 2017, Kittie remained largely on hiatus.[1][6][10] Morgan said that both the documentary and the band's 2017 concert were "supposed to be a nice cap on everything. It was like leaving a big question mark; who knows what might happen down the road."[1] In a 2018 interview, Morgan said that the band had not written any new material in over six years,[6] and in subsequent interviews she and Mercedes expressed reluctance towards the possibility of recording a new Kittie album without the involvement of Doan,[10][11] who died in February 2017.[12] In a 2021 interview with Consequence, Morgan said that Doan's death had "made it really difficult to try to feel like it’s right to do more [music] when she would have wanted to be the one to be there".[13]

In late 2021, coinciding with a resurgence of nu metal's popularity, Kittie began receiving offers by bookers to play several shows.[7][14] Mercedes has attributed this interest to the band's music becoming popular on the social media platform TikTok.[15] Kittie subsequently ended its hiatus in January 2022 with Jenkins rejoining the band on bass.[16] After eight months of rehearsals, the band performed their first show in five years on September 8, 2022, at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.[7][17] In October 2022, Kittie performed on all three days of the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.[16] Mercedes said that although she was initially resistant to the idea of reuniting, "When we stepped onstage, I was, like, 'Oh, yeah, this is how it's supposed to be. This is what I'm supposed to be doing.' This is a fantastic feeling."[14] After watching their performances at the When We Were Young festival, Kittie were contacted by Sumerian Records label head Ash Avildsen, who expressed interest in signing the band.[1][7] Kittie had not been planning for their reunion to lead to a new album;[7] Morgan said that the band was "100% unprepared to be offered a record deal", as they had no new or leftover material, but were told by the label that this did not matter.[1] Kittie eventually signed on to Sumerian with the collective understanding that the band would not operate full-time again, citing the emotional and financial costs involved for its members.[7]

Kittie worked on new material over a ten-month period, starting in January 2023 and ending in October of that year.[1] Unlike previous Kittie albums, Fire was written remotely due to its members now being located apart from each other;[1] ideas were shared via email.[7] The band recorded the album in November and December 2023 with producer Nick Rasculinecz at Sienna Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][18] Mercedes said that Kittie "tried really hard to keep things quiet [around recording] because we wanted to build up speculation."[1] Kittie initially considered Rasculinecz "too big" of a producer for him to be interested in working with the band; they decided to work with him after he expressed enthusiasm towards their demos.[1] Mercedes spoke positively of working with Rasculinecz, describing him as "very hands-on, and you can tell he really loves music. That was really important."[1] Jenkins also felt that he shared Kittie's philosophy of "just trying to make the best music [you] can make [...] Nick just wanted to make a piece of art, and that matches the idea behind Kittie."[1]

Release and promotion edit

During the band's performance at the Sick New World Festival on May 13, 2023, Kittie debuted their first new song in 12 years, "Vultures".[19] On February 14, 2024, Kittie announced that they had signed with Sumerian Records and released the lead single from Fire, "Eyes Wide Open".[20] Upon release, Consequence, Exclaim!, Metal Hammer and Revolver listed the song as one of the best of the week.[21][22][23] In a Metal Hammer interview published on April 3, 2024, Morgan revealed the album's title and stated that the album would be released in the summer of 2024.[24] The following day, Kittie released "We Are Shadows" as the album's second single.[25] The album is expected to be released in June 2024.[1]

On February 20, 2024, Kittie announced several festival shows in the United States.[26] On April 24, 2024, the band announced that they would perform five headlining shows in five cities between July and August 2024.[27]

Tour dates edit

Date[27][28][29] City Country Venue Opening act(s)
April 27, 2024 Las Vegas United States Las Vegas Festival Grounds
(Sick New World) 		—
May 10, 2024 Daytona Beach Daytona International Speedway
(Welcome to Rockville) 		—
May 18, 2024 Columbus Historic Crew Stadium
(Sonic Temple Festival) 		—
July 6, 2024 Quebec City Canada Place D'Youville
(Festival d'été de Québec) 		—
July 12, 2024 Toronto History Vile Creature
July 19, 2024 New York City United States Palladium Times Square Unearth, Within the Ruins, Stabbing
August 2, 2024 Atlanta The Masquerade Upon a Burning Body
August 4, 2024 Dallas The Studio at the Factory
August 23, 2024 Chicago Concord Music Hall VCTMS, Conquer Divide
August 24, 2024 Jackson Apex Sports and Entertainment
(Havoc Fest) 		—

Personnel edit

Kittie

  • Morgan Lander – vocals, guitars
  • Tara McLeod – guitars
  • Ivy Jenkins – bass
  • Mercedes Lander – drums

Production

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ Kittie planned on touring the United States in June 2015 as part of Ill Niño's Civil Unrest Tour, but dropped out a month before the tour began, "due to unforseen issues with immigration in the USA".[8][9]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Begai, Carl (April 15, 2024). "Kittie - Rise Above The Flames". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Blabbermouth (June 2, 2011). "Kittie To Tour U.S. With Dirge Within, Diamond Plate". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Adams, Gregory (December 1, 2011). "Kittie Announce Sprawling North American Tour". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Blabbermouth (February 13, 2012). "Kittie Parts Ways With Ivy Vujic, Welcomes Back Bassist Trish Doan". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  5. ^ John (July 3, 2014). "An interview with Morgan Lander of Kittie". London Groove Machine. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Blabbermouth (February 12, 2018). "Kittie's Morgan Lander: 'We Aren't Working On Any New Music Right Now'". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Leivers, Dannii (April 29, 2024). ""A lot of the things we were doing 25 years ago seemed so new." Kittie broke the mould in the male-dominated world of nu metal. Now they're back for an almighty victory lap". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024 – via loudersound.
  8. ^ "Ill Nino Announces "The Civil Unrest Tour" With Kittie". Digital Tour Bus. April 11, 2015. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  9. ^ BraveWords (May 19, 2015). "Kittie Drop Off Civil Unrest US Tour With Ill Nino "Due To Issues with Immigration In The USA"". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Kennelty, Greg (October 18, 2020). "Mercedes Lander Doesn't See Kittie Reuniting Unless They "Get A Really Good Offer"". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  11. ^ BraveWords (February 28, 2019). "Kittie Vocalist Morgan Lander on Recording New Material - "It Doesn't Seem Right to Just Do It For The Sake of Doing It"". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Kaufman, Gil (February 14, 2017). "Kittie Bassist Trish Doan Dies at 31". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Erickson, Anne (February 26, 2021). "Beyond the Boys' Club: Morgan Lander of Kittie". Consequence. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Li, Jasmine (July 24, 2023). "Are You Ready? The Nu Metal Renaissance Is Upon Us". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Blabbermouth (October 10, 2023). "Kittie Is 'As Surprised' As Many Other People Are About Resurgence In Band's Popularity". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Blabbermouth (January 26, 2022). "Kittie Announces Band Lineup For Reunion Shows". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  17. ^ Blabbermouth (September 9, 2022). "Watch: Kittie Plays First Show in Five Years". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  18. ^ Blabbermouth (November 20, 2023). "Kittie Is Working On New Studio Album With Acclaimed Producer Nick Raskulinecz". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  19. ^ Enis, Eli (May 15, 2023). "See Kittie debut crushing new song "Vultures" at Sick New World". Revolver. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Brannigan, Paul (February 14, 2024). ""Sometimes, incredible opportunities present themselves in surprising ways": watch the video for Eyes Wide Open, the first new music from Kittie in 13 years". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024 – via loudersound.
  21. ^ Hadusek, Jon (February 16, 2024). "Kittie's "Eyes Wide Open" Is Our Heavy Song of the Week". Consequence. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  22. ^ Slingerland, Calum (February 14, 2024). "Kittie Sink Their Claws Into "Eyes Wide Open"". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  23. ^ Hobson, Rich; Alderslade, Merlin (February 16, 2024). "The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear right now". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via loudersound.
  24. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (April 3, 2024). ""The world is ready for us now." Why nu metal heroes Kittie are finally ready to grab the limelight once again". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024 – via loudersound.
  25. ^ Blabbermouth (April 4, 2024). "Kittie Shares New Single 'We Are Shadows'". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  26. ^ BraveWords (February 20, 2024). "Kittie Announce US Festival Shows For 2024". bravewords.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  27. ^ a b BraveWords. "KITTIE Announce Exclusive North American Headline Dates". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  28. ^ "Tour - Kittie | .NET". kittie.net. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  29. ^ "Kittie at Festival d'été de Québec on July 6 2024". feq.ca. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
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