Kittie’s new album “Fire” was released today. For the occasion, we asked the band to tell us about each track.

Mercedes

Vultures

Vultures was one of the first songs we wrote for fire and it was the first song we played live. This song is written in ¾ which is a very common time signature for us to use but usually we reserve it for slower songs, so I like the fact that it's a bit more up beat. The chorus is my favorite part and sounds a bit manic which I like due to the extra drum sauce in there. The lyrical content that Morgan came up with is very personal for both her and I and I feel like it personifies where we are at as a band right now.

Wound

Wound was the song I was least prepared for in the studio but I absolutely love how it turned out. I really feel like there is a bit of freedom with not knowing exactly 100% what you’re going to play for a song. However, this does not work all the time so you can't go in there all willynilly for every song. However, it can help to get the creative juices flowing and make for exciting improvisations. I also love the halftime chorus and how the song is structured. The bridge/solo part turned out great. It's an absolute banger and one of my favorites off of Fire.

Are You Entertained

This song was originally written in a different key, which almost led us to toss it in the garbage. We decided to rework it a bit and try it in a different key and it turned out pretty amazing. There are some excellent harmonies in there that really lend to the vocal melody and the middle part (and end) absolutely crushes.

Tara

I Still Wear This Crown

I love that this song stylistically pulls from all parts of Kittie; heavy riffs, gnarly vocals, beautiful melodies, and a bridge with a big riff and a pinch of creepy. Also, the lyrical imagery that Morgan brings into the chorus hits me each time I hear it. The idea of having your face in the mud but refusing to stay down is powerful and oh so relatable! One of my favorite moments of the album happens in the second verse when the guitars drop out and you can hear just how locked in Mercedes and Ivy are together - gives me that metal stank face!

Grime

This is a powerful one right off the top. It kicks in with some epic rhythm section shots on a tough as nails riff. The chorus has this great call and answer from Morgan switching between her scream vocals and super catchy melody to follow. The bridge has an enormous riff in it that I can’t get enough of and lucky for me, we revisit it at the end of the song. It also is the song that had the most adjustments in pre-production. It can be challenging to make changes once you’ve settled on parts but it often yields the best results.

Ivy

Eyes Wide Open:

The first single we released in nearly 13 years, and we chose this one for good reason-this song is a straight up banger! We wanted to come out swinging and I think this track really achieves that. It’s heavy, gritty, and just plain tough. A powerful, pit opening song that immediately induces the ‘stank face’. And just when you think it can’t get any stankier, you hit that breakdown at the end and the stank face somehow deepens to the stankiest stank you ever stanked.

One Foot In the Grave:

This is on the lighter end of the spectrum from some of the other tracks on the album, yet still a hard-hitting metal anthem! Some people (read those who only heard Spit) were surprised by this one, but we know the hardcore Kittie fans expect and appreciate the dynamics that these tracks introduce to our albums and live show. We really love a variety of music ourselves and have always taken inspiration from all over the map, so we are thrilled to share some more melodic songs, especially this one which I think our fans will really enjoy singing along with in a live setting!

I find Morgan's vocals extremely catchy and alongside Mercedes’ well-placed drum hits this makes for a truly anthemic chorus. I kept the bass simple but groovy to complement Tara’s oh so tasty leads and I think this whole song just comes together very nice; a pleasant surprise amongst the uber- heavy tracks that surround it.

Morgan

Fire

I think Fire might be my favorite track on the album. It’s an incredibly dynamic and commanding opening track about the quiet rage that the expectation of silence and compliance creates, that I feel embodies everything this new album is: dark, powerful, menacing and a little sexy. The goal with this song was to really create a dark and driving soundscape, that includes all of the ingredients that make up Kittie’s sound. Album openers are so important to set the tone of what’s to come and I feel like Fire accomplishes just that. It comes out of the gate swinging with calculating punches that refuse to let up, and creates the kind of controlled chaos that I love.”

Falter

Falter is a song that is also a contender for my favourite on this album. There is something about the chorus melody that even brings me to a place of empowerment when I listen to it. It has the kind of quality that evokes strong emotions and a lot of people I’ve played it for feel it’s pull. A song like Falter really encompasses what we do best; blending heavy driving riffs with soaring melodies. There is always a lot of play with dark and light in our music, and this one is the epitome of melodic darkness. We threw in some old school harmonics in the verse to harken back to our early days, while blending old ideas and new. It’s really what this album is all about!

We Are Shadows

We Are Shadows is about an nu metal throw back as we get, with some more modern influences thrown in there for good measure. Recapturing some of that spirit and energy without sacrificing the evolution of the band was sort of the goal here. I think sometimes straightforward is best when it comes to writing and this song has the right kind of energy to provoke and get people moving.The chorus of this song is probably one of the best we have written, and it’s funny but it really wrote itself and it was a very easy task to complete. Everything about the soaring nature of the note choices elevates this song to new heights and it’s already proving to be a fan favorite.