Artist: Kittie
Title: I’ve Failed You
Genre: Nu-metal
Release Date: 2nd September 2011
Label: Massacre Records
Album Review
KITTE is one of the top female fronted bands in metal music these days ever since they showed their fiery, young energy with their debut album ‘Spit’. To hear KITTIE now in 2011 compared to 1999 though it would be very difficult to recognize the same band side by side. KITTE has gone through so many evolutionary steps, from the solid nu-metal sophomore effort ‘Oracle’ to the experimental punk-metal ‘Funeral For Yesterday,’ and now they’ve put out their sixth record just two years after the excellent release of ‘In The Black’. Like ‘In The Black’, KITTIE keep things heavy and continue to show their groove metal evolution, but at the same time try to step back to the roots of ‘Spit’ which was full of a gritty sound with tons of screaming. On ‘In The Black’ the band aimed for more of a balanced, but commercial sounding modern metal touch with the usual harsh vocal verses and clean vocal lyrics that were excellent tracks, but offered little variation throughout the album. Here, with ‘I’ve Failed You’, KITTIE resolve that issue and once again offer a very strong metal album.
At first some may wonder if KITTIE did indeed revert back to their old sound. ‘I’ve Failed You’ starts things off in a ferocious manner with snarling all the way and a heavy, churning sound. The music doesn’t feature as many hooks and rock oriented riffs to keep up the catchy riffs of a track like ‘Ready Aim Riot’ from the previous album; it just hits like a straight up metal track compared to ‘Oracle’ days. The clean vocals don’t even show up until track three with ‘Whispers Of Death’, and right from the start one can tell KITTIE has only gotten better with their vocal production; it has more of haunting, faded tone which suits perfectly for some of the more personal songs throughout the album, like ‘What Have I Done’, which features a more simple, chugging pace so listeners can really focus on the lyrics, similar to ‘Falling Down’ from ‘In The Black’. Then there is brief acoustic ‘Empires Part I’ which serves as an introduction to ‘Part II’, - which sounds more like the KITTIE fans know and love by now with the harsh vocals, proper grooves, and clean choruses - but it would have been more effective if KITTIE had kept them together for a great epic. Of course the highlight of the album would have to be the final track ‘Time Never Heals’ which has a slow, rhythm throughout but also features some great solo work behind it. It may not have as dramatic as an opening as ‘The Truth’ from ‘In The Black’ but the emotional impact the song brings is huge as the vocals mourn away in a completely clean fashion. The lyrics can be a bit repetitive, but they are easy to connect with compared to previous albums and songs by KITTIE.
Some might consider ‘I’ve Failed You’ a bit ironic because in reality it is probably some of the best work that KITTIE has ever done. They aren’t going to repeat the mistakes they made in ‘Funeral For Yesterday’ by making it too punk and rock oriented - and also as a result, more pop oriented and just too “happy” as opposed to “dark” - and just focused on powerful groove rhythms with even stronger lyrics while incorporating that haze of twisted atmosphere that suits metal albums pretty well when done properly. When hearing a song like ‘Never Come Home’ one knows that there is a lot of heart behind this music, and to compare it to some of the lyrics on ‘Spit’ which were very laughable (like ‘Johnny’), the band has come a long way with their songwriting process. ‘I’ve Failed You’ sounds like it took careful time and craft to arrange everything, which is something that didn’t really show for KITTIE until the last album they made. For those who are not used to KITTIE, ‘I’ve Failed You’ is a great starting point for those who are into bands like WALLS OF JERHICO, EYES SET TO KILL, and even THE AGONIST. It’s a bit short compared to usual expectations, but sweet all the same.
Tracklist
01. I‘ve Failed You - 2:11
02. We Are The Lamb - 2:52
03. Whisper of Death` - 4:18
04. What Have I Done - 5:25
05. Empires (Part 1) - 2:14
06. Empires (Part 2) - 3:42
07. Come Undone - 2:16
08. Already Dead - 2:51
09. Never Come Home - 3:15
10. Ugly - 2:57
11. Time Never Heals - 4:31
Line-up
Morgan Lander - Guitar, vocals
Mercedes Lander - Drums
Tara McLeod - Guitar
Ivy Vujic - Bass
Website
http://www.kittierocks.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10
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