Kittie

When guitarist Fallon Bowman and drummer Mercedes Lander crossed paths in a gymnastics class in September 1996, neither could have imagined they were laying the foundation for one of heavy metal's most enduring stories. Shortly after forming Kittie in London, Ontario, Mercedes' sister Morgan Lander joined as vocalist and guitarist, followed by bassist Tanya Candler in 1997. The band chose their name precisely because it seemed contradictory — a deceptively soft label for a group that would soon unleash a ferocious sound onto the world.

After building momentum through local shows and Canadian Music Week appearances, Kittie caught the attention of NG Records and released their debut album Spit in November 1999. When Artemis Records acquired NG and reissued the album in January 2000, it found an audience hungry for something new and untamed. Blending nu metal aggression with raw youthful energy, Spit sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States alone, earning RIAA gold certification. A supporting tour alongside Slipknot amplified their reach, and Billboard would later crown Kittie "the most successful female band in modern metal." Metal Edge readers were equally enthusiastic, voting the band New Band of the Year, Most Underrated Band, and handing them a total of five Readers' Choice Awards in 2000.

Success, however, came with growing pains. As the band evolved creatively, founder Fallon Bowman departed before the recording of their second album, citing creative differences and the mounting pressures of fame. Undeterred, Morgan recorded all guitar tracks herself, pushing Kittie toward a heavier, more aggressive sound. Released in November 2001, Oracle showcased influences ranging from Cannibal Corpse to Nile, marking a deliberate shift away from nu metal toward death metal and thrash. Though it never replicated the commercial heights of Spit, the album demonstrated that Kittie were committed artists rather than a fleeting trend. Their third album, Until the End, arrived in July 2004, further cementing their reputation for melodic yet ferocious metal, even as lineup changes and a legal dispute over unpaid royalties with Artemis Records created turbulence behind the scenes.

Parting ways with Artemis in March 2005, Kittie embraced independence with characteristic determination. Morgan and Mercedes founded their own label, eventually named X of Infamy after a cease-and-desist letter from attorneys representing Kiss forced a name change from Kiss of Infamy Records. With a revamped lineup including guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Trish Doan, the band released Funeral for Yesterday in February 2007, a record accompanied by a full DVD release and a headlining tour. The album proved that Kittie could thrive on their own terms, without the support of a major label infrastructure.

After signing to eOne Music in 2009, the band released In the Black and then I've Failed You in 2011, both featuring bassist Ivana "Ivy" Jenkins. Across these records, Kittie continued threading together alternative metal, groove metal, and death metal influences into a sound that was unmistakably their own. Yet the years that followed were marked by silence and sorrow. The band quietly entered an indefinite hiatus, and in February 2017, bassist Trish Doan passed away at the age of 31 after a long struggle with depression, a loss that made moving forward feel deeply complicated for both Morgan and Mercedes.

Rather than simply disappear, Kittie channeled their history into celebration. A crowdfunded documentary, Kittie: Origins/Evolutions, was released in March 2018, coinciding with the band's 20th anniversary and a remarkable reunion concert at the London Music Hall, which brought together past and present members to perform songs from every era of the band's catalogue. The event was a powerful reminder of just how much ground Kittie had covered, and how deeply their music had resonated.

The story was far from over. In early 2022, coinciding with a resurgence of nu metal's popularity, Kittie officially ended their hiatus. Ivy Jenkins rejoined on bass, and the band performed at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival and the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, where label head Ash Avildsen signed them to Sumerian Records on the strength of their live performance alone. After debuting the new song Vultures at the Sick New World Festival in May 2023, Kittie entered Sienna Studios in Nashville with producer Nick Rasculinecz to record their seventh studio album. Fire, released on June 21, 2024, arrived to widespread acclaim, with publications including Metal Hammer, Revolver, Consequence, and Exclaim! praising lead single Eyes Wide Open as one of the best songs of its week upon release.

Throughout their career, Kittie have defied easy categorisation. Their sound has been described as nu metal, alternative metal, groove metal, death metal, gothic metal, and more — a reflection of a band that never stopped growing. Vocally, Morgan has ranged from clean singing to death metal growls, and the band's lyrical and sonic palette has expanded with each release. Their formative influences spanned the Seattle grunge scene, with bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Silverchair shaping their earliest work, before the band gravitated toward the heavier worlds of Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and At the Gates.

The legacy of Kittie extends far beyond album sales and award wins. ROCKRGRL named them one of the most influential all-female bands of all time in 2004, and they have since been cited as an inspiration by artists including Poppy, Princess Nokia — who called Kittie her favourite metal band of all time — Lzzy Hale, Demi Lovato, Caroline Polachek, and Djamila Bozen Azzouz of Ithaca. Their collective independent releases have surpassed two million copies sold worldwide, a testament to a fanbase built on genuine connection rather than manufactured hype. After nearly three decades of music, Kittie remain a vital, living force in heavy metal — a band that scratched, clawed, and endured because the music simply demanded it.