Kittie
Fire
Sumerian Records
We’ve seen it many times. An artist takes a time out, and when they come back, they find themselves out of date, out of step and out of fans. It takes something special to pick up where you left off years ago and sound like you’ve been ever-present. Enter Kittie and their remarkable return in the form of ‘Fire’. Time hasn’t dulled either the writing or performance; if anything, it’s allowed the Canadians to re-focus. They sound fully energised and, thankfully, as exquisitely brutal as ever. The music is fresh and progressively nuanced, and the production is quite superb. The rise of women performing at the heavier end of the spectrum, specifically vocalists, has been one of the highlights of the last decade or so. Tatiana Shmayluk, Alissa White-Gluz and others have carried the baton into new areas, but the pioneer queen has always been Morgan Lander. And now she is re-seated on her throne. The fantastic thing about ‘Fire’ is that Lander sounds sharper, more controlled and even better than ever. After a gap of 13 years, this is a triumphant return for a much-loved band. You can sense the excitement in fans, too. This has album of the year written all over it.
Review By Gary Trueman