Kittie, an all-female metal band from Ontario, Canada is truly the pioneer for women in a male-dominated genre, and has been for decades. The band consists of members Mercedes (drums) and Morgan Lander (vocals), Ivy Jenkins (bass), and Tara McLeod (lead guitar.)
Their debut album Spit came out in 1999, garnering attention from metal artists and fans alike. The band toured alongside Slipknot and Spit became certified gold by the RIAA. By 2000, this female powerhouse group was winning awards across North America and making media appearances, showing the world what female led metal success can be.
Five albums later, dealing with the untimely death of guitarist Trish Doan and financial concerns, the Lander sisters were uncertain of the future of Kittie. Luckily 2021 brought a resurgence of nu-metal popularity and brought Kittie back from their hiatus. Booking agents reached out to the group with excitement, wanting to bring back their unique early 2000’s metal sound to a more modern scene.
Coming back with a bang, Kittie released a new single called “Vultures” in 2023, their first new song in 12 years. As of June 21, 2024, Kittie now has a new album out called Fire and released a line of custom clothing in collaboration with The Pretty Cult. The album mixes their melodic singing with aggressive screams and guitar riffs that are sure to feed your feminine rage. You can find the women performing at music festivals across North America, and on the road supporting Ukrainian female fronted metal bands like Jinjer.
We had the pleasure of meeting up with Mercedes, Morgan, Ivy, and Tara of Kittie in Quebec City at FEQ to talk about their new album, what they missed the most about touring, and what advice they have for future female rockers.
I’m sure you guys have played Quèbec before in all of your years in Canada. Any favorite spots?
Morgan: I think we’ve mostly played in Montreal. Les Foufounes Électriques is like, the place. It’s like a metal bar. We played it once.
Mercedes: It was the last time we were in Montreal.
Morgan: It’s right beside Le Sexotheque. I’ve never been there either, but I always see the sign and it makes me laugh.
Morgan and Mercedes, you are sisters. Any tips for traveling with family?
Morgan: We always end up sharing a room together, if Mercedes’ husband isn’t there. Sometimes there’s different buses involved.
Mercedes: I feel like one of us at least always forget something. I’m always like, “Hey, Morgan, can I borrow your brush?” Then I’ll break it or something. I did break her hairbrush recently.
What are your must-have truck stop items?
Mercedes?: Motherf*cking Combos. It’s a pretzel filled with fake cheese. I did go through a phase where I was f*cking obsessed with 7-Eleven taquitos. They’re delicious. But like, they would f*ck your ass up.
I just listened to your new album, Fire. I love the song. It’s by far my favorite on the album. Can you tell me the story behind it?
Morgan: I guess it’s kind of about the quiet rage that starts to brew when you’re told to be quiet, keep to yourself, don’t act out, don’t be defiant. Maybe it’s slightly autobiographical.
Mercedes: We’ve never been able to be that band where we just sit down and be quiet. We’re definitely not quiet.
Morgan: “Fire” was one of the earlier songs that was written for the album. There’s a lot going on. There’s melody, heavy vocals and screaming. It’s got a really nasty kind of groove to it, some cool breakdowns, a great solo, and even some talky stuff. Just sort of like a creepy voice whispering things that sort of harken back to the past as well. It’s everything that we’ve done sort of wrapped up into one song and it makes for a really explosive opening track.
Your band screams and sings. How do you train your voice? How do you take care of your voice to be able to do that?
Morgan: I exercise, hydrate, and eat well and all those things. They all play a part in being able to do this for as long as we do. There definitely is a technique. There are a lot of people out there, like Melissa Cross, who teach a technique where it’s sort of more protective to scream so you can also have the more melodic vocals.
I’ve had to actually work at being a good singer. The screaming for me is easy. The singing is something that I’ve definitely had to work at. Gals like us, we just got a little bit of the devil in us.
What are your favorite songs to perform off the album?
Mercedes: Well, we haven’t really performed them so much. I think we’ve only performed “Vultures” live. So, at this point I’m going to say “Vultures.” But after tonight I’ll probably say “Fire.”
Ivy: “Fire” is killer. It opens the album really cool.
You took a long time off from touring. What did you miss most from being on the road? Did you even miss it?
Band: I miss the fans and the way that this specific genre of music can create an actual connection. Metal is really special. I always say to people if you listen to metal and you don’t dig it, go to a show first because you kind of have to have the in-person live experience of connecting.
When people are first exposed to a mosh pit and they’re like, “what the hell are those people doing?” I get it because it looks really violent, but they’re actually helping each other. There might be a little blood involved, but everyone’s gonna make sure everyone’s okay. It’s like therapy. I definitely missed feeling totally connected to fans.
Any advice for up and coming female rockers?
Mercedes: Just keep working. Keep your head down. A lot of people are going to tell you a lot of different things… Just put in the effort and the doors will start opening. They’re starting to open, but you have to put the work in and just keep at it.
Morgan: Don’t let the bullsh*t distract you. F*ck everyone. You might hear a lot of “no,” but don’t let that stand in your way. If someone says that you can’t or you shouldn’t, you should. Do it.
Mercedes: The main thing to sum it up is make yourself undeniable. They want to deny you, so make it so that you’re undeniable.