Kittie - Oracle

My Thoughts: (Reviewed by O. Anderson)

A band of girls? Yes, yes, indeed... To think Kittie used to be my favourite band... ugh. I was so naive... I had put this album away ever since I got into the alternative rock scene and headed away from metal for a little, but the other day I picked it up to give it a second listen... why I did, I don't even know. Every doubt I had in Kittie became stronger, I no longer found them original or creative, just loud and obnoxious. Plus, it's a shame that the only talented member of this band left prior to the recording of "Oracle", which meant that Morgan Landers, a less talented guitarist, took over the main position... sooo disappointing. For starters, as I just mentioned, the guitars are simple... waaay too simple. Also, although, to the credit of Landers, her metal-scream is pretty good, she uses it way too much. She's got a beautiful singing voice, as well, she should really have woven that into some of the songs... but she didn't. In fact, she BUTCHERED a Pink Floyd classic, "Run Like Hell" with that beastly scream. I wanted to cry.

Furthermore, like the case is with a lot of metal bands as of late, almost every song sounds similar to the last. It just makes for not-so-fun listening... and, again, to the slim but present credit of Kittie, the ones that sound different are actually decent songs... Finally, I have to comment on this... before I even listened to the CD, I read the inset booklet... IT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. Seriously, there were pictures of X-rays of knives going through peoples' stomachs, it was messed up, man... Okay, now it seems as though I've ripped this album to pieces, which I have, but it deserves its shred of praise. Morgan Landers has an incredible voice, I mean it. On certain songs, like "What I've Always Wanted", "Safe", and "In Winter" we see flashes of brilliance... but it fades into crappy songs like "Oracle". The drums, which are provided by Morgan's sister, Mercedes, are actually not that bad. She's pretty good with metal progressions and such, pretty talented. However, I do believe that these two points are the only praises I can provide for Kittie. I've been looking into their latest album, which came out a week or two ago. Again, I see slight signs of talent from this Morgan lass, but I have my doubts... major doubts. Please, metal fans, please, stray away from this album, and for that matter, this band.

Key Tracks:

What I Always Wanted
Severed
Safe