Kittie Album: “Oracle”

As a fan of pure black and death metal I can tell you one thing, Kittie has gone far beyond the reaches of that all girl hardcore nu-metal outfit that I have grown to love, they have progressed to a level where most bands only dream of reaching. They have successfully mixed neo-metallic ideas, a both very etherial and brutal vocal apporach, a strong death metal edge, hardcore / metalcore riffing, and a slight gothic sound. 'Oracle' is starkly different than their Artemis debut 'Spit'. With 'Oracle' they have lost all of their nu-metal sound, but still retained the freshness and melody that came with it.

Comparisons to bands such as KoRn and Slipknot are no longer appropriate when describing Kittie. Durring the aggressive portions of the album, it has more of an early Soilwork (pre-'A Preditor's Portrait') type feel to it, or a definite Lamb of God reference (the song "No Name" sounds so much like "Black Label" its scary, but it still retains its own identity), and a references to early Dismember and Death can be found on the album's opener "Oracle" and on "Mouthful of Poison". During the more melodic parts of the album, it sounds like a more etherial type vibe, he ll maybe even Sigur Ros influenced. But, again, unlike 'Spit', Morgan Lander's (vocals / guitars) voice has a beautiful, melodic quality to it, and her scream has been fined tune (references to the great Arch Enemy are pointless, she sounds almost nothing like Angela Gossow). The standout tracks on the album are "In Winter", "What I Always Wanted", "No Name", and "Run Like Hell" (one of the few times that a band has ever covered Pink Floyd and done them justice).

This album goes beyond moth-goths who think 'Hot Topic' is what it means to be metal, it is a strong death metal insprired album that keeps one he ll of a melodic through out. But do remember inspired is the keyword here, Kittie in no way sounds like Vomitory or Immolation, but it is still just as good. Not since Tool has such a great band been accepted into the mainstream. Kittie's sophmore album 'Oracle' is definitely once for the ages, and is definitely one of my favorite albums.

I was iffy about purchasing this album, because I got bored of Spit quite quickly. I made a rational decision to buy this CD and was NOT dissapointed! It doesn't have as much actual singing as Spit, but it is BRUTAL! Kittie may be girls, but they can rock 10 times harder than your average male metal band. If you heard the riffs these chicks write, you would think it's the new Pantera album.

Some good songs are "Wolves", and "Severed" and "Pain".

Kittie has really matured from Spit (no offense Kittie). Morgan's voice has matured with her singing, roaring (I LOVE her roaring) and guitar playing (from seeing her play guitar live over a year ago). Mercedes has become even better than she was before on the drums (I love her use of the double bass). Talena's bass playing has improved a lot as well. Kittie has matured lyrically and musically so much I could hardly believe that what I was listening to was in fact, Kittie. I was blown away from how heavy yet beautiful this album was. If you want the really heavy death metal(ish) songs filled with roaring, listen to Oracle, Severed, the first three minutes of Pain, and No Name. If you want songs Morgan tearing up her vocal chords, and displaying how good she can sing, listen to Mouthful of Poison, In Winter, Run Like Hell, Wolves, What I Always Wanted, and the end of Pain. If you want to hear Morgan displaying her beautiful singing and music writing abilities, listen to Safe (which show her piano playing abilities) and Pink Lemonade(which is one of the most hypnotically beautiful songs I have ever heard). This over all is one of my most favorite Cd's of all time because is has from beautiful to bone crushing music. Anyone who is really into music should get this album.

Well, I'll start off with the first thought that everyone should know before getting this album. Yes, it is a big CHANGE from "Spit". The album doesn't necessarily get wrose, they've just changed their sound to the Korn-like side of NuMetal. And while I agree "Spit" is better, this album would make an good debut if it was another band. The big difference is in the vocals. Instead of screaming, she is growling.

1"Oracle"-5/10 This song is 2 minutes of pure growling. Not the best but short and sweet.

2"Mouthful of Poison"-6/10 Well, it got off to a good start and when I finally heard Morgan's natural singing voice in the background it gave me the hope of her actually singing on here. The end is like a time warp that's somewhat appealing.

3"In Winter"-9/10 I call this the "Charlotte" of "Oracle". The verses are Morgan's sweet voice, using talented lyrics("On deaf ears your cries met hands"). The outline of the song just seems similar with little growling in the chorus and a suprising growl at the end. This song may not seem to make much sense but I find it's telling you not to let people kick you when you're down.

4"Severed"-7/10 Before I looked at the lyric book I could've sworn she said "Look at you now, you stupid b****" but then I remembered there is no profanity on this album(Hell doesn't count because it has to do with religion). I also heard this song was on Murder By Numbers, well i don't remember hearing it because I wasn't into KiTTiE when it came out so I must rent it again.

5"Run Like Hell"-8/10 Well, I link this Pink Floyd remake to Rocky Horror because Little Nell was in the Wall. There really wasn't any need for the first minute of music but it's still pretty good.

6"Pain"-6/10 (You deserve nothing at all) I must say this song didn't hit my meter of angst need but I'll listen to it if bored enough.

7"Wolves"-9/10 A genuis of looping nothing. This song is good if it's up VERY loud. This song brings the album back after the drop of songs like "Severed" and "Pain'.

8"What I Always Wanted"-10/10 The best song on here, just above "Wolves" and "In Winter". There's a reason they had to make this a single. It is simply the best this album has to offer. All around the music is divided yet blended and excellent.

9"Safe"-8/10 I like this. It's a nice jumble of wierd thoughts from the story of a lunatic but it's nice at the end.

10"No Name"-7/10 I must tell you of the four songs that are hard to distinguish. "Oracle", "Severed", "Pain" and "No Name". I consider them the four that could use rewriting to be more unique and different. The best of these, however, is "No Name". It's growling is perfection and speed is memorable. I rank this the top of the "All Screams".

11"Pink Lemonade"-6/10 Yeah, this 10-minute beauty has been thought of before but once you get into the vocals, it's alright. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't.

Overall, thsi album is 7/10 for not being very distinct in it's sound and genre. I hope the anticipated "Until The End", due July 26th is better than this though KiTTiE will probably never be up to "Spit" standards as Alanis will never be up to "Jagged Little Pill" standards. Sometimes debuts are the highest points and we will have to expect somethings to be ALMOST as good but never better. Thanks for any Yes clickers.