Artist: Kittie
Label: Artemis Records
Release Date: 11/13/01
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Title: Oracle Artist: Kittie Label: Artemis Records Release Date: 11/13/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
Wow. It sounds like these Canadian lasses have grown up. In a move rarely seen in this industry, this band seems to have distanced themselves from their nu-metal debut, and toughened up their sound. This new effort is, for the most part, a metalcore album, and quite a successful one at that. Kittie have taken the best parts of their debut, Spit, namely melody and groove, and rewoven it into a sound that is decidedly more underground. Even die-hard critics of this band will have a difficult time denying that this band has grown in leaps and bounds.
"Even die-hard critics of this band will have a difficult time denying that this band has grown in leaps and bounds." The vocals come in two styles, a sweet melodic voice that reminds you that this band consists of young ladies, and an acidic growl that drives home the point that this is far from the fluff you might be expecting. The songwriting is around the same caliber as their previous album, but these last few years of experience come shining through, as this is a much more complete record. They appear to be more competent musicians, and their songs have become less fragmented, making them more forceful as well as more enjoyable to listen to.
Their strongest songs continue to be the heaviest, as that is where the rhythmic growls contrast the sweeter parts the most, but the most impressive part of this album is how they’ve set themselves apart from the pack. While they were arguably a novelty girl act before, this album makes that stance sound ridiculous. And while they still aren’t the most original act out there, they are definitely coming into their own. Just listen to their cover of Floyd’s “Run Like Hell”, in some ways it’s not even recognizable as a cover, showing this band is doing more than going through the motions.
" So continue to bash this band if you like, but if the precedent has been set, this band will just continue to improve." Kittie are going to continue to have their detractors, especially considering how hard it is to shake off the label of nu-metal, but this album will make a lot of people switch their stance. So continue to bash this band if you like, but if the precedent has been set, this band will just continue to improve. One word review: Really good. (Alright, I know that’s not one word, let’s not get technical.)
Death's Review:
I have to admit, Kittie has surprised me with this one. I definitely went into this review not expecting to like Oracle, remembering Kittie as a bunch of teenage wanna-be's who could barely play their instruments when they performed at the 1999 Milwaukee Metalfest and nevertheless have been running around giving interviews for the last two years talking about how much they like Nile in what seemed like a targeted attempt to muster underground credibility. Then I listened to Oracle, and I realized that like Slipknot before them, success and maturity has only instiled in Kittie a true desire to get heavier, and Kittie wear it well. Oracle is indeed brutal, and is heavier, better-produced and better- performed than its predecessor. Indeed, Kittie are growing up, and the music is getting better with them.
"Success and maturity has only instiled in Kittie a true desire to get heavier, and Kittie wear it well." The opener, "Oracle" starts out with a cool riff featuring some double-bass drums and total death vocals. Track 3, "In Winter," features Gathering-esque clean female vocals, interspersed with a very cool death metal chorus. Kitte throws another curve at track 5, daring to cover Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell". Kittie, the art rock band? I thought not. The cover is mildly successful, notwithstanding the inevitably horrid Roger Waters comparisons which must be drawn, primarily for the daring of its inclusion and the intensity of the original. Track 6, "Pain" features more bass drums and is also cool, and track 7, "In Wolves," fucking smokes, at points evoking Morbid Angel, at others Pantera. The mostly clean "What I Always Wanted" (track 8) drags a bit however, at least until the closing thirty seconds, as does the way too mellow "Safe" (track 9) (although there are surely some vocal peaks in the choruses). The album finishes with the epic, ten-minute+ "Pink Lemonade," which basically invented the word "drag" it is so slow, but at least it plods along in a doomy fashion.
Overall, Oracle is a good record, a major step in the right direction for Kittie. Sure, the riffs are relatively simple on most of the tracks, but the drumming is competent and the intensity is clear. This is honest metal, not bullshit pop. The clean vocal tracks are--for the most part--standard "The Gathering meets Drain STH but not as good as either" material, and many of the heavier parts sound very much the same as each other (play the first minute or so of tracks 1, 6 and 10 one after another to see what I mean), in the end the album's most glaring flaw. But still, these girls are here to play metal, and they are doing so with just enough ferocity to possibly convert some of the "more underground than thou" set. That, in and of itself, is enough to make Oracle more interesting than the average contender.
"This is honest metal, not bullshit pop."
Hel's Review:
With their second release, Kittie has indeed matured. They are more proficient at their instruments, the death-style growl is more convincing, and overall, you can just tell they've got it together a bit more than on their earlier work. But here's the issue: as much as I want to support them, give them a pat on the head for putting out an unexpectedly heavy album when it would have been so easy to go the nu-metal route they were already accepted into, I still have to measure the worth of their album on the same scale that I rate the rest of the metal albums I review.
On the larger scale, I can't rate Kittie as highly as if I were simply comparing this record to their last. For all their growth, they still have plenty of room for worthwhile improvement. The songwriting is still rather simplistic, though there are a few efforts at complexity that work rather well exhibited, overall, it is uncomplicated to the point of being nearly boring. The riffs are often slow and drawn out, with only a few notes repeated over and over. The drumming is adequate, but the key to a great metal band is always a phenomenal drummer, and she's not that yet. The short bursts of double bass do not impress me much - sustain it over a few measures, and then we'll talk.
"For all their growth, they still have plenty of room for worthwhile improvement." However, I'm not writing Kittie off as a mediocre band. The difference between this and their first release is astonishing, and I stand by my original assessment that they can be a great band someday. Clearly, touring has given them some valuable experience, and that has certainly helped. My appreciation of metal as a whole is firmly tied up in the proficiency of the people wielding pen and axe and microphone and sticks. And while the hands of Kittie are no longer inexperienced, they have not yet achieved mastery of the tools of metal. In the grand scheme of metal, I envision that they are currently in high school - and once they begin college their depth of knowledge will grow more than they even thought possible. I appreciate that these women are truly trying to make an honest go of being a real metal band, and they are one. They're not great yet, but in time, I still believe they have the potential to be. Keep up the hard work, sisters - I hope the next one is as much better as this one was. Metal needs a band like Kittie.
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