I just bought it, and I’m not quite half way through the first listen yet. it’s the first day it’s been out, so probably not too many people have it.
I just wanted to open this thread and see what people’s first day reviews are. I’ll come back and tell you what mine is.
Just gotta say that “Run Like Hell” has me pumping my fist in the air and wishing I could bang my head without the headphones coming off.
LC
I didn’t know it was out yet. I’ve heard its supposed to be incredibly heavy.
OK, review time.
Yes blur, it is heavy as hell. I think that with this album, Kittie are forging the way for what has already been dubbed (with the album out for 1 day) New-School Metal. Not Nu-Metal, mind you.
They mix the heavy whininess/old school influence of Spit with all the knowledge they clearly learned while touring with the likes of Pantera. Pour in a heavy dose of Death Metal, and we have Oracle.
Most of the songs are ball-crushingly heavy, with Morgan going between almost disturbingly angelic, mourning singing to yowling hissing roar-singing. It’s really effective when this is layered via studio-magic.
The best songs are Run Like Hell, a badass Pink Floyd cover that showcases everyone in the band, What I Always Wanted, which will make you bleed and Safe, a brooding, thumping tune driven by a thin piano sound. Very effective.
Every remaining band member has improved (Fallon, their guitarist left the band under mysterious circumstances, reportedly she was kicked out for being really freaky and “in to cult-like behavior”. When I saw her she was wearing a shirt with a big red inverted pentagram, so maybe this is possible). Talena’s rib-shaking 5-string bass lines power the songs without copying the guitars exactly. Morgan’s singing swings back and forth effectively and Mercedes’ drumming has gotten to be 10 times as good as it was.
Song List with stars out of 5:
Oracle - 3, good album starter, blindingly heavy from the instant it starts
Mouthful Of Poison - 4, badass. Really heavy, a mold for new-school metal to come.
In Winter - 2.5, good, but too melodic for the rest of the album. Doesn’t fit right.
Severed - 4.5 just for Talena’s bass work mixed with Mercedes’ drumming here. This is a headbanger for sure.
Run Like Hell - 5, they made this song theirs and it rules. My new favorite cover song ever.
Pain - 2.5, nothing much to this. It’s not even sufficiently brutal to up the score.
Wolves - 3.5. It hurts. Owww. Rage and pain and droning guitars. Wee!
What I Always Wanted - 5, rocks really hard, shows both sides of Morgan, great performance from all 3 members.
Safe - 5, thuds, tinkles, broods, rocks. hurts. fabulous.
No Name - 4, great popping thudding start, moves in to true death metal. Fast, hard, hot n heavy. Moshing to this would be beautiful
Pink Lemonade - 3.5 Slow but really heavy. Grinding with an old-school influence in their somewhere.
(12). The special edition cd’s have a live version of “What I Always Wanted”. It’s really cool.
Kittie has grown up, and they are now a formidable force. Coming from being the girls who could keep up with the big boys in the metal world to the band on the leading edge of a new sound, this album blows Spit away. Great stuff, lots of fun. Do not listen with a headache. Overall rating - 4 out of 5
LC
Lucki, you must be a female to give that band such high reviews because if they were men, they never would have gotten past thier first release.
I have had Oracle for almost 3 weeks (I got hook ups). I didnt ask for it. I get alot of CD’s a week or two before they hit and I have to tell you, these girls are mediocre metal players. All of their sounds are the recycled 3 chord wonders that gave the Nu-Metal (and yes, it is infact Nu-Metal, regardless of what you read) “sound” its popular boost.
I do not review albumns based on the background of the players in the band. Just cause these are girls in a mans genre doesnt mean they should be held to a lower standard than the men. I group these girls in the same pile as I do Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Disturbed, etc… They are a picture that was painted for today’s angst ridden young females to rally behind. You will say “They are so much heavier than Linkin Park/Drowning Pool/ placenumetalbandhere”. Just because you turn up the overdrive, tune it down, and chug the same chords over and over in different rythmns does not make you heavy.
Besides that, Morgan is the worst excuse for a female metal singer I have heard in quite some time. Check out Doughnuts on victory records for some pretty good female metal. I must say though that I have never heard an awsome female metal singer.
If you really like truly heavy metal without all the shred soloing and other garbage, go pick up “The Hammering Process” by Living Sacrifice. Beleive it or not, these guys are a christian metal band. The only one in my collection. Listened to them for over a year before I figured it out. You may like it.
As far as Kittie goes though, they need to go back into the kennel.
(Wow, that was weak. I wish I had something wittier to say 
)
[Hijack] Just couldn’t help myself…
I got dragged to a Christian metal concert in a suburban church in Indianapolis last Spring. The line-up, Stavesacre (seen 'em mentioned elsewhere in this board), Living Sacrifice, and headliners Project 86 played to a crowd of about 300 doe-eyed mineral water-drinking teenagers.
I had never heard of any of these bands, BTW, and I am not particularly turned on by metal in general. But what struck me was how little overt “Christianity” came through from the music. What also struck me was Living Sacrifice - 45 minutes of the LOUDEST music I have ever heard, delivered in stereotypical head-bobbing death metal style. Still, through the wall of sheer cacophany, I could tell how really talented these guys are. True musicians.
And as much as I find Kittie amusing, they are nothing compared to Living Sacrifice as far as talent is concerned. Trust me on this one.
It seems that the problem is that I just have bad taste. I’m willing to acknowledge this, though.
I really like Godsmack, Kittie, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Drowning Pool and Disturbed. That gives you a frame of reference for my seriously lacking taste.
Best concert I ever saw was Nonpoint, Mudvayne and Kittie. Often I judge music by how sick it would be in the pit during the time that song is playing, if it would be absolutely insane, that’s a pretty good song.
By this standard, No Name and What I Always Wanted are great songs. Safe just plain rules.
LC
Nah, man, you don’t lack taste. You just lack MY taste.
Based on the list you provided of bands you like (particularly Mudvayne), you would LOVE Living Sacrifice. Seriously. I watched them for 45 minutes with my mouth agape (had to let the air that was being compressed inside my chest by all the noise out). I was blown away. And I pretty much hate “cookie monster vocals” death metal. Actually, I don’t hate it, I just have a limited tolerance for it.
And I have ZERO tolerance for “Christian Rock” in any form (ar at least I thought I did befaore that show). Funny thing is, Even though the Living Sacrifice “singer guy” was “using” the microphone throughout the whole show, I couldn’t understand a single word he said besides “I” (he said that several times) and “drugs” (which he said while gesturing with his arm, using his index finger as a syringe, followed by the universal “no” sign; the message: “drugz is bad, kidz”). Other than that, no indication whatsoever (aside from the fact that they were playing on what was essentially an altar) that this was a Christian act.
Oh, and the mosh pit was about as sick as you have ever seen inside a church.
Like Phlip, the guy who dragged me to the show had been listening (quite contentedly) to Living Sacrifice for some time and had no idea they were Christian until they appeared on this bill with Project 86. He loves Mudvayne, Slipknot, Kittie. All the stuff you like. And probably more.
With me, talent and taste often don’t match. There is no question Slipknot is an enormously talented band, but their whole schtick is such a morose downer that I can’t stand 'em. You would think that a band that wears clown masks would have at least a shred of a sense of humor, but these guys must figure they’d be Gwar if they inspired a laugh or two here and there.
As for Kittie, I can’t listen to all of Spit straight through without getting a headache, but I CAN listen to “Brackish” over and over again – that cut kicks some serious ass. Based on what I have read here, I need to check out “Run Like Hell.” Might even buy the whole damned CD.
Thanks for the discussion, Lucki. Check out Living Sacrifice… you will be glad you did.
OK, Living Sacrifice is on my list of things that I must check out.
Brackish was never my favorite track, it’s too clearly overproduced with that electronic backbeat thing going on. My favorite song on that album is the title track, Spit. Now that’s a song to bleed to.
Even if you don’t buy or burn the album, check out Run Like Hell (make sure it’s the studio version from the album, not the low quality live recordings from like a year ago). Also check out Safe.
LC
…Lucki, you’ve uncovered my hidden weakness – I LOVE just about anything that incorporates electronics in music. Especially when I least expect it – like in the middle of a Kittie song. Probably why I dig Ministry so much.
“Spit” is my second favorite track on “Spit.” It’s the only other track I actually know the title of off the top of my head.
I am actually starting to get jazzed to hear “Run Like Hell.” Pink Floyd have made for some inspired covers another thread, I know) over the years (Primus comes to mind right away), and that has to be one of their coolest songs to begin with. Plus, you said elsewhere you like the RATM version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” which validates your “seriously lacking taste” as far as I am concerned.
Now, I will leave this thread until I have actually heard Oracle and can respond to the OP.
Kudos to the kiddies in Kittie for having appropriately cool taste in choosing cover tunes! Huzzah!
Wow, someone else has actually heard Living Sacrifice. The best CD to get is Hammering Process. Any Cd’s older than that are risky. They changed their sound big time for Hammering Process and it works. The second song on that CD is a thumper that must be heard in a car with a pounding system.
Your taste isnt what I’d call bad. Just limited. I would say you have bad taste if you didnt check out living sacrifice just because you never heard one of their songs on mtv or the radio. Check that disc out and let us know what you think.
BTW. Mudvayne has one of the best bass players Ive heard in years. They arent too bad. It blew my mind that Death Blooms made them hit big when Dig was so much better. Oh well, too each his own. Dont like Knot too much, but Joey Jordison is the best metal drummer Ive heard in years as well.
I feel bad having criticised those bands so bad cause you sound nice. I always get on a high horse when it comes to metal. Im a pig head:(
{hijack} Purdzilla, what the hell happened to ministry? Ill be damned if Psalm 69 isnt still one of the heaviest albums in existence, but everything since then has been crap. Filth Pig had a few decent ones, but Dark Side of the Spoon was awful. God I used to love those guys.{EOH}
Damn Purd, Now I gotta chime in again after re reading your post.
I cant stand RATM, but the cover of Tom Joad is one of my favorite covers in history.
So your taste aint THAT bad Lucki 
Well, speaking as a bass player, I’m going to agree that Ryknow (Mudvayne’s bassist) is one of the best I’ve ever heard. He is also a really cool stage presence, when I saw him he kneeled a few feet in front of me playing insane bass and making these faces behind that makeup like you wouldn’t believe. Scary, man, scary.
Just as a note, I don’t watch any TV at all, much less MTV. I’ll listen to the new rock station here, but more often NPR. My metal taste is hardly limited to what’s big, but I have to say that I like the Nu-Metal stuff that’s big on the radio right now, but also the old guard - Pantera, Slayer, Mortician, Cannibal Corpse, etc.
I also love local heaviness: Unloco, Coexist, Powderburn.
I love heavy in general I guess, but I’m not limited to that. I love Folk, New Age, Classic Rock… Let’s not forget that I’m a flower child at heart. I love Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Jefferson Airplane, and yes I HAVE MET YANNI!. So I take some offense to having my taste called limited. I can listen to good examples of any genre, although in general I avoid Rap, Bubblegum Pop, Country and “Adult Pop”. So, uhh, there!
LC
If you wanna hear real female metal you would be well advised to check out Crisis - Deathshead Extermination. Karyn Crisis has an amazing vocal range and she is also quite easy on the eyes. You can hear a lot of their songs at MP3.com. Melodic Death metal act Arch Enemy recently added a female vocalist on their new album Wages of Sin however the album has not been released in North America yet. I’ve got plenty of other female metal bands I can recommend, just let me know if you’re interested !
Kittie are an okay addition to mallcore music but calling them “metal” would be a misnomer. IMHO.
I always preferred the likes of Vengeance Rising for my Christian Metal appetite. How can you fail to understand the word of god with lyrics like this
.
Of course, their music lacks a certain amount of, how shall I say… love. I always thought VR was getting by on a technicality as their music and lyrics were just as violent as most other metal bands in the 80s.
I liked Spit. Didn’t know they had another one out, I guess I’ll go check it out.
If they weren’t female I know I probably wouldn’t like them, but I just love female vocalists.