Kittie United States

"Kittie are often described as an alternative metal band, or a nu metal band, but "I've Failed You" is an onslaught of dark power-thrash which definitely does not fail.

The album starts out with the uptempo thrash 'I've Failed You' which is followed by a string of mainly midtempo tracks that combine power metal and thrash metal, although there are also a couple of heavy tracks and uptempo tunes as well. While there are alternative metal elements on the album, mostly in the form of Alice-in-Chains inspired clean choruses (a lot of the vocals are harsh and growled though), I hear no nu metal- elements whatsoever (there's no rapping, no hip hop elements, and most of the tracks have guitar solos).

In terms of musicianship, the ladies in Kittie show that they are skilled rock musicians. The rhythm guitar picking is very precise as is the drumming, while the guitar solos have a lot of blues feel to them.

This is all out metal, and, if they can live with the harsh vocals, "I've Failed You" should appeal to fans of power-thrash metal as well as fans of modern extreme metal (they should have no problems with the harsh vocals of course) and fans of alternative metal.

I have tried to avoid the issue of gender, because I think that it is irrelevant to the music, but, if the Mythbusters ever set out to investigate the myth that girls can't rock, all they needed in order to bust that myth would be one spin of this album.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"