In the Black

In the Black is the fifth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, released on September 15, 2009, through E1 Music. It was the band's first album with bassist Ivy Jenkins, who joined the band in 2007. Recording sessions for the album were held with producer Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario, in November and December 2008. Featuring a raw, stripped-down sound and elements of black metal, metalcore and melodic death metal, Kittie intended the album to be an "antithesis" to the previous album Funeral for Yesterday (2007), having been disappointed with its production and style.

In the Black received generally favourable reviews from critics, with several critics calling it Kittie's strongest album to date. The album debuted at number 133 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 3,400 copies in its first week. Kittie toured in support of the album from September 2009 to September 2010, performing in North America and Europe. The band also joined the 2010 Thrash and Burn Tour and embarked on supporting tours with Insane Clown Posse and DevilDriver.

Music, writing and recording

In the Black has been described as groove metal, heavy metal and thrash metal. The album features elements of black metal, metalcore, and melodic death metal, and mixes clean singing with black metal and death metal-inspired growls and screamed vocals. Vocalist and guitarist Morgan Lander said that the members of Kittie were disappointed by the production and style of their previous album Funeral for Yesterday (2007), and subsequently strove to present In the Black as an "antithesis" to the album: "we wanted to go back to a more raw, angry, brutal metal approach." According to Noisecreep, "Some of the [album's] anger came from the band disentangling from a label 'partnership' which generated their own imprint." The album was Kittie's first with bassist Ivana "Ivy" Jenkins, who joined the band in 2007 following the departure of Trish Doan. Kittie knew of Jenkins as she was supposed to have auditioned for the band in 2005, but was unable to due to her car totaling.

Kittie began "sketching out ideas" for their next album whilst on tour in the summer and fall of 2008. The band did not begin writing new material together until later in the year, by which time they had been released from their contract with their previous record label. The songwriting process for In the Black was more collaborative than that of Funeral for Yesterday, which was written by Morgan and Mercedes alone. Morgan and Mercedes wrote most of its material themselves, before seeking McLeod's input. Mercedes credited McLeod and Jenkins for making the album sound "multi-dimensional and complete"; McLeod said that she "realised her value in [Kittie]" when the band began using her riffs and guitar parts. In July 2008, the band played two new songs, "My Plague" and "Sorrow I Know", in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In August 2008, Kittie's manager and Morgan and Mercedes' father, David Lander, died of a heart attack. Mercedes subsequently found making the album to be "therapeutic", although she also noted that its material had been written before his death.

Without the backing of a record label, Kittie recorded In the Black in three weeks between November and December 2008 with producer Siegfried Meier, at his newly constructed Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario. Kittie had first worked with Meier on their second album Oracle (2001), where he was credited as an assistant engineer. For the album, Meier bought a Studer A827 tape machine, which was used to record its vocals, guitars and bass parts; Mercedes Lander's drums were recorded digitally. Meier said that the band wanted to avoid having too many vocal harmonies and "glisteny, polished, airy things" on the album. According to Mercedes, Morgan recorded two takes for her vocals, selected the best one, "and that was it. [Meier] didn't fuck with the vocals". Mercedes considered its recording to be closest to their debut album Spit (1999), in that Kittie "got to do exactly what we wanted, how we wanted it", and praised Meier's production, saying that he was "the first producer [Kittie have] worked with that knows metal and knows what we want to sound like. ... [In the Black] is the first album that we've recorded that I'm totally happy with."

The album's title is a play on the financial term "in the red". Mercedes said that being In the Black "doesn't mean you're clear of all your problems, but you're on your way to doing better. That's kind of how we feel right now. We're doing a lot better — we're on our way towards making a full recovery." The album was Kittie's first since Spit to feature its members on the cover. The band dedicated the album to David Lander.

Release

Promotion

On June 26, 2009, Kittie announced that they had signed a three-album record deal with E1 Music. The band chose to sign with the label as they had worked with a number of people at the label years before. In particular, they had known Scott Givens, the label's vice president of Metal, for over 10 years. On July 18, 2009, the band revealed the track listing for In the Black; four days later, they uploaded "My Plague" to their MySpace page. "Cut Throat" and "Sorrow I Know" were also released as singles on July 31 and August 17, 2009, respectively. The former debuted on Sirius XM's Liquid Metal station on August 31, 2009.

In July 2009, Kittie worked with director David Brodsky on two music videos, for "Cut Throat" and "Sorrow I Know". The former, released on September 3, 2009, features the band performing the song inside an abandoned department store in Brooklyn. The "Sorrow I Know" video was filmed at the Backroom in New York City on July 26, 2009. The band invited its fans to participate in the video shoot, which featured a 1920s/1930s speakeasy theme. The video premiered on Noisecreep on January 14, 2010. An "uncut" version was released on February 8, 2010. On May 4, 2010, Kittie filmed a music video for "Die My Darling" with director John Barber, which was subsequently released on June 7, 2010. Morgan and Mercedes initially planned the video as a spoof of the Quentin Tarantino film Death Proof (2007), and it "just turned into its own kind of thing".

In the Black was released in the United States through E1 Music on September 15, 2009, and in Europe through Massacre Records on October 23, 2009. It was released as a CD and on vinyl, the latter in limited quantities. The album debuted at number 133 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 3,400 copies in its first week. The album also reached number 18 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart and number 23 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart.

Touring

On August 1, 2009, Kittie played at the Altered Skin Revolution festival in Saginaw, Michigan, where they performed "Cut Throat" live for the first time. From September 27 to October 29 2009, the band embarked on a headlining tour of the United States supported by Soil, Red Line Stitch and Arkaea. In January 2010, the band toured Europe with It Dies Today and Malefice. Forever Never and Magnacult provided additional support on select dates. In March 2010, they embarked on a co-headling tour of North America with God Forbid. Periphery and Gwen Stacy opened for both bands from March 3 to 11 and March 14 to 21, 2010, respectively.

From May 10 to June 8, 2010, Kittie embarked on their first supporting tour since 2000, for Insane Clown Posse on their Happy Daze tour. In a 2010 interview with Noisecreep, Morgan said that the tour was one of the last things David Lander organized for Kittie prior to his death, and that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope had previously invited the band to join their tours but had turned them down. Although Kittie considered themselves an outlier as they were "the only band who played instruments", the tour went "unbelievably well" for the band, according to Morgan. Mercedes said of the tour: "ICP was amazing, the crowds were amazing. We had circle pits every night, you know what I mean? Those kids are definitely into metal as well, which is really nice." She also said that the band had managed to sell "a box of CDs per night" on the tour.

From July 16 and August 15, 2010, Kittie participated in the 2010 Thrash and Burn Tour, featuring Asking Alexandria, Born of Osiris, Impending Doom and Motionless in White. From August 25 to September 25, 2010, the band supported DevilDriver on a tour of North America, alongside Kataklysm and Hostility. Following the tour, Kittie took a small break before starting work on their next album, I've Failed You (2011).

Critical reception

In the Black received generally favourable reviews from critics. Blabbermouth.net applauded the album's "ferocious conviction" and considered it to be "the biggest metal shock of 2009". Similarly, Rock Hard's Marcus Schleutermann stated that the album's songs and arrangements are "more convincing than ever", and that In the Black is "undoubtedly [their] best album." Denise Falzon of Exclaim! was surprised by the quality of the album's sound and songwriting. Ultimate Guitar noted Kittie's stronger instrumentation and chemistry on the album, and stated that it "could very well be the Canadian quartet's best effort". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised the album's grooves and variety, comparing it favourably to Sinergy.

Some critics were more reserved in their praise. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic stated that In the Black only "fortifies what [Kittie have] been standing on for the last decade". Jan Wischkowski of Metal.de felt that the album lacked any standout tracks. Michael Edele of laut.de felt the album's guitar solos were "sloppily or just cheaply [played]". The A.V. Club's Leonard Pierce and Time Off's Kenada Quinlan both noted the album's improved musicianship but criticized Morgan's vocals.

In a 2020 Reddit AMA on the r/numetal subreddit, Morgan and Mercedes both named In the Black as the Kittie album they are most proud of.

Track listing

All songs written by Kittie.

Personnel

Adapted from CD liner notes.

Charts

Release history

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Fred, Seigneur (Winter 2009). "Kittie: Black is Beautiful" (PDF). Metal Obs' (in French). H.I.M Media. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
• McCallum, Rob (director) (2017). Kittie: Origins/Evolutions (Motion picture). Canada: Lightyear Entertainment.
• Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.

Further reading

• Bilach, Andrew (September 21, 2009). "Kittie Interview with Morgan Lander". All Knowing Force (Podcast). Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2024.

External links

• In the Black on YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
• MNRK Music Group (January 15, 2010). Kittie EPK / In the Black In-Stores now. Retrieved February 29, 2024 – via YouTube.