Spit (album)

''Spit'' is the debut studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, originally released on November 13, 1999, through Ng Records. Kittie were formed in 1996, and signed a four-album deal with Ng following their performances at the Canadian Music Week festival in March 1999. Recorded over nine days in May 1999 with producer Garth Richardson at EMAC Studios in London, Ontario, ''Spit'' is a nu metal album that incorporates various elements from several heavy metal subgenres. Inspired by life experiences, its lyrical themes include sexism, hatred, ignorance, self-image, and betrayal. The album is Kittie's only release with their original line-up, featuring bassist Tanya Candler and guitarist Fallon Bowman. Following Candler's departure in September 1999, the band recruited bassist Talena Atfield.

Shortly after ''Spit'''s initial release, Ng was absorbed into Artemis Records, who reissued the album with a new cover on January 11, 2000. Kittie promoted the album with the release of two singles, "Brackish" and "Charlotte". Assisted by internet word-of-mouth and an extensive touring regimen, ''Spit'' was a commercial success in the United States, reaching number 79 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and becoming certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 2000. It did not perform as well in Canada due to a lack of radio support and touring. As of April 2003, it has sold sold 660,000 copies in the United States, and 40,000 in Canada. Retrospectively, ''Spit'' is regarded as one of the greatest nu metal albums of all time, and an inspiration to women in metal.

Background

Kittie were formed in September 1996 in London, Ontario, by drummer Mercedes Lander and guitarist Fallon Bowman, who met in a gymnatics class. They bonded over their shared interest in grunge artists such as Nirvana and Silverchair and started jamming together after realizing they both played instruments. Four or five months later, Mercedes' sister Morgan joined as their guitarist and vocalist. The trio started out playing covers of Nirvana, Silverchair, Deftones and Korn before attempting to write their own material; "Brackish" was the first song they wrote together. Most of the songs that would appear on ''Spit'' were written by Morgan, Mercedes and Bowman in 1997, and reworked until the album was recorded. The band wrote the music first, as a "backdrop" to Morgan's vocals. After the band recruited Tanya Candler as their first permanent bassist in November 1997, they named themselves Kittie in order to sign up for a Battle of the Bands competition at Call the Office in London, Ontario. In a 1999 interview with ''Metal Maidens'', Morgan explained that the name was intended to present a contradiction between its seemingly "cute, fragile and feminine" nature and what the band's music "really is about: women playing metal".

After playing their first live show on February 28, 1998, Kittie began playing shows in London, Ontario every one or two weeks at either Call the Office or The Embassy. The band also recorded two demos, engineered by Robert Nation, at EMAC Recording Studios. The owner of EMAC sent Kittie's second demo—a six-song extended play—to producer Garth Richardson, who agreed to record the band's debut album for a minimum fee. In March 1999, the band performed at the Canadian Music Week festival in Toronto, where they received several record label offers. Morgan said that Kittie had most of their songs ready by this point and were planning on recording an album with Richardson after Canadian Music Week even if they did not have a record deal. The band approached Jason Wyner, second-in-command at Ng Records. Ng had previously rejected the band's demos, but after seeing them perform live, Wyner signed Kittie into a four-album record deal with the label. Mercedes said that Kittie signed with Ng as they believed its status as a small label meant they would pay more attention to the band. Kittie did not officially sign to Ng until after ''Spit'' was recorded, in June or July 1999, as they did not want to be told what to do by the label during recording.

Recording and production

Kittie recorded ''Spit'' with Richardson at EMAC in May 1999, in the span of nine days. The album's recording costs totalled US$57,000, which Kittie paid for themselves. As the band's members were still attending high school at the time, they recorded in the evenings after they had dinner and completed their homework at the studio. Candler said the band finished at no later than 10pm per day, whilst Morgan said recording sessions would continue into the early mornings before school. In an interview with ''Juggernaut'', Morgan said she played bass on "Raven", "Immortal", and one other song on ''Spit''.

Kittie wanted ''Spit'' to sound raw, yet professional-sounding. The band spent a day deciding which equipment and amps they wanted to use on the album from Richardson's array. Two guitars were used during recording; a "chunky sounding" homemade guitar by Richardson, and Morgan's custom Gibson Flying V, with all three of its humbuckers turned on for a "huge, meaty sound". In place of effects pedals, guitar distortion was produced using a combination of Orange, Marshall and Soldano Hot Rod 100 Plus amplifiers. Bowman only used one guitar pedal on the entire album, an Ibanez Classic Phase. Due to short recording window, Mercedes' drum takes were essentially "one-offs" and Morgan's vocals were not double-tracked.

Richardson said that his input on ''Spit'' was limited to helping Kittie choose sounds and suggestions on guitar and drum parts. Morgan said that the album's songs remained largely unchanged from when they were first written, with the exception of "Paperdoll", whose structure was changed after Richardson pointed out a "catchy hook" in the song. She also said he helped the band with some vocal arrangements and melodies. "Brackish" was nearly left off of ''Spit'' due to problems surrounding its arrangements, but would come into its own when Kittie recruited DJ Dave, a friend of Nation's, to add some jungle beats under the track. Morgan wrote the song's chorus in the studio's vocal booth a week later, and the band recorded it the next day. The album was completed in August 1999.

Music and lyrics

Overview

''Spit'' has primarily been described as a nu metal, alongside heavy metal, thrash metal, death metal, grindcore, hard rock, hardcore punk, alternative rock, techno and rap metal. Morgan called Kittie's style "glam-goth, metal-glitter". The album features droptuned guitars, thrash drums, and stop-start song structures. Lalena Fissure of ''The Village Voice'' highlighted Morgan's "vocal variety", which alternates between guttural, growled, screamed, sung, and spoken vocals. Morgan attributed her use of the latter to her lack of singing ability at the time. The album's songs are played in drop C. Several critics compared Kittie to other female bands such as Hole and L7, though Morgan disagreed with such comparisons, stating she had never listened to an L7 album. Michael Tedder of '' The Pitch'' believed its sound was more indebted to male rock bands such as Helmet, Slayer and Nirvana, and felt that most comparisons to other female bands by critics were "lazy" and "make about as much sense as Kid Rock at Lilith Fair".

''Spit'' lyrics address topics including sexism, hatred, ignorance, self-image and self-esteem, conformity and betrayal. They express feelings of anger, fear, self-loathing, teen angst, and world-weariness. George Lang of ''The Oklahoman'' characterized the album's lyrics as "full of spit and venom". They were inspired by life experiences, including Morgan's upbringing in London, Ontario, where she felt like an outcast amongst her peers. In an interview with ''Access'', Morgan said they were meant to be relatable to people; although she said the members of Kittie had relatively normal upbringings, they wanted to explore the "imperfections" of society and their environment in a honest manner. Mercedes said that Kittie's music was intended to reflect both the good and bad aspects of everyday life.

Roxanne Blanford of AllMusic considered ''Spit'' lyrics to be feminist, whilst Stuart Muirhead of '' Select'' viewed them as reacting against the male domination of heavy metal music. The members of Kittie distanced themselves from feminism in contemporary interviews, with Morgan telling ''MTV News'' in an 2000 interview that the band expressed the "theme" of equality more than they talked about it in their songs. In a 2021 interview with ''Metal Hammer'', Morgan said she recognized in hindsight that Kittie's beliefs in equality aligned with feminism, but did not understand it well at the time and were afraid of being associated with its misconceptions. The band also denied claims that ''Spit'' songs were about sex because of its song titles, which they considered assumptive and based on the fact they were women.

Songs

Valerie Potter of '' Q'' likened ''Spit'' opening title track to Napalm Death. Its lyrics, which author Tommy Udo called an "angry feminist riptose", were written in reaction to the attitude of local bands towards Kittie and are about the band proving its critics wrong. "Charlotte" was inspired by a serial killer from the book ''Rites of Burial'' by Tom Jackman and Troy Cole, and stylistically alternates between speed metal, hardcore, anthem and ballad. "Suck" is an angsty track, whilst "Do You Think I'm a Whore?" deals with self-image and judgement by others for the way women dress. According to ''Telegram & Gazette'' Craig Semon, the song initially presents Morgan at a point of faltered self-esteem and shows her working up the strength to fight back against those trying to make her believe she's "something wicked". Morgan said the song's title was given "basically to prove people wrong", and that the lyric "I look in the mirror, the whore is all I see"—the only lyric printed in ''Spit'' liner notes—was "questioning people to actually dig deeper". "Brackish" was written about a friend of Kittie's and a toxic relationship they were in with an older man. Daanii Lievers of ''Metal Hammer'' and by Brenda Bouw of the ''National Post'' highlighted the song's themes of independence, with the former calling it an empowerment anthem. Morgan said that "Jonny" is about realizing no one is perfect, including the people you idolize.

"Raven" was inspired by a death threat Kittie received from a male band they competed against in a talent show in Ontario. "Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)" was written about Kittie's second performance, at a high school talent show, where a teacher told the band to stop playing after only one song Mercedes: "That was our half show, really our second show so we considered that the half show because we only played one song... and pretty much the teacher didn't like what we were playing so they said, "Get off", hence the name Get Off." as they did not believe women should be playing music of their style. Mercedes said the incident marked Kittie's first experience with discrimination. "Choke" musically recalls 1970s hard rock and was called an "emotional response to betrayal" by Bowman. "Paperdoll" attacks the notion and image of women as "blow-up dolls", and sees Morgan sing disturbing lyrics over a "twangy" guitar rhythm and hammering drum beat. ''Spit'' ends with the gothic instrumental track "Immortal". The song was supposed to have lyrics, but were scrapped; according to Morgan, its original opening line was "The eyes of the victim".

Release and promotion

Kittie began touring in support of ''Spit'' in July 1999, when they performed at the Milwaukee Metalfest. In August, the band toured the United States with Skinlab. Uncomfortable with their growing popularity and dealing with personal issues, Candler informed her bandmates that she was leaving Kittie after their performance at the Big Day Off in Hartford, Connecticut, in September 1999. The band quickly recruited Talena Atfield, a friend of Mercedes' who had attended a number of Kittie's early shows, as her replacement. Atfield had never played bass prior to Mercedes asking her to join the band; she learnt all of the album's songs within one week. Following a warm-up show, the band performed at the CMJ Music Festival in New York City, where a live music video was film for ''Spit'' lead single, "Brackish". Morgan later credited Candler's departure with making Kittie a "more serious" band. Candler's departure necessitated delays for ''Spit'', with Kittie being forced to change its artwork and re-record "Paperdoll", which she had sung lead vocals on. Atfield performs bass on the re-recording of "Paperdoll".

''Spit'' was preceded by a three-song sampler, sent to radio stations in October 1999 and reaching number one on the ''CMJ'' Loud Rock Chart. That same month, Artemis Records established an marketing campaign with the online music service MyPlay.com, through which users were offered a free download of "Brackish" and "Choke". "Brackish" received thousands of downloads on MyPlay, with 12% of the service's users having the song in their digital "lockers" by the time of ''Spit'' release. The album was initially released on November 13, 1999. Its production was short-lived as shortly thereafter, Ng was absorbed into Artemis, who also delayed its release so they had enough time to promote it through radio speciality stations and in the press. ''Spit'' was reissued by Artemis on January 11, 2000, with different artwork and photographs, featuring pictures of Atfield in place of Candler. Sony Music handled the album's distribution outside of the United States. "Brackish" was concurrently released as the album's lead single; it received heavy airplay on WAAF, and entered rotation on MTV, The Box, and MuchMusic. By the time of its release, Kittie had been featured in ''Chart, CMJ New Music Monthly'', ''Interview'', ''Kerrang!'', '' Mademoiselle'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Spin'', and in an '' MTV News 1515'' report.

From January 7 to 29, 2000, Kittie toured the United States with Slipknot and Will Haven. The members of Kittie left high school prior to the tour, and later dropped out in favour of doing a GED. In February, the band toured with Sevendust. On February 23, 2000, Kittie performed "Brackish" live on ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien''. The band toured Europe in March, before playing three Canadian shows supporting Slipknot in early April 2000. Kittie then embarked on an American tour with Chevelle, Shuvel and the Step Kings from April 27 to May 28, 2000. On May 31, 2000, the band were interviewed and performed on the talk show ''Later''. "Charlotte" was released as the second single from ''Spit'' on June 5, 2000, and was supported by a music video directed by filmed with director Lisa Rubish in early May that year. The music video was an MTV hit, being named " Buzzworthy" shortly after release, and becoming one of the most played music videos on the channel during July 2000. Also in June 2000, the band toured Europe and performed at the Dynamo, Hultsfred, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals. On July 11, 2000, Kittie released the home video ''Spit in Your Eye,'' featuring performance footage and interviews filmed during the band's tour with Slipknot.

Kittie toured Europe with Suicidal Tendencies before returning to the United States to headline the second stage of Ozzfest. They were the youngest, and only female act, on that year's bill, and second overall after Drain STH. Artemis wanted Kittie to begin recording a new album after Ozzfest, but the band didn't feel ready to end touring then. From September 5 to 16, 2000, Kittie embarked on its first tour of Canada. After a tour supporting Pantera was cancelled due to vocalist Phil Anselmo falling and breaking two ribs, Kittie formed a headlining tour with Mudvayne, Apartment 26 and Factory 81 that ran from November 18 to December 1, 2000. On December 12, 2000, the band released the '' Paperdoll'' EP, featuring a remix of "Paperdoll" and some live tracks recorded at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden in June of that year. Between January 19 and February 17, 2001, Kittie performed on the SnoCore Rock Tour, after which they began working on material for their next album.

Critical reception

Arion Berger of ''Rolling Stone'' deemed the album "fairly good-natured for an exercise in repetitive maximum aggro". Roxanne Blanford of AllMusic deemed it "simultaneously retro and progressive in its blunt musical expression". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff felt that Kittie could rock "heavily and smartly" and praised their songwriting as "way beyond ts membersyears". Beth Johnson of ''Entertainment Weekly'' highlighted its "corrosive and melodic" qualities. Though finding it "pedestrian" at times with its "juvenile lyrics and typical metal growling", Mark Earnest of the ''Reno Gazette-Journal'' considered it the work of a "great basic hard-rock band". Lalane Fissure of ''The Village Voice'' praised Richardson's production and Kittie's ability to mix melody with "dirgelike" instrumentation but found Morgan's lyrics juvenile and unintentionally funny. Valerie Potter of '' Q'' praised Richardson's production but felt that its songs were "largely unremarkable", whilst Tanya Richardson of '' The Stranger'' said they were repetititve. Caroline Sullivan of ''The Guardian'' described its music as "unlistenable doom-metal" and felt that Morgan's vocal "maelstrom" made her lyrics incomprehensible.

''NME'' felt the band had the potential to become "one of the most (uncom)promising fem-centric rock’n’roll bands of the new millennium", but were "too conscious of the nu-metal zeitgeist to affect any real menace". Roman Sokal of ''Exclaim!'' criticized the band for focusing on "shock novelty" instead of topics relevant to teenagers. Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' believed that Korn fans were more concerned about the idea of "four cute teenage girls ..bellowing 'Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)'" than of the quality of Kittie's performances. In a subsequent interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Christgau said he approved of what Kittie were doing but felt that they " idn'tdo it well", comparing them unfavorably to the Donnas and expressing concern they would give men a reason to dismiss women playing rock music. Amy Sciarretto of ''CMJ New Music Report'' praised Morgan and Bowman's performance and asked listeners to see past the band's image to hear their "no-holds-barred metal". Oliver of Metal.de was disappointed by people paying more attention to Kittie's looks than their music, which he felt was "easily in the top leagues". Expressing similar sentiments, Michelle Solomon of the ''Detroit Free Press'' believed the band gave its "more mature" peers Korn and Limp Bizkit a "run for their money".

Commercial performance

Ng initially pressed 8,000 copies of ''Spit''. According to Morgan Lander, "Those 8,000 copies were gone in like the first fucking week". Assisted by built-up demand and pre-orders from the MyPlay promotion, ''Spit'' debuted on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 147 on January 29, 2000, with first week sales of 8,800 copies. The album topped the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart two weeks later, and reached its peak position on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 79 on April 15, 2000. "Brackish" and "Charlotte" respectively charted at numbers 31 and 35 on the ''Billboard'' Active Rock Tracks chart. On October 17, 2000, ''Spit'' was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying the album had shipped in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. As of April 2003, the album has sold over 660,000 copies in the country. Morgan and Artemis executive Danny Goldberg both attributed the album's commercial success in the United States to internet word-of-mouth and Kittie's touring regimen, with the latter crediting both efforts with helping Artemis overcome difficulties in promoting Kittie at rock radio due to its status as an all-female band.

Outside the United States, ''Spit'' had sold 100,000 copies in Europe by February 2001. "Brackish" and "Charlotte" both charted on the UK Singles Chart, at numbers 46 and 60, respectively. The album was comparatively less successful in Canada, where only 40,000 copies had been sold by April 2003. Its poor performance in Kittie's home country was attributed to a lack of radio support—although their music videos were aired on MuchMusic—and the band's lack of a touring base, having only embarked on its first tour of its Canada towards the end of 2000. In an April 2000 interview with ''Chart Attack'', Morgan said that Artemis had "shunned" Kittie's attempts at an earlier tour of Canada and pushed for touring the United States instead, but said they did not want to come off as "neglecting" the country.

Aftermath and legacy

Much of the press attention surrounding and following the release of ''Spit'' focused on the ages and genders of Kittie's members, which they disliked. Morgan felt that media outlets were more interested in Kittie's perceived novelty than in their music. Mercedes felt that most of the press attention surrounding Kittie and ''Spit'' was "the wrong kind of press" because journalists had not properly researched the band and viewed them as "just some pop band", and later claimed that Artemis revealed the ages of Kittie's members to the press against their wishes. In later years, Morgan and Mercedes both felt that the album had created a stigma around Kittie. In a 2012 interview ''Canada Arts Connect'', Morgan said that despite the progress she felt Kittie had made as both musicians and songwriters, the band still struggled to contend with questions surrounding their "merit and validity", which she attributed to negative potrayals of ''Spit'' by contemporary mainstream media outlets.

Partly in response to negative associations surrounding the genre in the mid-to-late 2000s and the band's own desire to prove themselves beyond the album, Kittie abandoned the nu metal style of ''Spit'' in favour of a more straightfoward heavy metal style with their subsequent albums. The band also stopped performing songs from ''Spit'' live for some time as they wanted people to appreciate their present output, according to Morgan. None of Kittie's subsequent albums have matched the success of ''Spit''. Merlin Alderslade of ''Metal Hammer'' characterized Kittie's post-''Spit'' career as "a mixed bag", with label conflicts, lineup changes and the death of bassist Trish Doan in 2017 "all stalling any further momentum" for them until the release of their seventh album ''Fire'' (2024).

Retrospectively, ''Spit'' is regarded as one of the greatest nu metal albums of all time, appearing on lists by ''Kerrang!'', ''Loudwire'', ''Metal Hammer'', and ''Revolver''. ''Hit Parader'' ranked the album fourth on its 2007 list of the "All-Time Top 10 Female-Fronted Metal Discs". Additionally, "Brackish" appeared on Fuse's "19 Best Nu-Metal Hits of All Time" list in 2015, and was ranked number 23 on ''Spin'' "30 Best Nu Metal Songs" list in 2017. In 2023, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album's title track at number 82 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time". The album's success made Kittie "the most successful female band in modern metal", according to Geri Miller of ''Billboard'', and Adam Steininger of ''Westword'' credited it with " nspiringa whole new generation of women" in the genre. Serena Cherry, guitarist and vocalist of Svalbard, credited the album with inspiring her to become a metal musician and said that Kittie "blazed a trail for me and so many other women in metal that came after them." According to Emma Madden of ''Revolver'', ''Spit'' success helped Kittie define nu metal and "avethe way for women in the heavy-music space going forward." In 2024, Paul Travers of ''Metal Hammer'' ranked as the second-best of Kittie's seven albums, stating that, "Rightly or wrongly, he albumremains the iconic sound of the band for many people".

In a 2021 interview with '' Consequence'', Morgan said she was more appreciative of what Kittie accomplished early on with the release of ''Spit''. By the time of ''Fire'' release in 2024, Morgan had become more accepting of Kittie's association with nu metal, though said she did not consider the band to fall under the genre label. In an interview with ''The Rockpit'' in 2025, Morgan said that although Kittie still considered ''Spit'' a " chip on our shoulder" that they felt the need to prove themselves beyond, she acknowledged its impact on their career and was suprised by its longevity. Kittie has hinted at, but not confirmed, plans to release a re-recording of ''Spit'' for its 25th anniversary. In September 2025, the band is due to perform a set dedicated to the album at the Louder than Life festival.

Track listing

All songs are written by Kittie.

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes.Kittie
*Morgan Lander – vocals, guitar, bass on "Raven" and "Immortal"
* Fallon Bowman – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Choke"
*Tanya Candler – bass, lead vocals on "Paperdoll"
*Mercedes Lander – drums
* Talena Atfield – bass on "Paperdoll" re-recording
Additional musicians
*DJ Dave – loops and beats on "Brackish"

Artwork
*Larry Busacca – photography
*Nicky Guilfoil – live shot
*Michael McLaughlin – photography
*Brandy Stephen – paintings
*Kitten – artwork

Production
*Garth Richardson – engineer, producer
*Rob Nation – engineer
*Chris Shaw – mixing (at Soundtrack & EMAC)
*Matt Chiaravalle – editing on "Brackish", recording and mixing on "Paperdoll"
*Andrew Grimo – production assistant
*Ben Kaplan – production assistant
*Howie Weinberg – mastering (at Masterdisk)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

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Spit
' on YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

{{Authority control

1999 debut albums
Nu metal albums by Canadian artists
Albums produced by Garth Richardson
Kittie albums
Artemis Records albums