My Exclusive Interview With Morgan Lander From Kittie
Everything about the Canadian metal band from London, Ontario
On Women's History Month, I’m offering a throwback to my best interviews with some of the most empowered women from the rock and heavy musical universe.
About Morgan Lander
Morgan Lander is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the Canadian metal band Kittie, renowned for breaking barriers as an all-female group in the male-dominated metal scene.
Formed in London, Ontario, in 1996, alongside her sister Mercedes Lander (drummer), Kittie rose to prominence with their explosive debut album, Spit (1999), released when the band members were still teenagers. The album’s raw energy and hits like "Brackish" and "Charlotte" cemented their place in the nu-metal era.
Morgan’s fierce vocals, razor-sharp guitar work, and songwriting have been central to Kittie’s evolution, which expanded into death metal, thrash, and doom influences across later albums like Oracle (2001) and In the Black (2009).
Her stage presence and unapologetic intensity have made her a trailblazer for women in heavy music, challenging industry norms and inspiring future generations of female artists.
Despite lineup changes over the years, Morgan and Mercedes remained core members until Kittie’s hiatus in 2017. The band reunited in 2022, reigniting their legacy.
Beyond music, Morgan advocates for mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights, showcasing her multifaceted impact on society.
Interview
After the release of “In The Black,” Kittie toured for about a year until September 2010, so you were together for quite a while. Did that experience help you when it was time for a new release?
When we came off the road after touring for a year on IN THE BLACK, we were pretty burned out, defeated, and exhausted, to be honest with you. In order for us to really get back into the swing of things, we first needed to reflect on the year and all the work that we put into the album. We also needed a rest, so we took a few months off to just recharge and decompress before we started to write. Having a few months off definitely does wonders to re-ignite the fire, and we began writing after the new year in January 2011.
This summer, Kittie played with Dirge Within and Diamond Plate; how was it?
The tour went really well. We had a blast with all the other bands, and the turnout and fan response was really good.
The skull & withered roses on the cover of “I’ve Failed You” sends a strong message. Would you explain to us how that relates to the songs inside?
It's a take on a memento mori, which is an idea in art where you are forced to acknowledge your own mortality. Everything, even life, must come to an end at some point. And the end of something wonderful is the theme of the album—love, loss, acceptance.
“I’ve Failed You” sounds darker and more intimate than ‘In the Black,” was that intentional, or you just went a different way for lyrical and musical inspiration?
“I’ve Failed You” does come from a much darker place than its predecessor. It builds on the foundation and the strength of our previous release, “In the Black,” but manages to take everything we established with that album a few steps further. Sonically it is much more dynamic and shows the maturity and the evolution of the band. The songs are well-written heavy but have layers and depth. The sounds are clean and clear while still retaining a huge devastating production. Lyrically this album is certainly me at my most vulnerable and most honest. I went through one of the most difficult years of my life, and the themes are a direct reflection of the things that I went through.
“‘We Are The Lamb,” the first single, has Kittie showing off its claws, roaring, and it feels very passionate and personal; what’s the song about?
The song is about self-sacrifice and the idea that someone would die for you to continue on in hopes that life would be better.
Every tragedy ends the same way, with love and death. Would you say that in a Shakespearean way, this thought lingers all through “I’ve Failed You”?
It does, as the theme of the album is, in reality, the death of love and learning acceptance and strength after it.
Do you feel that music, particularly during live acts, works as a form of catharsis?
For me. yes, writing and channeling the negative energy of events or feelings, both into music and performance, is very cathartic. It is unlike any form of traditional therapy, and it really is quite an experience. I like to think I am a somewhat normal, functioning human being because of all the demons I exorcize every night on stage and through song.
How did your fans react to the new songs during live appearances?
The response was really very positive, and as soon as the album was released, we saw so many people who knew the words, the riffs and sang along at shows.
Kittie is a Canadian metal band, but most of your fans live in the US and Europe; how do you explain that? And what about the Canadian metal scene these days?
Kittie has always had fans in our home country, but initially, we had to go to the US to get a record deal and be taken seriously. We’ve always been bigger in the US and Europe, but we do have a wonderful, loyal Canadian fan base.
The Canadian metal scene is as alive and thriving as ever. You’ll find all kinds of great emerging bands all over the country, and the best part about it is the diverse nature of all of them. No one adheres to one particular trend or style, which is amazing.
How will you manage your setlist on this new tour, mainly you will be promoting “I’ve Failed You”?
We are playing quite a few songs off of the new album, but because we have such an extensive catalog now, we have to be careful about which songs we chose. We try to do something from every album, and this tour is no exception.
This article originally appeared here on Rock n’Heavy.
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