Customer Reviews

Oracle

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I just had the pleasure of seeing Kittie play half of this album along with most off of "Spit" a week before I picked it up. And I must say that it is better than I thought it would be. They call them a "Metal" band for a reason and this album is proof positive why. It's got angst, anger, gutteral growls, and prime metal melodic tension dripping on all sides. For a good portion of "Oracle" has a raw metal about the same skill level of Soulfly and Ill Nino. I must admit, despite the focus on Morgan's screams on "Oracle"; my favorite tracks are "In Winter", "Run Like Hell", "Pain", & the albums first single: "What I always Wanted". On these tracks the sounds have more variety to them that break up the throat aching screams that make up most of the album (don't get me wrong I love these too), "Wolves", "No Name" & the albums title track "Oracle". I even love the final track to the disc which is called "Pink Lemonade" which takes on a slow, beautiful yet LOUD Melvins-like ambiance -- which I think more bands need to do -- an excellent way to close off a collage of words & sounds from Kittie. In conslusion, if you have the taste for something Metal with a bit of melody, pick up 'Oracle'... You won't be disapointed.

As a fan of pure black and death metal I can tell you one thing, Kittie has gone far beyond the reaches of that all girl hardcore nu-metal outfit that I have grown to love, they have progressed to a level where most bands only dream of reaching. They have successfully mixed neo-metallic ideas, a both very etherial and brutal vocal apporach, a strong death metal edge, hardcore / metalcore riffing, and a slight gothic sound. 'Oracle' is starkly different than their Artemis debut 'Spit'. With 'Oracle' they have lost all of their nu-metal sound, but still retained the freshness and melody that came with it.

Comparisons to bands such as KoRn and Slipknot are no longer appropriate when describing Kittie. Durring the aggressive portions of the album, it has more of an early Soilwork (pre-'A Preditor's Portrait') type feel to it, or a definite Lamb of God reference (the song "No Name" sounds so much like "Black Label" its scary, but it still retains its own identity), and a references to early Dismember and Death can be found on the album's opener "Oracle" and on "Mouthful of Poison". During the more melodic parts of the album, it sounds like a more etherial type vibe, he ll maybe even Sigur Ros influenced. But, again, unlike 'Spit', Morgan Lander's (vocals / guitars) voice has a beautiful, melodic quality to it, and her scream has been fined tune (references to the great Arch Enemy are pointless, she sounds almost nothing like Angela Gossow). The standout tracks on the album are "In Winter", "What I Always Wanted", "No Name", and "Run Like Hell" (one of the few times that a band has ever covered Pink Floyd and done them justice).

This album goes beyond moth-goths who think 'Hot Topic' is what it means to be metal, it is a strong death metal insprired album that keeps one he ll of a melodic through out. But do remember inspired is the keyword here, Kittie in no way sounds like Vomitory or Immolation, but it is still just as good. Not since Tool has such a great band been accepted into the mainstream. Kittie's sophmore album 'Oracle' is definitely once for the ages, and is definitely one of my favorite albums.

Back in 2002 I was very new to Metal and Kittie shocked me with their 2nd release "Oracle". Much more mature then Spit, with better lyrics,vocals and instrumentation. To this day "Oracle" has not woren off as many other bands have.

This is probably THE Kittie album to get. Even though Kittie is in the studio right now recording their 4th release which will be gold, no doubt. But none the less "Oracle" was a huge mile-stone for Kittie and they take no prisoners. You can here Oracle's presense on their 3rd release, "Until The End" but "Until The End" had much more melody, while "Oracle" is straight up Metal. A definite buy!

"Spit" was a good album, but it was rather annoying and had truly awful production. I just didn't think they could possibly outdo it, especially given the news that Fallon (guitarist/back-up vocals) had left the group. Well, I was dead wrong. Not only did Kittie outdo themselves 700 times over, they went borderline death metal on us (similar to Slipknot's "Iowa" that year). The sloppiness "Spit" maintained is gone as well as the raw musicianship.

Morgan Lander is by far the best female singer ever. Instead of that annoying 11-year-old girl scream, she uses dry-lung vocal-distortion (an incredibly loud death metal growl). She can really sing too ("Safe" "In Winter"). I love her. Can't wait to see if her voice develops any more. As for guitar-riffs, they are no doubt the heaviest ever. I always found it amazing that Fear Factory could sound so heavy with just one guitarist, but since Morgan also does vocals this is more amazing. Her Meshuggah-style-riffs attack you like a dozen angry werewolves. You need only check out songs like "Mouthful Of Poison" "Severed" and "No Name" to understand. How she can play like this and sing at the same time is quite amazing as well.

Talena (although I'm not sure she's even in the band anymore) is the heard loud and clear. Her bass can be mistaken for the drums though. Check out the intro to "Severed".

Mercedes Lander is a great drummer, but she isn't quite as good as she was on "Spit". She noticeably uses double-bass drums more often though.

The music is so heavy at times that it hurts, and who else can pull that off better. "Mouthful Of Poison" has got to one of the loudest songs I've ever heard. It is true that most of the other songs have the same sound to it as well, but it is so intense it can't bother you. There is also lots of melody in it, so you can't use that sissy comment "All they do is scream," at all.

Plus, they experiment well. "Run Like Hell" is by far the best cover song I've ever heard, although it doesn't exactly fit with the rest of the album. Just read the lyrics from the original and check out the vocals and understand. Plus, "Safe" has a 3-minute piano interlude giving it a creepy vibe. Remember the organ-instrumental "Immortal" from "Spit"? Well, they need to try something else. The track gets really heavy at the end when the crashing guitars hammer you down. Pure innovation. People may be turned off by its extremely soft approach, but you need to just wait for things to develop.

The two main standouts on the album are "In Winter" and the 10-minute-plus sludgefest "Pink Lemonade". "In Winter" has the same type of sound as "Charlotte", just heavier and with hella better screams. It doesn't capture the same haunting melody as "Charlotte" did however, but no less great. "Pink Lemonade" is the haunting, quite underrated closer. It takes time to develop, but it's slow, smashing guitar-riffs make you wish all metal albums would end this good. Yeah, people have been put off by its length and slow speed, but I completely disagree.

I love this band to death and I will stand by them until they are gone. This is the real deal folks. You tell me Pantera or Vixen is heavier, I die laughing (no offense to Pantera. NONE!!). This is the heaviest release of 2001 along with Slayer's "God Hates Us All" and Slipknot's "Iowa". Please check this masterpiece a look. It's beyond worth it. peace...

Standouts: Everyone of them, aforementioned the most worthy of title.

This is my favorite Kittie album. The song "Mouthful of Poison" is arguably their best song. This is the type of album that grows on you with time. I don't like "Pink Lemonade" much because it builds too slowly after the onslaught of "No Name." I tend listen to this CD alone in my car rather than as background music.

I was iffy about purchasing this album, because I got bored of Spit quite quickly. I made a rational decision to buy this CD and was NOT dissapointed! It doesn't have as much actual singing as Spit, but it is BRUTAL! Kittie may be girls, but they can rock 10 times harder than your average male metal band. If you heard the riffs these chicks write, you would think it's the new Pantera album.

Some good songs are "Wolves", and "Severed" and "Pain".

And it most certainly is. Spit was more angst filled, but Oracle has songs that remind me of Tool at times. The lyrics are better than on Spit and get you thinking. Here's a basic run down of the songs.

Oracle - Great, short death metal song to kick off the album. Talena's screams are brutal to the max. 8/10

Mouthful of Poison - Not one that stays with me, but it's really cool. 7/10

In Winter - Best song on the album! Morgan's voice is haunting, and beautiful. A great listen. 15/10

Severed - The instruments are the best part of this song. I love the bass intro and drums. 9/10

Run Like Hell - Can't say that I've heard the original, but this is pretty cool. 10/10

Pain - This is another one that doesn't stick with me, but the guitars are great. 7/10

Wolves - Great drum intro by Mercedes! Morgan's voice is again haunting. 10/10

What I've Always Wanted - This is my third fave song on the album, and a great single! 10/10

Safe - Second best, it's really gothic sounding and creepy. Morgan does her best vocal work here. 10/10

No Name - Another great death metal song, perfect for mosh pits. 9/10

Pink Lemonade - I honestly really don't like this song that much. Metal bands seem to be making really long and butchered ending tracks these days (Slipknot "Iowa", Deftones "Mini Magit") But it's still good. 5/10

Kittie has really matured from Spit (no offense Kittie). Morgan's voice has matured with her singing, roaring (I LOVE her roaring) and guitar playing (from seeing her play guitar live over a year ago). Mercedes has become even better than she was before on the drums (I love her use of the double bass). Talena's bass playing has improved a lot as well. Kittie has matured lyrically and musically so much I could hardly believe that what I was listening to was in fact, Kittie. I was blown away from how heavy yet beautiful this album was. If you want the really heavy death metal(ish) songs filled with roaring, listen to Oracle, Severed, the first three minutes of Pain, and No Name. If you want songs Morgan tearing up her vocal chords, and displaying how good she can sing, listen to Mouthful of Poison, In Winter, Run Like Hell, Wolves, What I Always Wanted, and the end of Pain. If you want to hear Morgan displaying her beautiful singing and music writing abilities, listen to Safe (which show her piano playing abilities) and Pink Lemonade(which is one of the most hypnotically beautiful songs I have ever heard). This over all is one of my most favorite Cd's of all time because is has from beautiful to bone crushing music. Anyone who is really into music should get this album.

Recent Kittie fan here blown away by what I'm hearing. I'm a child of the 80's and 90's so I missed out on the Nu-Metal trend as I've been focusing on raising a family and progressing my career. Thanks to Youtube and Myspace I've come across some new stuff particularily Kittie and Otep. As a guy who always believed Nirvana was the last great rock group, I'm pleasantly surprised to say there's still some innovation in the hard rock genre, and Kittie has contributed quite nicely. I never thought I could listen to guttural style singing, but the way Morgan combines it with her very feminine melodic voice, I've become quite fond of it. Listening to her range on "What I always Wanted" actually makes my hair stand up on end. I'm also enjoying the lyrics, and can honestly say if I had a daughter, I'd hope she'd listen to this stuff as opposed to what most teenage girls are listening to today aka Avril and Brittany. My hope is to someday see a death match betwen Avril Lavigne and Mercedes Landers.

Well, I'll start off with the first thought that everyone should know before getting this album. Yes, it is a big CHANGE from "Spit". The album doesn't necessarily get wrose, they've just changed their sound to the Korn-like side of NuMetal. And while I agree "Spit" is better, this album would make an good debut if it was another band. The big difference is in the vocals. Instead of screaming, she is growling.
1"Oracle"-5/10 This song is 2 minutes of pure growling. Not the best but short and sweet.
2"Mouthful of Poison"-6/10 Well, it got off to a good start and when I finally heard Morgan's natural singing voice in the background it gave me the hope of her actually singing on here. The end is like a time warp that's somewhat appealing.
3"In Winter"-9/10 I call this the "Charlotte" of "Oracle". The verses are Morgan's sweet voice, using talented lyrics("On deaf ears your cries met hands"). The outline of the song just seems similar with little growling in the chorus and a suprising growl at the end. This song may not seem to make much sense but I find it's telling you not to let people kick you when you're down.
4"Severed"-7/10 Before I looked at the lyric book I could've sworn she said "Look at you now, you stupid b****" but then I remembered there is no profanity on this album(Hell doesn't count because it has to do with religion). I also heard this song was on Murder By Numbers, well i don't remember hearing it because I wasn't into KiTTiE when it came out so I must rent it again.
5"Run Like Hell"-8/10 Well, I link this Pink Floyd remake to Rocky Horror because Little Nell was in the Wall. There really wasn't any need for the first minute of music but it's still pretty good.
6"Pain"-6/10 (You deserve nothing at all) I must say this song didn't hit my meter of angst need but I'll listen to it if bored enough.
7"Wolves"-9/10 A genuis of looping nothing. This song is good if it's up VERY loud. This song brings the album back after the drop of songs like "Severed" and "Pain'.
8"What I Always Wanted"-10/10 The best song on here, just above "Wolves" and "In Winter". There's a reason they had to make this a single. It is simply the best this album has to offer. All around the music is divided yet blended and excellent.
9"Safe"-8/10 I like this. It's a nice jumble of wierd thoughts from the story of a lunatic but it's nice at the end.
10"No Name"-7/10 I must tell you of the four songs that are hard to distinguish. "Oracle", "Severed", "Pain" and "No Name". I consider them the four that could use rewriting to be more unique and different. The best of these, however, is "No Name". It's growling is perfection and speed is memorable. I rank this the top of the "All Screams".
11"Pink Lemonade"-6/10 Yeah, this 10-minute beauty has been thought of before but once you get into the vocals, it's alright. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't.

Overall, thsi album is 7/10 for not being very distinct in it's sound and genre. I hope the anticipated "Until The End", due July 26th is better than this though KiTTiE will probably never be up to "Spit" standards as Alanis will never be up to "Jagged Little Pill" standards. Sometimes debuts are the highest points and we will have to expect somethings to be ALMOST as good but never better. Thanks for any Yes clickers.