In the near-decade of Kittie’s existence, the all-female metal band has made themselves a reputation of being the peg that seemingly doesn’t fit in with the rest, but finding their own place nonetheless. One of the first femme-metal acts to grace the Ozzfest stage, these Canadian rockers have not only opened doors, but kicked them down and cleared an entirely new pathway altogether.

Bursting upon the scene in the late ‘90s with the wave of rap-rock bands deemed as "nu-metal", Kittie were not content to be pigeonholed with their nu-metal counterparts, and blazed their own trail, during a time when femme-metal was not only looked at as a novelty, but a virtual impossibility. Signed to a record deal fresh out of high school, the young foursome, consisting of sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander, launched an assault on the rock world in the late ‘90s with their aggressive debut single, "Brackish". They would become a favorite on the Canadian music video channel, MuchMusic, and it would not be long before their hard-as-nails style, wrapped up in a soft and fluffy name, would make its presence known across the border. Once the success of their first single took off, Kittie embarked on the music world and never looked back.

What started off as a promising career, one now finds themselves wondering what exactly has happened to Kittie over the years. Amidst the success of their first album, all the problems that plague other bands were quick to find Kittie. Their first lineup change would come when guitarist/vocalist Fallon Bowman would be dismissed from the group for reasons that neither parties will fully explain to this day, rumored to have something to do with Bowman’s mental health after the Columbine high school shootings. Once Bowman was out, it seemed from then on, Kittie would experience a whirlwind of lineup changes over the next several years. Kittie would carry on as a three-piece for their follow-up album, Oracle, but that was also short-lived, and soon the Lander sisters would find themselves as the only ones left to carry on the Kittie name. For a time, they would not even be able to find comfort in their unique position as an all-female band, for they would have to recruit their male guitar tech, Jeff Phillips, to fill in on session work for their third album, which took three years to release after 2001’s Oracle.

It would take three years before their next album, Until the End, which was a defiant title against all the things that threatened to take down Kittie during this time. Two new members would join the group, but they would not last very long either. By this point, the constant lineup changes were the least of their problems. They would also experience legal problems with their record label, Artemis, which would drag out until 2005, when an out-of-court settlement was made for unpaid royalties and over ten different breaches of contract on the label’s end. The future of Kittie was uncertain at best.

But the Lander sisters would not be daunted. They would carry on, taking time away from their music for a while to start their own clothing line, Poisoned Black Clothing. In 2006 they would also release an internet-only single, "Never Again", featuring three entirely new songs. It seemed things were finally taking a turn for the better, for in the same year, two new members would join the Kittie faction: guitarist Tara McLeod, who was discovered by Kittie’s management playing for another band in their native London, Ontario. Bassist Trish Doan was added shortly after, never holding an official audition with the band; instead waking Mercedes Lander from her sleep early one morning to ask whether or not she got the job. They would take the new lineup on throughout ’06, and fans were enthusiastic about the new additions to the group. Many believed that this was Kittie’s best lineup so far, and were anxious to hear how they would sound once they took this change of dynamic and attitude into the studio.

After nearly three years of waiting, fans would finally get to hear a new Kittie album in February of ‘07, and for the first time in more years than that, they would get to hear a lineup that seemed much more solid than the shaky ground they had stood on for so long. The album’s title and somber black cover was more than enough indication of the hardships the band had endured over the last several years, and that they were finally ready to put it behind them in real life and leave it within their music.

A catchy guitar hook and Morgan’s voice opens up the first song and title track, "Funeral for Yesterday". There is not very much of the aggressive vocal style here. Some groovy guitar work almost reminiscent of bass ushers in the chorus. A departure from the angry heaviness of old Kittie, but still very much their style. Morgan’s voice takes a higher pitch towards the end of the song, quite nasal and bordering on annoying. A standout opening track nonetheless.

Pounding drums and thrashing guitars that are Kittie’s trademark bring us to the second track, "Breathe". Mercedes’ drumming is tight on this track, some very nice drum rolls throughout. Some warping with the guitars and vocals make up the bridge, a pause, and a return to the chorus. Mercedes’ awesome drumming closes this track.

Dark guitars, drums, and Morgan’s mournful vocals lay down the foundation for the third song, "Everything That Could Have Been". Her voice is wracked with pain as she sings the line, "even though you’re gone, I’m still holding on to everything that could have been". The bridge brings in softer vocalization from Morgan, leading to a soulful guitar solo. One more chorus, this time with a break in the music, then repeats of the chorus, a little faster this time, then the final break with a lone guitar note trailing it off.

"Slow Motion" begins just that way, and then Morgan’s voice brings in the band. A nice guitar part on this track. Aggressive drumming accompanies this. Morgan’s "growly" voice makes a return for the first time on this track towards the middle of the song. A guitar solo spinning out of control brings back these vocals a second time. The guitar/drum combo that held the song throughout also brings it to a close.

Guitar hooks reminiscent to a sitar starts off track five, "Will to Live". "I’ve lost the will to live again!" Morgan proclaims in a plaintive wail. A steady bass/drum combo holds up the uninhibited pain of Morgan’s voice. Gentle backing vocals also keep this in check. Her final note also ends this track.

"Never Again" is counted off by a few beats of the high hat, then the dark guitars, bass, and drums come in. Morgan’s forceful vocals make another return as she vocalizes her need for sweet revenge. Her singing voice comes back in the chorus, but it is no less assertive as she punctuates that her victim will beg for mercy. Screaming guitars back up the equally screaming vocals in the second verse. The chorus leads up to a nice guitar solo, equally great percussion work, and then alternating bass and guitar hooks compliment Morgan’s gravelly vocals. Another chorus, and then the song’s end.

Some pretty guitar work layered over assertive strumming welcome the softer side of Morgan’s voice on the seventh track, "Sweet Destruction Interlude". This would probably be considered a Kittie "ballad", as it features some light piano work and is not as in-your-face as the trademark Kittie tune. It is a short song, clocking in at less than 2 ½ minutes, with Morgan’s voice and a fuzzy guitar sound trailing out the track.

Track eight, "Summer Dies", brings us back to the heavier side of Kittie, as Morgan’s twisted voice sings of summer dying and winter taking its place. Not as heavy as most Kittie songs but certainly not a ballad, it still makes for a nice headbanging tune all the same. The guitars get a little more crunchy towards the middle, the solo a bit more groovy. Morgan returns once again to her higher pitch to bring back the chorus. Like most Kittie tunes, this one does not fade out at the end.

The abrasive heaviness that is pure Kittie smacks you right in the face to introduce us to the ninth track, "Flower of Flesh and Blood". Straightaway, lightning-fast jamming and Morgan’s evil growls reach for the jugular and pull you right in. Her clean vocals are no less sinister. A tight guitar lick during the second verse, and another blistering, all-out rockin’ solo. Another rousing chorus, and a single beat signals the end of another short song, this one ending at just a little more than 2 minutes. Even still, this is my favorite track on the album.

The sonic assault continues on the tenth track, "Around Your Heart". Ripping guitars, chaotic drumming, and a pounding bassline make up the core of this song. Morgan is pleading with her listener not to break "this tether twine around your heart" in her higher pitch. There is not much change throughout the song, the chorus is repeated several times before it ends just before reaching 3 minutes.

The heaviest track on the album, "This Too Shall Pass", greets us right away with demonic vocals, and the band playing as if they, too, are possessed. The theme of loss continues as Morgan growls that "everyone leaves you in the end!" As usual, her clean vocals command the chorus. Her crazed grunts assure the listener that "this, too, shall pass". The vocals alternate from screams to lamenting cries with seamless transition. At the end, the growly vocals are backed with lovely clean vocals.

The twelfth track, "Last Goodbye", features more of the brutal side of Morgan’s voice. The formula of growly vocals carrying the verses and the clean vocals providing the chorus does not change here. She screams with total abandon, "you fucking…!" (the lyric booklet does not provide the exact lyric here). Morgan’s clean voice mournfully proclaims that "this is the end of Eden", while her wicked growls take the song to its end, again at a short 2 ½ minutes.

Morgan’s scream and a slow heaviness are the ingredients for the thirteenth track, "Witch Hunt". Her growls dominate this song as well. There is a nice groove to the guitar parts on this song that I really like. The bassline pretty cool too. The song is a good indicator that a song can be heavy while still having a good melody, and not needing to be super-fast. This song seems to be a little longer than most of the second-half songs, making it barely less than 4 minutes.

The final track, "The Change", appears to be aptly titled. The rhythm of this song gives it almost a bombastic feel (for what we’re used to from Kittie, anyway). Overdubbing of both extreme and clean vocals give it that extra ethereal feel. Morgan’s clean vocals are predominant, but her extreme vocals make themselves known for one last time on the end track. A guitar solo that is heavy, but not fast, comes in at about 2 ½ minutes. The core rhythm remains as a screaming guitar note is layered over, taking this song to its end for the first time on this album to a fade-out, wrapping up this album on a note that is so atypically Kittie, yet something that would seem only natural for them to do.

Overall opinion: Kittie has come a long way from the group of girls thrust into the music world straight out of high school. Fans have not only watched them grow up, but have watched their music evolve in the amazing yet sometimes painful transition from teen angst to young women assuredly coming into their own. The lyrics on this album deal with loss, suffering, and the wrenching pain of change, yet musically is charged with a spirit that hasn’t felt so alive since their first album. Over the last several years, Kittie has endured bandmember changes that never seemed to last long, which sometimes suffered in the natural progression of any band to find their own "voice". But they have proven with this record that they have found it, and have brought the maturity of these difficult years to the fire of their impassioned beginnings, and has made a record that some could easily say hearkens a triumphant return for Kittie to the mainstream world. But to paraphrase the old song, this isn’t a comeback---they’ve always been here. During the years when Kittie endured personal and musical hardships, the door that they helped open to the world of femme-metal during the ‘00s was not only busted through, but given architectural credit to by certain other bands in the female-fronted rock genre. Kittie’s latest work brings to mind the realization that when they began less than a decade ago, how bare the landscape of femme-metal looked at that time, and what a breath of fresh air they were to those who were not content to fall prey to the rap-rock of Limp Bizkit or the showy gimmicks of Slipknot. Now, all this time later, after the Evanescences and the Flyleafs of the world have made femme-metal "cool" in America, it is easy to forget how ahead of their time a band like Kittie had been. But Funeral for Yesterday reminds those of us who care to remember, and gives warning to those who would rather forget, that they’re not going anywhere. Tara and Trish are awesome additions to the band, a shot in the arm for a band that has been left for dead in the eyes of the mainstream. The chemistry between the Lander sisters and the two new girls shines through on every song, breathing new life into the band dynamic while still maintaining the sound that is unmistakably Kittie. The first half of the album is much more experimental (the songs are also longer), with incredible melodies on songs like the title track, "Everything That Could Have Been", and "Sweet Destruction Interlude". The second half of the album (where the songs are shorter) is a straight-up declaration of the trademark Kittie sound, with solid tunes like "Flower of Flesh and Blood" and "This Too Shall Pass". They began the album by showing you their pain, and ended it by showing you their anger. Once they’ve taken you through the emotional wringer and leave you breathless and spinning, they lay it on you with the final track, which is both the culmination of their musical experimentation and the perfection at mastering their belligerent sound. This is a kick-ass album. If you are new to Kittie, I would highly suggest this album as a way to get started. It is a fine testament to the talent of these femme-metal innovators.

8/10