Fans of the band Kittie will be happy to know that their new album “Funeral for Yesterday” has recently released (Feb 20th). I just found it browsing iTunes and have been rockin’ out to it for a couple hours now.

Long time fans will be interested in this album because its their first since leaving Artemis Records in favor of their own label to have more independence. The big question was, what kind of sound would they have when they were calling the shots. And with this album we find out. The Kittie lineup has changed frequently over the last several years with Morgan and Mercedes forming the core, and both the bassist and lead guitar changing frequently (see Wikipedia for the roster evolution).

I’ll be honest, when I sampled the album on iTunes I wasn’t impressed at all. Their sound has softed considerably. Regardless, 2 tracks sounded worth it so I bought the full album in hopes that it would grow on me. To some degree it has. The title track “Funeral for Yesterday” is far to light for my tastes. In general the album has left the Metal genre for a hardcore rock or possibly metalcore sound depending on how you personally define the two. Its probly fair to say that they wanted increased radio airplay, this is much more radio worthy… in that way it summons the fears I had when Metallica released the “Black” album.

The tracks I do really like are “Breath”, “Never Again”, “Flower of Flesh and Blood”, “This Too Shall Pass”, and “The Change”. So, with 14 tracks on the CD only 5 are really praise worthy imho, and if your a real Kittie fan that will probly be enough to convince you to buy it. For those folks on the Kittie fence who might be fans of some of the Kittie tracks that got airplay like “My Favorite Things” but not the more heavy stuff, this is the album you’ll really enjoy.

On a side note… I’ve recently gotten really into a metal band I’ve only recently found: Extol.

Extol is extremely interesting for a number of reasons. Most importantly, they have an amazing range and they really have an extremely unique sound that I absolutely love. Its like mixing Slayer and Katherine Wheel with a bit of Megadeth, Queensryche, and Kings X (maybe a pinch of “Teenage Fanclub”) into the perfect metal band. They have unusual riffs, excellent vocals, and the songs just keep evolving rather than just repeating the same basic riff over and over again. If your sick of the standard chorus, verse, chorus, crappy solo, chorus formula then you’ll wanna take a look.

Beyond just that it turns out they are a Christian band, which is refreshing. I love death metal but I can’t stand the 14 year old fascination with satan, evil and all that crap.. pentagrams are a stupid gimick for teenagers that want to irritate their parents. Slayer has continued to go more and more satanic which bummed me out (“Seasons in the Abyss” is still perhaps the best metal album of all time and definitely my favorite). Extol’s lyrics are a nice change and give you something to think about in some cases. Most metal bands out there have incomprehensible lyrics and I’m glad for it.

I bought albums from Chimaira and Unearth recently, but when I found Extol’s “The Blueprint Dives” on iTunes I shelved everything else and bought the other two Extol albums “Synergy” (which kicks ass) and “Burial”. If your going to sample around I recommend the following songs:

• Paradigns, Synergy
• Emancipation, Synergy
• Nihilsm 2002, Synergy
• Gloriana, The Blueprint Dives
• Pearl, The Blueprint Dives (much lighter song)
• The Things I found, The Blueprints Dives (awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)
• Lost in Dismay, The Blueprint Dives
• Essence, The Blueprint Dives