Schoolgirls Mercedes Lander (drums) and Fallon Bowman (guitar) met in gym class and said, "Let's play together!" And thus, Kittie was born. At least, that's how legend has it, and it's not that far from the truth. Four teenage girls with a love of heavy metal, a desire to prove naysayers wrong, and a passion to rock formed the hard-sounding metal-esque quartet in 1997 while still in high school. One part glam rock and one part death metal, the women of Kittie signed with the NG Records-distributed Artemis Records after a stint of playing covers of Nirvana, Silverchair, and even Corey Hart. By the time indie record producer GGGarth had gotten hold of their demo, they had graduated from teen pop to pushing their sound up a notch along the likes of L7 and Godsmack. The debut full-length, Spit, showcasing their incisive sound, was released late in 1999 with Lander's sister Morgan picking up vocals/guitar and Talena Atfield (replacing Tanya Candler) on bass. The album was eventually certified gold and the Paperdoll EP followed a year later. In 2001, they released Oracle, their second full-length, followed by the Safe EP, which featured six live tracks, two versions of the title track, and an enhanced video of three cuts from a different live show. Various lineup shifts occurred, and the release further featured new bassist Jennifer Arroyo. 2004 saw the release of Until the End. More lineup shifts occurred (Arroyo left in early 2005 to join Suicide City), and by 2006, Kittie comprised the Lander sisters alongside guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Trish Doan, formerly of the Ontario bands Sherry and Her, respectively. The group released Funeral for Yesterday the following year, with In the Black arriving in 2009.