Spit

Spit is the debut studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, originally released on November 13, 1999, through Ng Records. Kittie were formed in 1996, and signed to Ng in 1999 after Jake Weiner, the record label's second-in-command, witnessed one of the band's shows. Produced by Garth Richardson, Spit was recorded over nine days in May 1999 at EMAC Studios in London, Ontario, and was completed in August 1999. Spit is a album that incorporates various elements from several heavy metal subgenres, and its lyrical themes include sexism, hatred, ignorance, betrayal, bullying and life experiences. The album is Kittie's only release with their original line-up, featuring bassist Tanya Candler and guitarist Fallon Bowman; Candler was replaced by Talena Atfield, who appears on the cover of all subsequent reissues of the album. Shortly after Spit initial release, Ng was absorbed into Artemis Records, who gave the album a wide re-release on January 11, 2000. Kittie promoted the album with the release of two singles, "Brackish" and "Charlotte", which both became radio and MTV hits, and extensive international touring which saw the band perform at the Ozzfest and SnoCore festivals in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The album reached number 79 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 2000. Despite its commercial success, Artemis pulled Kittie's touring support less than a year after its release, and both the band and Richardson would accuse the label of unpaid royalties from the album in a lawsuit filed in April 2003. Spit initially received mixed-to-positive responses from critics, who generally praised the album's aggression but criticized its song titles, lyrics and attitude; Kittie also faced media attention and criticism at the time of its release for their age and anomalous status as an all-female band in the male-dominated heavy metal scene. The band would subsequently face difficulty in being accepted as a credible act in the years following the release of Spit, despite making efforts to mature their sound with its subsequent output. Spit was later reassessed by critics and media outlets as one of the best works within the nu metal genre, and its success has been considered important regarding the representation of women in heavy metal. It remains Kittie's best-selling album, having sold 660,000 copies in the United States as of April 2003. Background