1. Fade To Black [Metallica cover]
2. 25
3. Scissorhanded Marmalade
OK, so we were trying to come up with a song, something as meaningful as "25". It was called "Scissorhands", but we never finished it, so we have left it as just our recorded, unmastered attempts at writing a song. That's "Scissorhanded Marmalade". (Yeh, the word "jam" is overused, so we went for something with a similar meaning.) "25" is on there, as our last single with Katen. And finally, our pie de resistance, our Metallica cover. "Fade To Black" was always Katen's favourite song.
You'd think that Kaethe, Ingrid, Andrew and myself would not suit a Metallica song. The flugel fit in fantastically at the beginning and end - I worked with Saul's guitar leads, but kept quiet while Kade was leading. Andy just played backing through the whole song, working out his own chamber organ tab for it. Ingrid found that the easiest way to work a mandolin into the song was after the fourth verse, when Kaethe put in her extra vocals of "but now she's gone" four more times. (It's meant to make some sort of point. It doesn't, but it adds something to our version of the song.) As for "but now she's gone" - Kaethe is the best mix-genre vocalist around, and has an excellent range. She can't do a male voice, but she did what she calls "meeting halfway" with a high end contralto.
Overall, we're pleased with the result. (: It's not Metallica - but covers to us aren't copies. They're bases, and we work in our own way. But with all that .... was recording the song difficult? No, not at all. I LOVE recording with K.I.C.K.A.R.S.E., everything's so relaxed. All of our recording, originals and covers, we just go where the music takes us.
-Catriona.
Now, a little about Katen ....
Katen was the youngest and least-known daughter of Koen van Mouschi, half-sister of Kasia and Kaethe, Katen was in K.I.C.K.A.R.S.E. for our last two albums, "Barbarian Besterest" and "Modderbloed Besterest", while Kaethe took some time off. She and Kaethe only worked together on one single, "25", which was going to be the lead single for our seventh album ".... the end is nigh", before the music industry collapsed on us all. In 2009, Katen died of a brain aneurysm, triggered after an attack. She was 30.
K.I.C.K.A.R.S.E. - "Fade To Black" will be released on 1st January 2010, on Dark Blue Music and no record label whatsoever.