Make no mistake about it, this is one Kittie that has not been declawed! Yes, theyre all females. Yes, theyre still teen-agers. And, yes, you can blame it on Canada: they hail from north of the border. To hear drummer Mercedes Lander, 16, tell it, though, none of that matters. What does is the music and, as their record company, Artemis, says of their debut album, Spit, this Kittie doesnt just purr, it roars. Consider them the anti-Spice Girls, says the industry trade publication, Billboard.

Determined to hold their own in the male-dominated headbanger metal-grunge genre, Kittie is off to a good start with impressive reviews, fan attention and landing a spot on this summers OZZFest. In addition to Mercedes, Kittie includes her sister Morgan Lander, vocals, guitars; Fallon Bowman, guitars, vocals; and Talena Atfield, bass. "That whole women-in-music thing, when it comes down to it doesnt matter if youre male or female," Mercedes says in a tour stop phone interview. "When you look at it its music, nothing more," she adds. "Our strength is our music and thats the only thing that should matter anyway."

The audience, she says, is "every walk of life, there are a lot of different people who like our music." "We hope they are entertained. Different people get different reactions out of music." Kittie is drawn to harder edge music, Morgan, 18, has said, because aggression is an easier way to get your point across. "You cant really turn away from somebody who is yelling and screaming in your face," says Mercedes. "You cant walk away from that. It catches your attention. And aggressive music is a way of getting your aggression out, as well as other peoples, in a non-violent way."

Its about feeling a sense of release she says. Kittie is intense and a lot of people dont expect that, she says. A lot of rock bands are going soft and people are relieved that there are still groups like Kittie that are a little different and aggressive, Morgan has said. "I agree," adds Mercedes. "Maybe other groups think they will make more money that way." Lander isnt sure if there is any resistance at American rock radio because Kittie is all-female. "I dont know what American rock radio is like. In Canada, its all like all Third Eye Blind and we dont get played. We didnt just want to be stuck in Canada. We wanted to be more of an international band. Thats why we went for an American label."

Kittie is the first new break-through act on Artemis, a New York-based independent label formed last year. Label head Danny Goldberg, a veteran music executive, says there is a vacuum for this music in hard rock. He says it was obvious to him that Kittie would fill that void. The girls have been to Europe twice. "Everybody in Europe loves us. Everybody is crazy there (she laughs). They seem to enjoy us a lot." Kittie is surprised at all of the attention, she says. "I really dont know why. Hopefully, its because they like the music."

The Internet has been a big boost. "Without it wed probably be nothing. We wouldnt have half the fan base we have now," Lander says. They respond to fan e-mails, she says. "People tell us, Oh, you kick ass. Their website is: www.kittie.net.

"We asked our producer if we could have more of a live feel to the album, more of a raw sound. Too many records sound fake and slicked over. We went the opposite," she says. Morgan writes the lyrics and everyone contributes to the writing of the music. "Its communal writing for us," Mercedes says. She says being selected for OZZFest was an honor. "We always wanted to do it. We have a lot of fun doing it," she says. The girls met Osbourne and found him to be "a really funny guy" and "really nice." "His wife Sharon was really sweet to us." Did Ozzy offer any advice? "Not really. Just Have lots of fun. "

The reaction at OZZFest has been great, Lander says. "There are really huge crowds and everybody just goes crazy." She appreciates the reality of the live experience. "And you get to see the people who are listening to your music," she says. "We do just pure loud rock, no crap." Lander likes the variety in music today. "I think its cool. Music is not just one simple thing. Its a whole bunch of different kinds of music. Variety is the key to happiness."

Kittie came together three years ago as a garage band in high school in London, Ontario. "Its probably everybodys dream to get into music," she says. "I really always wanted to do something like that." Their influences include Nirvana, Slayer, AC/DC, Van Halen, Kiss, Napalm Death and others. "I really enjoyed Ozzys music when I was younger," Lander says. The group has played on bills with Biohazard, System of a Down and Slipknot. Lander says it was not intimidating. "It was fun more than anything else. We had a great time. They are really nice guys."

Slipknot offers praise. "Those girls are great. I love Blondie, so I always knew girls could rock," drummer Shawn Crahan, better known as No. 6, has said. "Theyre harder than that, but if youre going to go out on tour with us, youd better not scare too easily." Lander says the view from inside the industry is not much different than what she expected it might be when they were on the outside looking in. "I expected it to be a lot less work, though. Thats about it," she says. "Its really hard work. A lot of people dont understand that. All your time is devoted to this. You dont have holidays or any days off really." Not that shes complaining. "I could care less if I dont have a life," Lander says. "Im doing what I want to do and its fun."