London metal band Kittie is once again ready to rock.

With founding members and Byron-based sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander still in the lineup, Kittie recently signed a three-record deal with E1 Music.

"We have been hard at work for the past few months perfecting our latest musical offering and are pleased with the final result of In the Black," says Kittie singer and guitarist Morgan Lander. Her younger sister is Kittie's drummer. In the Black is due for release on Sept. 15. New songs on the album include Cut Throat, Sorrow I Know and My Plague.

Joining the sisters are Strathroy-area guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivy Vujic. Kittie emerged in London in 1996 with the first of many lineups. With the Lander sisters in the band over the years, Kittie has sold more than 1.25 million recordings.

Kittie has toured the world, sharing the stage with such metal icons as Slipknot and Pantera and co-headlined Ozzfest's second stage.

"It is everything that Kittie is supposed to be -- heavy, fast, brash and nasty, yet at times introspective, feminine and emotional," Morgan Lander says of In the Black. "One thing it is not, however, is compromising of the sound and style that we have come to be known for."

Kittie is filming videos this month and making plans for a fall tour.

Other E1 Music signings to its heavy metal roster include U.S. band Hatebreed.

No financial terms of the deal were available.

Another London band in the E1 Music universe is the Joys.

News of the deal follows a 2008 when Kittie was stunned by personal tragedy.

Last summer, Dave Lander, the Lander sisters' father and manager of the band, died suddenly. Along with other bands and fans, Kittie rocked Call the Office in December at an emotionally charged and cathartic memorial show.