In the Black is the fifth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, released on September 15, 2009, through E1 Music.

Recording sessions for the album were held with producer Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario, in November and December 2008.

In the Black received generally favourable reviews from critics and debuted at number 133 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 3,400 copies in its first week.

[8][9][10] In a 2010 interview with Chart Attack, Morgan said that Kittie intended to make In the Black a faster, rawer and "much more outlandish" album compared to its predecessor, whilst "[capturing] what we're all about in the live setting.

"[11] The album was Kittie's first with bassist Ivana "Ivy" Jenkins, who joined the band in 2007 following the departure of Trish Doan.

[17] Morgan and Mercedes described the songwriting process for In the Black as more collaborative than that of Funeral for Yesterday;[18][19][20] both members wrote most of the album's material together before seeking McLeod's input,[18][21] with Jenkins contributed basslines at the end of writing.

[22] The band had finished writing the album by August 2008,[20] although according to Morgan, their songs were "just fragments and ideas until we were able to really put our heads together" at the end of the year,[13][23] after being released from their contract with their previous record label.

[29] The band chose to sign with the label as they had previously worked with a number of its personnel in the past,[30] including its vice president of Metal, Scott Givens, whom they had known for over 10 years.

[35] In July 2009, Kittie worked with director David Brodsky on two music videos, for "Cut Throat" and "Sorrow I Know".

[40] On May 4, 2010, Kittie filmed a music video for "Die My Darling" with director John Barber, which was subsequently released on June 7, 2010.

[41][42] Morgan and Mercedes initially planned the video as a spoof of the Quentin Tarantino film Death Proof (2007), and it "just turned into its own kind of thing".

[47] On August 1, 2009, Kittie played at the Altered Skin Revolution festival in Saginaw, Michigan, where they performed "Cut Throat" live for the first time.

[48] From September 27 to October 29, 2009, the band embarked on a headlining tour of the United States supported by Soil, Red Line Stitch and Arkaea.

[57] From July 16 and August 15, 2010, Kittie participated in the 2010 Thrash and Burn Tour, featuring Asking Alexandria, Born of Osiris, Impending Doom and Motionless in White.

[66] Ultimate Guitar noted Kittie's stronger instrumentation and chemistry on the album, and stated that it "could very well be the Canadian quartet's best effort".

Club's Leonard Pierce and Time Off's Kenada Quinlan both highlighted the album's improved musicianship but criticized Morgan's vocals.