Mercedes Lander was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1984.  She was a founding member of the All Girl Heavy Metal band Kittie - established in 1996, when she was all of 12 years of age.

Mercedes was 15 when Kittie recorded and released their first Certified Gold Album Spit , in January 2000.  Their catalogue has since sold close to 2 million copies worldwide.
 
To date, Mercedes and Kittie have toured extensively in North America and Europe , played with such notables as Slipknot, co-headlined 2nd Stage at Ozzfest 2000 and co-headlined Snowcore 2000 and performed on the Conan O'Brien Show.  They have been featured in numerous music magazines such as Metal Edge, Spin, Alternative Press, Rhythm, News Week, Melody Maker, Metal Maniacs, Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Daily Telegraph, Drum Magazine to name a few.

Mercedes has managed to stand out in the very competitive world of metal drumming.   Steve Thompson ( Guns and Roses , Appetite for Destruction , Korn , Follow the Leader ) who produced their 3rd album entitled Until the End, is quoted as saying, "I've worked with a lot of rock bands in the guy department that couldn't hold a candle to Mercedes' style and timing".