NITA STRAUSS Controlled Chaos

SUMERIAN

Alice Cooper shredder becomes heavy metal’s guitar heroine

Nita Strauss is a guitar goddess who’s built up her profile through old-school, melodic heaviness. She first turned heads in the tribute act The Iron Maidens, before, most notably, becoming the guitarist for shock rock icon Alice Cooper. Nita’s history suggests that her solo instrumental outing, Controlled Chaos, would continue in that vintage vein, but while classic rock nostalgia does occasionally rear its head (a symphonic cover of Queen’s The Show Must Go On being the goosebump-inducing apex), this album is instead a celebration of the diversity of her metal guitar-work. Hope Grows is a soft, acoustic ballad; Lion Among Wolves is a thrashing number with hints of gloomy black metal; The Quest is pure power metal extravagance; Mariana Trench is Synyster Gates-style riffing meets modern metalcore.

Nita’s six-string prowess transcends subgenres and generations, creating a debut that is an essential listen for metalheads young and old.

FOR FANS OF: Marty Friedman, Avenged Sevenfold, Stratovarius

MATT MILLS