Nita Strauss – Controlled Chaos [Review]

I don’t normally write album reviews but today this is about to change. I have so many things I would like to say about Nita Strauss debut album Controlled Chaos that I feel it warranted a post where I can lay down my thoughts about the album all in one place.

The album was released on 16 November 2018 following an initial crowd funding campaign that smashed through its initial $20k target. The idea for the album came after Steve Vai asked her if she would contribute to an album compiling several female guitar players, an idea which became She Rocks Vol.1. Shortly afterwards, she composed and recorded Pandemonium.

Before the album came out, Nita released 2 of the most powerful songs on her album as music videos via her records company Sumerian Records. The first was track 3 Our Most Desperate Hour.

The second was track 4 Mariana Trench

I very rarely pre-order albums but after hearing Our Most Desperate Hour, I was hooked and could not wait for the album to come out. When it finally did my one and only disappointment was just how quickly it seemed to be over. And for sure, clocking in at 38’22 for 11 tracks, it’s not going to go head to head with any Dream Theatre album any time soon but what you get in those 11 tracks are an electric shock delivered with bursts of shredded licks filling in a variety of melodic and insanely heavy songs.

On my first listen I was reminded of 3 artists all put together in one: Tony MacAlpine, Dragonforce and Helloween. In other words, I could not qualify it with any other word than Epic. But beyond the sheer force of Nita’s guitar chops there is also the powerful drum beats provided by Nita’s partner and manager Josh Villalta and when you combine the two together you get an energy which even bands of 6 or 7 members can’t always manage to achieve. Who needs caffeine when you can wake up and feel energised at the raw power behind Lion Among Wolves or The Quest?

However there is more to Nita’s album than raw power and chops so sharp that can cut through steel. She can also demonstrate a beautiful melodic side with a song like Hope Grows one of the few songs not recorded using Nita’s signature Ibanez guitar the Jiva. The album closes with a cover of Queen’s The Show Must Go On with Nita’s guitar parts playing both Brian May’s guitar and Freddie’s singing while a violin part provides an extra dimension to the song.

I’ll fully admit that the album is not for everyone but if like me you find a connection with the quest for speed, accuracy and heavy riffs on the guitar neck to fill a void words cannot express then this may well be your next listen.

The full track listing is as follows:

1. Prepare for War
2. Alegria
3. Our Most Desperate Hour
4. Mariana Trench
5. Here With You
6. The Stillness at the End
7. The Quest
8. Hope Grows
9. Lion Among Wolves
10. Pandemonium 2.0
11. The Show Must Go On

You can buy the album from your favourite music retail store on line.

To close this review I will go as far as saying that Nita is becoming a real phenomenon in the world of rock and roll guitar players. Historically there have been very few women who made it to some form of stardom. Joan Jett and the Runaways come to mind but when it comes to High Flying guitar you had Jennifer Batten and Lita Ford and for a long time, that was pretty much it. Lately there has been a surge of talented women releasing very compelling music with the guitar. Orianthi has risen up to fame after nearly touring with Michael Jackson and then doing a stint with Alice Cooper before Nita replaced her in the band. Other artists you should check out include Gretchen Menn, Nili Brosh or Courtney Cox, who was one of Nita’s band-mates in The Iron Maidens.

And it may be that I’m perceiving things from only a certain angle but between the many guitar magazine covers, the contributions to Guitar World educational videos, getting not only her own Ibanez Signature guitar but also her own DiMarzio signature pickups, which as far as I know, no other female guitar player had before, Nita is sending a message to the world that when it comes to guitar, gender really doesn’t matter as long as you have a real passion and dedication for the instrument. And that can only be a good thing.