There’s more than one side to everything, and we aren’t always the same. At its most basic, Nita Strauss performs with rock stars, pop stars, and is cool with both.
There’s a sense of duality all the way through “Call Of The Void,” as it walks between two worlds.
“Summer Storm” is, in many ways, a glimpse into what this album could have been – a gloriously played instrumental that showcases Nita Strauss’ incredible talents.
And you know Nita Strauss; she’s the sidekick to Coop, and she’s brilliant. She’s a wonderful guitar player too. But evidently, she wanted this album to not be just about the guitar, rather, it was to be about songs – diverse ones too. In its hour with us, it goes to some astonishing places. “The Wolf You Feed” sees Alissa Gulz-White own the song, and Chris Motionless does likewise on the superb “Digital Bullets.” What is impressive is the way the songs complement the singers, but also the magnificent adaptability of Strauss.
To that end, Lzzy Hale sings “Through The Noise” as if it were a Halestorm tune, and the solo shreds.
That’s even more pertinent on the next one, “Consume The Fire,” as it’s instrumental. That’s what sets this album apart from the competition – many guitar players have done albums like this, with different vocalists, but the fact that “…. Void” still shreds is a bonus.
But mostly, this is just a superb, modern rock and metal album. It goes where it wants, and whether that’s David Draiman reprising Disturbed, or Dorothy shaking arenas on the brilliant “Victorious,” it all fits.
A pair of Strauss attacks, the heavy metal “Scorched,” and the even heavier “Momentum,” prepare the way for Anders Friden, of the modern metal Kings In Flames, to do his thing on “The Golden Trail,” before there’s a visit from the boss on “Winner Takes All.”
There’s a surprise too, Lilith Czar is not a name I knew before this, but her song, “Monster In Me,” is an almost perfect modern US rocker, and if there’s no shock whatsoever that ‘Kintsugi” proves yet again that Strauss can play the guitar like few others, then there is still an eyebrow or two to be raised at the fact it’s a screeching blues piece that has a flavour or two of Gary Moore.
Alice loves it too. You can tell. He loves playing Alice Cooper, “I’m on fire!” He yells on the chorus, and it’s so good, a modern Alice track that it might be on his new record, for all I know.
There’s even time for a bonus track, and it’s one you suspect was important to everyone, as Marty Friedman and Nita Strauss trade licks and jam.
In many ways, it brings us back full circle because “The Call Of The Void,” as said right at the start, could have been that record. It would have been brilliant that way too; it is just this way, with its nine guests and many, many more ideas, it has realised Nita Strauss’ vision so much more fully – and in so doing, has surely cemented her as one of the great modern guitar players.
Its title comes from the thought that many have on top of tall buildings: can I jump? It’s not suicidal; it’s a desire to live life.
That’s what this record is. More than that, that’s why it’s brilliant.
Rating: 9/10
