Nita Strauss – The Call of the Void – 2023

The Call of the Void is Nita Staruss’s second solo album. I, of course, know her best because she’s been touring and playing with Alice Cooper for a few years. As a huge Alice Cooper fan I was very interested to hear this album as soon as possible. I did hear the single (featuring Alice Cooper) – Winner Takes All, a couple of months ago. I wasn’t that impressed but I thought I’d let that one slide and see what the album would be like.

Now The Call of the Void is here and I must say it was worth the wait. There may not be any “Hit” quality songs in there, no real anthems which invite the audience to sing along, but it’s really not necessary to enjoy it. Apart from Alice Cooper, Nita Strauss has also invited a lot of guest vocalists to perform to sing on the songs. Maybe it would be cool if she evolved into a mean-ass Singer-Guitarist over time. But we are not there yet and I don’t know if we ever will. But I’ll take a mean-ass guitarist over a half-assed combo any time. So I don’t know what there is to complain about.

Plenty of Music

There is plenty of music on the album. An incredible 22-track album! Many of the songs are performed twice, though. One with vocals and one instrumental version. And, as much as I have a problem with listening to instrumental music, I actually prefer those versions of the “regular” versions. I feel like the vocalist tracks distract a bit from the bass/drums/guitar. It gets tighter without the vocals. If I understand it correctly the bass is also laid down by Nita. Killer guitarist and killer bassist!

Of course, there are fast solo’s that sound quite technical and hard to play. I obviously wouldn’t know since my own guitar skills are very limited. But I don’t focus on those parts in the music that much. I’m much more interested in what goes on behind the solos. The rhythm sections of it, the riffs a progression. There lays the foundation for the music and what makes this such a listenable album in my opinion!