THE GREAT KAT
Extreme Guitar Shred DVD
Wagner's War CD
TPR Music 2005
www.greatkat.com

Read the Great Kat interview

What’s the 4-1-1?
The Great Kat is the self-proclaimed ‘High Priestess of Guitar Shred.’ A graduate of The hallowed Juilliard in New York City, The Great Kat combines guitar shredding with classical masterpieces to create what she has dubbed shred/classical. If that’s not enough to peak your interest, her over-the-top persona is sure to grab your attention. Usually draped in leather lingerie or patriotic colors, The Great Kat stands out with her fiery attitude, wild hair, and penchant for blood and dominance. Wagner’s War is her third CD and Extreme Guitar Shred is her first DVD.

Genre
Shred / classical / metal / hard rock

The Good
There’s no denying that The Great Kat is one of the fastest guitar shredders currently on the scene. She flies through run after run with such precision and accuracy. Not only is she a master of the six-string, but she’s equally as nimble on the violin. She’s also quite hot, in a sadomasochistic sort-of way and loves her country. But…

The Bad
She’s too fast to string those runs into enjoyable songs. Granted most shredding is done at the high end of the scale, but pair that up with equally as fast violin, you’ve got a high pitched earache. It’s also tough to determine what is guitar and what is violin on some songs.

Let’s start with the DVD. You do get six videos of The Great Kat doing what she does best, but the storylines are a bit disturbing. If you’re into torture, castration, sex slavery, and pain, you’ll have no problems with her. Though, I have to wonder why the castration had to be censored, as this is an unrated DVD. The bonus features are a little on the paltry side. You get a photo montage of The Great Kat in all her glory plus a screen of DVD credits. Includes with the features is a “Shred FAQ,” where you can lean what her videos and music is all about. I think a lesson would have been cool

The CD, Wagner’s War, is a collection of 7 classical pieces interpreted by The Great Kat. It’s quite impressive that she plays the majority of classical instruments as well, but the execution of that many instruments becomes cluttered. The Great Kat reworks pieces by Wagner, List and Sarasate. For those of you that aren’t really into the classics, you’ll recognize them from the Bugs Bunny cartoons. Added to these songs are lyrics penned by The Great Kat that are either growling battle cries, or screams of dominance. The biggest problem I have with this CD is that she plays the songs so fast, they become only a minute or two long. Now, she only charges $7.00 for 7 songs, but the whole disc runs 11 minutes.

The Verdict
By far, The Great Kat is the fastest female shredder I’ve ever heard, and quite possibly one of the fastest of today. Her idea to rework classical music into something exciting and full of guitar mastery is a good one, but the final outcome is a little hard to swallow. There’s just too much going on at the same time, her rapid-fire guitar runs clash too much with her equally as fast violin work, her vocals will scare the piss out of you, and the songs are too short. Although I bet she’s a blast at parties.

Did You Know?
Guitar One Magazine dubbed The Great Kat one of the top ten shredders of all time.

Rating: out of 5 (for both)

--George Dionne