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Current Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss seems to be in constant demand, yet has somehow found time to record this second solo album amid her various day jobs.

Following a well-trodden path for star guitarists, The Call Of The Void is a vehicle for immaculate shredding allied to a host of impressive vocal talent: Alice appears on Winner Takes All, but the standouts include Alissa White-Gluz (The Wolf You Feed), Lzzy Hale (Through The Noise) and Anders Friden (The Golden Trail).

Altogether nine guests lend their skills, not least guitarist Marty Friedman on Surfacing. Well-paced intros nestle among the actual songs, and it’s all tooled in the kind of crisp, electronically embellished production that’s ubiquitous these days.

Impressively slick, shiny modern metal.

Whether it’s magazines, books or online, Essi has been writing about rock ’n’ metal for around thirty years. He has been reviews editor for Classic Rock and Metal Hammer, rock reviews editor for lads mag Front and worked for Kerrang!. He has also written the Rough Guide to Heavy Metal and contributed to the Rough Guide to Rock and Rough Guide Book of Playlists, and the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (13th edition). Most fun interview? Tenacious D – Jack Black and Kyle Gass – for The Pick of Destiny movie book. An avid record/CD/tape collector, he’s amassed more music than he could ever possibly listen to, which annoys his wife no end.

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Nita Strauss lines up the special guest vocalists to augment the shredding on impressively slick album

Ace guitarist Nita Strauss takes a break from the Alice Cooper/Demi Lovato day jobs to deliver steely solo second album The Call Of The Void