RISING FORCE

As she drops The Call of the Void, her unapologetically shred sophomore album, Nita Strauss riffs on stress, solos and the importance of heeding Yngwie.

- JOE BOSSO

"I write very emotional music, and most of the time it's pretty angry," says the reigning queen of shred metal, Nita Strauss. Right now, however, she's the picture of morning contentment. Speaking with Guitar Player via Zoom, the guitarist is happily seated in the back of her tour bus, having wrapped the first date of her Summer Storm solo tour the night before in Nashville. On her lap are her two dogs: Bentley, a Pomeranian Chihuahua mix, and Motley, a Chihuahua mix. Strauss pats their heads and strokes their fur.

"The back lounge of the bus is their little kingdom," she says. "They have everything they need, and they love it when people come by to visit them. They're true little road dogs. I take them out on all of my solo tours. When I'm playing with other people, I have to leave them home, but when I do my shows, I get to set the rules."

It's breakfast time, so Strauss pours some food in a couple of bowls and sets her canine pals down to eat. She smiles as she watches them, then turns her attention back to the subject of music. Playing the guitar and writing music is therapy for me," she says. "I'm typically a pretty happy person. I'm not angry, although I have stress like anybody else. I don't get into fights at the drive-thru. It's interesting, though: When I pick up the guitar, I let it all out and go wherever my creative journey takes me. usually takes me to some aggressive places."