Welcome back to Guitardoor.com, where we celebrate the modern heroes who are carrying the torch of high-performance guitar into the future. Today, we’re stepping into the eye of the storm with one of the most exciting, dynamic, and prominent guitarists in the world of rock and metal: the incredible “Hurricane” Nita Strauss. As the electrifying lead guitarist for the legendary shock-rocker Alice Cooper, she has earned her place in the prestigious lineage of great Alice Cooper guitarists. She is a complete modern virtuoso, renowned for her breathtaking technical skill, her commanding and high-energy stage presence, and a massively successful solo career that has cemented her status as a true guitar hero for a new generation.
The Eye of the Hurricane
Nita Strauss’s musical style is a powerful and melodic form of modern hard rock and heavy metal. Her playing is built on a deep and reverent foundation of the classic 80s shred masters, but it’s delivered with a contemporary edge, aggressive riffing, and slick, modern production. In her high-profile role with Alice Cooper, she proves her versatility and professionalism nightly, faithfully and skillfully recreating decades of iconic guitar parts while injecting her own fiery personality and virtuosic flair into the show.
Her solo work is where her own creative vision truly shines. It’s a brilliant blend of epic, cinematic, and technically dazzling instrumentals and powerful, vocal-driven anthems that showcase her incredible talent as a songwriter and arranger, proving she is a complete and multifaceted artist.
Anatomy of a Hurricane
The guitar playing of Nita Strauss is a perfect and thrilling storm of meticulous precision and raw, passionate performance. It’s a modern evolution of the shred tradition, combining the incredible technicality of heroes like Paul Gilbert with a powerful, athletic, and visually captivating stage presence. Her sound is a masterclass in modern, high-performance guitar, meticulously crafted to be tight, articulate, and powerful enough to command a stadium stage and captivate a massive audience. She is both a disciplined technician and a passionate rock and roll warrior.
The Modern Shredder: Nita possesses a complete and formidable technical arsenal. Her alternate picking is blistering, clean, and incredibly fast, allowing her to execute complex scale runs with stunning clarity. She is a master of clean, multi-string sweep-picked arpeggios and intricate two-handed tapping.
Whammy Bar Finesse: She is a true artist with the Floyd Rose locking tremolo system. She uses it for everything from screaming, arena-shaking dive bombs to subtle, expressive, vocal-like vibrato, making it a key and expressive part of her lead guitar voice.
The Ibanez JIVA: Her identity as a player is inextricably linked to her signature Ibanez JIVA guitars. These are the ultimate high-performance S-style instruments, featuring a slim, fast neck, a lightweight body, and her own signature DiMarzio Pandemonium pickups, all designed for maximum speed, versatility, and an aggressive, articulate tone.
The Modern Metal Tone: Her tone is a powerful, cutting, and modern high-gain sound. While she is a long-time user of Marshall amplifiers for that classic British roar, she is also a savvy modern touring musician, often using digital modelers like the Kemper Profiler to ensure a perfect, consistent, and reliable tone on stages all over the world.
Essential Strauss: A Modern Metal Storm
Nita Strauss’s solo career has produced a string of powerful tracks that showcase her incredible talent as both a player and a composer. To get a sense of her immense skill and her modern metal sound, these three tracks are essential.
“Our Most Desperate Hour”
The explosive opening instrumental from her debut album, Controlled Chaos, this track is Nita Strauss unleashed. It’s a pure, unadulterated showcase of her incredible shred technique from the very first note, featuring blistering alternate picking, massive dive bombs, soaring melodies, and a powerful, cinematic feel. It’s a bold opening statement from a world-class virtuoso.
“Dead Inside” (feat. David Draiman)
This track was her breakout hit single and a perfect example of her songwriting prowess. Featuring the iconic voice of Disturbed’s David Draiman, “Dead Inside” is a powerful, catchy, and perfectly crafted modern rock anthem. It blends a heavy, driving riff and a massive vocal hook with a face-melting, technically brilliant guitar solo.
“The Wolf You Feed” (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
Showcasing the heavier side of her musical personality, this track features the ferocious vocals of Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz. The song is built on a foundation of crushing, modern metal riffs and a palpable sense of aggression. Nita’s solo is a perfect complement—incredibly fast, technically dazzling, and perfectly suited to the powerful nature of the song.
Nita Strauss is, without a doubt, one of the leading and most inspirational guitar heroes of the modern era. Her incredible talent, her relentless work ethic, and her role as a powerful ambassador for the instrument have made her a global icon. She is a true modern virtuoso who has proudly and powerfully proven that the era of the guitar hero is far from over.
Cover Photo Credit “Nita Strauss of Alice Cooper performing in San Antonio, Texas 2015” by Ralph Arvesen is licensed under CC BY 2.0
