The Great Kat Extreme Guitar Shred Review By: Mike O'Cull

The Great Kat "Extreme Guitar Shred" DVD Review By: Mike O'Cull
	The Great Kat (Julliard grad Katherine Thomas) is one of the most bizarre musicians performing today, and that is saying a lot. She is a double virtuoso, on guitar and violin, and displays her talents in a heavy, dark-themed context on her latest “Extreme Guitar Shred” DVD release. One could call her style of music neo-classical death gothic shred metal if one needed a name for this stuff, but most would probably just call it disturbing.
The six videos contained here feature titles like “Torture Chamber,” “Castration,” and “Dominatrix” and focus so much on blood and torture imagery that one can’t even listen to the music that the video clips are supposed to accompany. Kat performs in the clips in bondage-esque outfits and horror makeup, which, I guess, isn’t so shocking considering today’s metal scene. The thing of it is, Kat has so much more behind her than most current metal players, having been awarded a Julliard scholarship at age 15 and winning numerous awards and accolades, that she wouldn’t have to turn her music into a “Friday The 13th” type of affair to attract attention. She has chops to burn and was named one of the “Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time” by Guitar One Magazine, so her skills have certainly drawn some notice, but the way she sells herself will keep her on the fringes of the market next to death bands from Norway and other extreme elements. Not for the faint of heart. Mike O'Cull