The Great Kat - Beethoven's Guitar Shred DVD: Classical, metal, leather and hellfire!

The Great Kat is a woman to be feared! No, it has nothing to do with her serpent-like, near-distensible jaw. It does not involve her being a musician first established in the 1980s and never disappearing, despite metal’s faux pas image through the 90s. And honestly, it is also not her psychotic, emasculating, dominatrix image. No, all of that is purely incidental. Why The Great Kat should be feared is because her hyper-blasting, neo-classical, whirlwind guitar playing is so precise and intense, that listening to loudly just might rupture a few ear drums.

Since erupting on the scene in the mid 80s, Kat has released seven CDs of classically-faithful and adrenaline-fueled instrumental (and sometimes vocal) metal. Realizing the attention span of the average metal fan interested in extremely fast music, most of her compositions clock in around two minutes each. That is not to say that she cuts corners; not by a long shot. Taking melody and structure into strict account, Kat’s music is almost surgical. One listen to any of her releases and it is immediately apparent; this woman really is a better guitarist than most men ever were. In fact, her soloing might just be a direct influence on Dragonforce’s current formula of speed-laced fret-board gymnastics. Oh, was it mentioned that she is also a graduate of the Julliard School of Music and plays the violin just as fast?

This brings us to her new DVD, Beethoven’s Guitar Shred. Comprising seven videos and a slew of bonus features, the DVD is a portable clinic of seemingly inhuman guitar antics, juxtaposed against a fervent respect for the classical masters.

Videos include:

1. The Flight of the Bumble-Bee
2. Torture Techniques
3. Paganini’s Caprice #24
4. Blood
5. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony
6. Islamofascists
7. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3

Three tracks (“Flight”, “Beethoven”, and “Paganini”) originally appeared on Kat’s classic 1990 album Beethoven on Speed, “Blood” is from 1998’s Bloody Vivaldi, and “Torture Chamber”, “Islamofascists” and “Bach” are previously unreleased (or new) compositions. The entire video selection runs an approximate 8-9 minutes if watched back-to-back. During that time, the viewer becomes surrounded by a vicious assortment of imagery; from dominating torture, blood, fire, anti-terrorist sentiments – all wrapped in an oddly tasteful, hyper-classical visual feast.

Bonus features include a gallery of press and live images, a who’s who of classical geniuses (musicians, politicians, writers, and scientists), a mini-clinic entitled Bach’s The Art of the Fugue, and a Beavis and Butthead-inspired animated video of “Flight of the Bumble-Bee”. The whole DVD runs approximately 20 minutes, so it is not really a lengthy investment, like some other bands that seem to ramble incessantly for multiple hours. It runs in, slams your head against a wall for the duration, and then rushes out, leaving you bloodied, bruised, and wondering exactly what it was that just kicked the snot out of you. It’s a good time!

Beethoven’s Guitar Shred is the follow-up to Kat’s 2005 DVD release Extreme Guitar Shred, which features a similar composition of videos and features. Unlike its predecessor, Beethoven unfortunately does not contain any live footage.

Sure, she might come across as a bit on the insane side, but she undoubtedly displays an appreciation and understanding of classical composition that only a handful (at best) of modern musicians are capable of grasping. People have a hard time moving beyond her flamboyant image, b ut her obvious talent shines through. Pick this DVD up if not for the education alone.