"BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED" DVD REVIEW IN NOLAN'S POP CULTURE REVIEW

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"BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED" DVD REVIEW IN NOLAN'S POP CULTURE REVIEW

By Nolan B. Canova, Nolan's Pop Culture Review
DVD REVIEW: THE GREAT KAT SHREDS THE CLASSICS 1. "Beethoven's Guitar Shred" 2. "Extreme Guitar Shred"

About 20 years ago when Ye Olde Editor was still toiling in hallowed halls of classic heavy metal, it was very prestigious among the head-banger population to be thought of as a great technical player. Privately, the holy grail ranking among guitarists of the day was to be a "shredder", that is, to be able to play blindingly fast, and hopefully, tastefully. The two are rarely automatically conjoined.
About this time, fellow bandmate, Scott van Sickle, brought to my attention a new phenom on the scene he'd heard about and wondered if I'd heard about it, too. With a bit of a grin reflecting his amusement, he relayed the story of the first female heavy metal shredder in the world (or words to that effect) who graduated from Juilliard as a classical violinist, but through an epiphany of sorts, she decided to pursue a career in heavy metal and apply all her violin chops to electric guitar. Her name was Katherine Thomas, but she went by the stage name of The Great Kat. I'm sure I replied "No, I don't know about that one" after which, knowing Scott, he proceeded to play me something of hers. I have no memory after that except I was likely impressed and probably said something like, "so she's going to be up there with Yngwie Malmsteen and Racer X, huh?" That was probably the last I'd thought about it. Any TV appearances (e.g., Headbanger's Ball, etc.) are vague at best. After 1993 or so, I didn't follow the music scene all that closely considering anything that would be relevant to me had pretty much come and gone. Fast-forward 16 years, and I'll be damned if the Sacred PO BOX of Crazed Fanboy hadn't been invaded by not just one but two DVD compilations of The Great Kat's shredding! I am grateful to the promoter for allowing me this opportunity to re-examine and re-evaluate that unique creature known as The Great Kat. First off, let me say that Kat is still a hot-looking woman! To say she's aged miraculously would be an understatement -- she's actually more gorgeous now than I remember from 20 years ago. That alone can be difficult to determine from the videos as they are very fast-moving and she always has her "open-scream-war-face" on (see pics).
And fast-moving they are. Because of the frenzied pace of all the performances, most clock in at around 90 seconds, some go over a little over 2 minutes. "The Flight of the Bumblebee", long a favorite among speed-record setters of violin and guitar, gets a great workout here. "Beethoven's Fifth" and "Paganini's Caprice #24" get a similar boost of amphetamines, going by in a blur of notes that's over nearly as soon as it starts. Truthfully, at these speeds, the uninitiated may think they all sound like "Flight of the Bumblebee"! But I know the notes are all there, I can hear them, and it's especially amazing she can pull that off while moving around onstage. Kat indeed plays violin as well as guitar on some of the pieces, "Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3" notable here. The bigger surprise is the route she has taken with much of the video production in which Kat appears to be in the role of a crazed and sadistic dominatrix (was that always the case and my memory failed me?). Combine that with a visual approach I believe is currently called "goregrind" -- violence, graphic torture and mutilation, blood splattered everywhere, especially on Kat -- and you have something that is definitely not for everyone. Although I admire the production values on both DVDs, some of the "narrative" simulating extreme violence ("Castration" is the most extreme video here) gets flirtingly close to snuff flick territory. If they went for shock value with a lot of this, I'd say they nailed it! r
It's apparent that the musical value of the pieces are slightly secondary to the shredder acrobatics and the shocking stage show, but that's obviously by design. Arguably, the most musical it gets are "Flight of the Bumblebee", "Paganini's Caprice #24", "Beethoven's 5th Symphony", and "Zapateado". My favorite, believe it or not, is a hint of one of my favorites, "Bohemian Rhapsody #2", a very clear and precise rendition by Kat, but is merely the background music on the "Extreme Guitar Shred" DVD menu! Now I have to hear the whole thing, so a little seaching is in order. Nevertheless, The Great Kat's place as one of the top 10 fastest guitar-shredders in the world is definitely secure! I can highly recommend these to all fans of hers. For those who've never heard of her and are willing to hear some classics played at speeds you can scarcely imagine while have your senses shaken in every conceivable way by extreme videos, well, I'd have to recommended them to you, too! For more information on The Great Kat, visit her website at http://www.greatkat.com
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