NITA STRAUSS's Second Solo Album To Arrive In Early 2023

Former Alice Cooper and current Demi Lovato guitarist Nita Straussspoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the status of her long-awaited second solo album. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I just released a single called 'Summer Storm' a couple of weeks ago. It's the second single from my forthcoming album. This one is instrumental, so it kind of takes me back to my roots, what I'm known for. And the next single with a guest vocalist will be dropping very, very soon. It's someone I'm extremely excited about, one of my favorite singers and someone I've been saying I wanted to collab with for a really long time. So I'm very excited to get that out in the world. We're just putting the finishing touches on the music video and then you guys will be able to see it.

"My new record is gonna be about half and half instrumental songs to guest vocalists, so you're gonna have a lot more cool stuff like that coming down the pipeline," she explained.

Asked if she has ever collaborated with someone where the end result just didn't live up to her expectations, Nita said: "I think when you're collaborating with someone, it's so important to embrace what they do as well as what you want. And it's tough. There's a reason why I'm a solo artist and I don't have band, 'cause I don't play well with other people a lot of time when it comes to my own music. But I think I got all of that out in [my first solo album, 2018's] 'Controlled Chaos'; I did the writing, the production, the engineering, everything myself. So I really embraced the collaborative spirit with this upcoming record. And if a guest vocalist did something that I was, like, 'Well, it's not exactly how I pictured it,' I would offer suggestions but also really relax the reins and let people do their thing. 'Cause at the end of the day, it's not really a collaboration if I'm just telling someone how to do it; I might as well just hire somebody. So there are definitely things on this upcoming record that if I had had it the original way, it would sound a little different, but that's the beauty of collaborating with different people — it's a blend of two people's ideas.'

"Summer Storm" was released in late August, with an accompanying live music video shot on Nita's recent U.S. headline tour. The track saw Strauss return to her instrumental roots following her previous single, the enormously successful "Dead Inside" which featured guest vocals from DISTURBED's David Draiman and saw Nita become the first-ever solo female to have a No. 1 hit at Active Rock Radio.

Back in February, Nita told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about some of the other guests that appear on her new solo album: "I will say that we've got a really, really cool blend of some legacy people as well as some new singers that I'm really excited about, and some amazing male vocalists and some incredible female vocalists as well."

In early December, Nita told "The Mistress Carrie Podcast" about her decision to make the upcoming LP half vocal songs and half instrumental: "I did feel, and the label and everybody agreed, it's still important for me to keep my identity as a guitar player and not just branch off too much and go, 'Okay, well, now it's just guests.' Let me still have a little of what makes me me, which is the instrumental shred stuff. And the instrumental pieces that I've written on this record are, I think, better than anything I did on the first one — definitely more… I don't know if it could be more emotional but they're very emotional pieces of music and I think a little better crafted this time around. So I think all the songs in general are more well thought out, better put together this time around. And I do have some of my absolute favorite [singers guesting on it]. I have three amazing powerhouse female vocalists on this album so far."

Nita released "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths".

Nita made her live debut with Demi on July 14 with a performance of Lovato's new single, "Substance" on ABC's Emmy Award-winning late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Strauss had been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS.

In April 2020, Nita launched "Rock Guitar Fundamentals" — a three-module online guitar teaching program suitable for learners of all levels. The course is available at www.iwanttoplayguitar.com.