NITA STRAUSS 'Fangirled Out To The Max' Over Collaboration With IN FLAMES' ANDERS FRIDÉN

Los Angeles-born guitar hero Nita Strauss released her sophomore solo album "The Call of the The Void", on July 7 via Sumerian Records. The LP is a star-studded affair featuring guest vocals from DISTURBED's David Draiman, ARCH ENEMY's Alissa White-Gluz, HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's Chris Motionless, IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén, Hungarian-born vocalist/writer Dorothy Martin, Alice Cooper and Lilith Czar.

Asked in a new interview with Katie Daryl of AXS TV if she knew all the singers personally before she approached them about appearing on the record or if there were certain musicians that she had to "cold call", Nita said: "The only person I didn't actually have any direct connection to was Anders Fridén from my favorite band IN FLAMES. And that was one that sort of a cold reachout from an engineer that had worked on their records and worked on my first record. [He was], like, 'Hey, I don't know if you're familiar with Nita Stauss.' And crazily enough, he was. And he made my little song into an IN FLAMES song. It was just mindblowing."

Pressed about whether she "fangirled out" at the experience of working with the singer of her favorite band, Strauss said: "Oh, I fangirled out to the max, like to the extreme. It was my rock-star moment. It was my… If you work hard enough and you want it badly enough, you can be a kid that grows up with pictures of these artists on their walls, and one day you get to write a song and hear their voice on it. It was mindblowing — truly, as a fan first, a mindblowing experience."

Nita released 2018's "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".

In March, it was announced that Nita would return to Alice's band for his 2023 tour.

The Alice Cooper North American tour, with an all-new show dubbed "Too Close For Comfort", kicked off in late April in Michigan and will continue through late September, including a handful of August stadium shows with DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE, followed by a co-headlining late summer "Freaks On Parade" tour with Rob Zombie.

Nita spent eight years playing with Alice before joining Demi Lovato's band last summer,

Strauss played her first full live show with Demi in August 2022 at the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.

Nita made her live debut with Demi in July 2022 with a performance of "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.

Photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR