Strauss is a great guitarist, but for a guitar shredding album to make an appreciable dent, a handful of factors should apply. First, great material; while Strauss' prowess is constantly at play here, the material in Controlled Chaos never levitates its weight from the "going through the motions" level. What's more, her perceived attempt to embark on more extreme forms of metal, falls short in terms of both magnitude and impact, as an array of rock and metal styles is heard throughout. Second, sound work that highlights all the intricacies of the song writing; album's production is average at best, and unfortunately, invariably tone deaf regarding the album's various styles.
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