Nita Strauss taps Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz and unleashes the shred on towering metal anthem, The Wolf You Feed
Nita Strauss has partnered with Arch Enemy leader Alissa White-Gluz on a blistering riff-fueled new single, The Wolf You Feed.
With lyrics inspired by The Story of Two Wolves – a legend widely attributed to Native American storytellers – the track opens with a gargantuan electric guitar riff underneath a demonic scream from White-Gluz, with uptempo verse sections and uber-melodic choruses.
Strauss shines from the 2:18 mark, with a solo loaded with soaring melodic runs, rapid-fire alternate picking ascends and even a tasty selection of sweeps. Check out the track’s accompanying music video below.
“If you look back at old interviews from the last ten years, any time I was asked about collaborating with a vocalist in the future, Alissa White-Gluz was always the first name out of my mouth,” says Strauss. “She is truly one of my favorite vocalists and performers in the industry and creating this track together was everything I hoped it would be!
“I’m very proud to release this track, especially now with everything else that’s going on. This time in history, whether in politics, music, social media, or our personal lives, has been an eye opening look into the two wolves of a lot of people out there, and maybe this song will be a reminder that we all have the ability to choose how we respond to things.”
“Nita and I finally got to collaborate – something we have both wanted to do for years!” adds White-Gluz. “The Wolf You Feed is a kickass, catchy metal track with a really cool vibe.
“I kept the ‘two wolves’ analogy as a foundation throughout the song while playing up the dichotomy of the two sides of the tug-of-war we all have inside us. I recorded my parts in my home studio and it was an absolute pleasure to build this song with Nita. I am honoured to be a part of it!”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Last year, Nita Strauss joined forces with another metal titan, David Draiman of Disturbed, on Dead Inside, a single which straddles the line between skyscraper-scale modern rock and masterful tech metal.
While there’s no official confirmation yet, it’s likely both The Wolf You feed and Dead Inside – as well as 2022 single Summer Storm – will appear on Nita Strauss’s yet-to-be-titled upcoming album.
As she explained last year in a conversation on The Mistress Carrie Podcast, the record will feature half instrumental music, and half music with vocals.
“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,’” she said. “Let me still have a little of what makes me me, which is the instrumental shred stuff.”
Earlier this year Nita Strauss took a step back from Alice Cooper’s band, and shortly after announced that she’d joined the touring band of pop superstar Demi Lovato.
But not everything has been going her way lately; last weekend, a thief was caught on camera stealing her Boss GT-1000CORE multi-effects pedal as she hosted a meet and greet at a guitar clinic.
There's no word yet on whether the thief has been tracked down, but his face was captured on multiple security cameras located around the guitar store, so justice is likely to be swift.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
“Everyone knows Take My Breath Away, the chart-topping ballad from Top Gun. But there’s a good chance you haven’t heard this seven-minute anthem”: David Gilmour's 10 greatest guitar guest appearances, from folk legend Roy Harper to Paul McCartney
“The crowd got ugly – they were just being assholes, throwing mud at us the whole set, hitting us hard on our bodies and on our guitars”: Donita Sparks tells the story of L7’s infamous set at 1992’s Reading Festival