This 2016 album is a compilation of material stretching all the way back to her second EP ‘Battle for the Mind’, plus a few new songs and some with re-recorded guitars. Here Berit performs in a very different style to her most recent album as this is shred, and her vocals while still powerful have a very different edge to them, not nearly as clean and Bush-like as she takes on the persona of female guitar goddess. There are even a couple of cover versions on this, with “Immigrant Song” having a metallic background and vocals that are far more classical in approach which makes it seem quite strange in some ways. Her screams at the beginning are actually too tuneful and lack the fragility and thrust of Plant, although she does go way higher! The other cover is that of “Paranoid” where she increases the speed (not quite as fast as The Dickies’ version), and throws plenty of shred and wonderful vocals, turning it into a classical metallic monster that is true to the original and yet something very new and different at the same time, and I love it!
But of the fifteen songs on offer they are the only two cover numbers, and tracks such as “Dropout” show that here is a shredder who really understands melody as well as speed and combines them with an innate understanding of classical singing to create something that is both immediate and melodic while also being fresh. A version of the song was the opening cut on her very first demo ‘State of the Union’ back in 2009, when she had only been playing guitars for a few years. This hour long compilation is an interesting introduction to the world of The Commander-In-Chief for those who have yet to come across her, and is certainly worthy of investigation as she is mixing and blending musical styles in a way that is both familiar and exciting.
Rating: 8/10
