Kat Bio. The Great Kat Shred Guitar Virtuoso/Violin Maestro Biography.






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The Great Kat Biography

-"Top 8 Female Electric Guitarists Of All Time" - NME
-"The Best Rock Female Guitarists" - Kurier
-"Top-10 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time" - Guitar World Magazine's Readers' Poll
-"12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists" - Elle Magazine
-"8 Of The World's Fastest Shredders" - Gibson Lifestyle
-"20 Extraordinary Female Guitarists" - Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter"
-Honored with a STAR in the "Guitar Hero Galaxy" - Spin Magazine
-Voted #1 "Favourite Celebrity of Multiple Nationalities" - Rankopedia

The Great Kat & Niccolo Paganini - HISTORY'S ONLY Violin/Guitar Virtuosos!

The Great Kat was born Katherine Thomas in Swindon, England (on a U.S. Air Force Base Military Hospital) and moved to the U.S at the age of 3. After listening to Beethoven since birth, The Great Kat realized that her mission was to become a composer and musical revolutionary. Kat began Classical piano studies at 7. At the age of 9, she began Classical violin studies in New York.

At the age of 15, The Great Kat won a Full Scholarship to attend the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City as a Violin Student. The Great Kat became the Concertmaster of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra and won the "Robert Hufstader Scholarship" in Composition and Theory at Juilliard. The Great Kat (Katherine Thomas) performed for NYC Mayor Ed Koch at Gracie Mansion as a Prodigy Violin Soloist. The Great Kat graduated with Honors from The Juilliard School and began performing, first as a Classical violin soloist at Carnegie Recital Hall as winner of the exclusive "Artists International Competition" and then soloing extensively in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe.

The Great Kat (Katherine Thomas) performed as a Prodigy Violin Soloist for Governor Oscar Flores Tapia in Coahuila, Mexico at the Centennial of General Vito Alessio Robles’ birth and at the famous Teatro Fernando Soler as a Prodigy Violin Soloist in Saltillo, Mexico. Steve Allen, the comedian and composer, especially composed a jazz piece for Katherine Thomas (The Great Kat), which she performed as a Violin Soloist at the Thamesdown-Hambro festival in Swindon, England.

After touring the world, The Great Kat realized that Classical music was dead, so she began updating Classical Music with Speed Metal and transcribed intricate violin solos to the guitar. Kat developed a new genre of music: “SHRED/CLASSICAL” Music -- Fast, Furious, and Virtuosic.

The Great Kat Shred Guitar Virtuoso is the only musician taking note-for-note authentic Classical Music scores (from Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Liszt, Paganini, Sarasate, Bazzini, Rossini and more) and entering the original Classical Music scores into music-notation software. The Great Kat then edits, arranges, and orchestrates the entire scores with Shred Guitar virtuosity and mixing it with Speed Metal band and Classical orchestra. The Great Kat’s music is known worldwide for its phenomenal speeds, complicated Classical motives, counterpoint layering, guitar riffs, maniacal screams, heavy rhythms and thrashing sounds. Known as the “High Priestess of Guitar Shred,” The Great Kat was recently awarded "20 Of The Fastest Guitarists In The World Today" by MusicRadar.com, "50 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine, "Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine, "The 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes" by Classic Rock Magazine, "Top 8 Female Electric Guitarists Of All Time" by NME, "The Best Rock Female Guitarists" by Kurier, "Top-10 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine's Readers' Poll, "12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists" by Elle Magazine, "8 Of The World's Fastest Shredders" by Gibson Lifestyle and "20 Extraordinary Female Guitarists" by Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter".
The Great Kat's "BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED" DVD features Shred/Classical Music Videos of the famous "The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee" (performed by Kat at 300 BPM!), Paganini's insanely technical "Caprice #24" (for guitar and violin), Beethoven's "5th Symphony" and Bach's Baroque Masterpiece "Brandenburg Concerto #3" for 6 Shred Guitars, 3 Violins, Chamber Orchestra and Metal band, plus original outrageously theatrical SPEED METAL Wagnerian Mini-Operas. The Great Kat's "Beethoven's Guitar Shred" DVD is now featured on LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON ONLINE and MEVIO MUSIC.

The Great Kat is recently featured in the new book "BEETHOVEN IN AMERICA" in the chapter entitled "Beethoven in Popular Music", WQXR Classical Radio in "How Beethoven Became an American Icon", on WENN - The Celebrity World Entertainment News Network in "Sensation The Great Kat Has Become Known For Her Heavy Metal Take On Classical Music", L.A.'s Morning News - News Talk 980, Examiner.com in "Roll Over Beethoven: The Great Kat's 'Beethoven Shreds' restyles famed composer", Gigwise in "The Naked And Famous: Stars Who Can't Keep Their Clothes On" and Total Guitar Magazine in "Beethoven Symphony No 5 (1st Movement)". Spin Magazine recently honored The Great Kat with a Star in the "GUITAR HERO GALAXY". The Great Kat is voted #1 "Favourite Celebrity of Multiple Nationalities" in Rankopedia.

The Great Kat is a DOUBLE Virtuoso - Guitar AND Violin - and Great Kat’s unique guitar and violin virtuosity shine on the new "BEETHOVEN SHREDS" CD, which features songs from The Great Kat’s highly-acclaimed, ground-breaking “Beethoven’s Guitar Shred” DVD: “The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee”, Beethoven's “5th Symphony”, Paganini’s “Caprice #24”, Bach's “Brandenburg Concerto #3” and more. “BEETHOVEN SHREDS” CD combines metal and classical music for a speed thrill unchallenged in the music industry. The Great Kat's "Beethoven Shreds" CD is now featured on ABC-TV's Take Five & Company TV Show (Grand Rapids, MI), in the new exhibit "AMERICA'S BEETHOVEN EXHIBIT" at The Ira F. Brilliant Center For Beethoven Studies and is chosen by iTunes as the top “New & Noteworthy” Metal Music.

iTunes now features The Great Kat's Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" Music Video, "Beethoven’s Guitar Shred" DVD Music Videos and "Extreme Guitar Shred" DVD Music Videos for download (http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-great-kat/id368743108) and Shred/Classical CDs, "Beethoven Shreds", "Wagner’s War", "Rossini’s Rape", "Bloody Vivaldi" & "Guitar Goddess" for download (http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/great-kat/id384709526). The Great Kat DVDs and CDs are now available worldwide through major retail stores, online stores, and at www.greatkat.com.

The Great Kat is bringing Shred/Classical Music to the entire world through the use of LIVE and MIDI instruments, computer technology and the Internet on The Great Kat Guitar Shredder Web Site at: http://www.greatkat.com .


THE GREAT KAT'S MUSIC IS CALLED "SHRED/CLASSICAL":
The Great Kat's "SHRED/CLASSICAL" Music: Note-for-note authentic Classical Music scores (from Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner, Liszt, Paganini, Sarasate, Bazzini, Rossini and more) UPDATED for the 21st Century with SHRED GUITAR and VICIOUS SPEED METAL!!
THE GREAT KAT AWARDS, ACCOLADES, PRESS, TV SHOWS and MOVIES:

Full Scholarship Student of the Juilliard School for Violin
Graduated with honors from Juilliard
Winner of the Robert Hufstader Award for Composition and Theory at Juilliard
Concertmaster of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra
Winner of the Artists International Competition on Violin
Carnegie Recital Hall Debut on Solo Violin
Honored with a STAR in the "GUITAR HERO GALAXY" - Spin Magazine
Named "20 OF THE FASTEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD TODAY" - MusicRadar.com
Named "50 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine
Named "TOP TEN FASTEST SHREDDERS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar One Magazine
Named "TOP 8 FEMALE ELECTRIC GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - NME
Named "THE BEST ROCK FEMALE GUITARISTS" - Kurier
Named "12 GREATEST FEMALE ELECTRIC GUITARISTS" - Elle Magazine
Named "TOP-10 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine's Readers' Poll
Named "THE 100 WILDEST GUITAR HEROES" - Classic Rock Magazine
Named "8 OF THE WORLD'S FASTEST SHREDDERS" - Gibson Lifestyle
Named "20 EXTRAORDINARY FEMALE GUITARISTS" - Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter"
Named #5 in "THE 50 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine Reader's Poll
Named #1 "FAVOURITE CELEBRITY OF MULTIPLE NATIONALITIES" - Rankopedia
Named "METAL MAIDEN OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2012" - The Metal Pit
Named "SIX OF MUSIC'S MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN GUITARISTS" - Guitar Tricks
Named "TOP 5 AMAZING WOMEN YOU ASPIRE TO BE LIKE" in "INSPIRING ALL-AMERICAN WOMEN" -Feeling Good About Feminism
Named "MOST PROMINENT WOMEN ROCK GUITARISTS" - Virtuosos De La Guitarra
Named "METALHOLIC'S 15 HOTTEST FEMALE GUITAR SHREDDERS" - Metalholic Magazine
Named "SNOWY'S ANGEL OF THE YEAR" in "2011 RAMMY AWARDS" - Radioactive Metal Radio Show
Named "18 PEOPLE ROCKING WAY TOO HARD!" - Smosh.com
"Wagner's War" CD Named "THE BEST RECORDS 2011" - Frankfurter Rundschau Newspaper (Germany)
"Bloody Vivaldi" CD Named #6 In "THE BLOODIEST ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME" - Ugo.com
"Wagner's War" CD Named "THE BEST RECORDS 2011" - Berliner Zeitung Newspaper (Germany)
ARTICLES, COVER STORIES, INTERVIEWS, VIDEOS, BOOKS and REVIEWS in: Time Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine (Italy), Sirius Satellite Radio, Total Guitar Magazine, MusicRadar.com, Examiner.com, IGN, MEVIO Music, Spin Magazine, About.com Guitar, Guitar World Magazine, New York Magazine, Financial Times (England), Guitar Player Magazine, NME, The Entertainment Bank, Gigwise, AOL's Digital City, Kurier, Morning Star (U.K.), MintLife, The Oakland Press, Frankfurter Rundschau Newspaper, PC Magazine, Berliner Zeitung Newspaper, antiMUSIC, Guitar Girl Magazine, InMusic, Houston Press, Rankopedia, Femail Magazine, Massapequa Post, Good Times Magazine, Blender.com Videos, Toronto.com, Milenio, Feeling Good About Feminism, Accent On Tampa Bay Magazine, Spiegel Online (Germany), Beethoven in America Book, Canales, Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music, Shock Rock: Sexo, Violencia Y Teatro Book (Shock Rock: Sex, Violence and Theater), The Official Heavy Metal Book Of Lists, Ax Facts & Stats Book, The Great Rock 'N' Roll Quote Book, Rockin' The Classics And Classicizin The Rock Book, Running With The Devil Book, Guitar An American Life Book, Eye on Dance and the Arts, Necromag, Cincinnati CityBeat, Home Cinema Choice, Chicago Tribune, Attack Magazine, AV Maniacs, USA Today, Elle Magazine, About.com: Classic Rock, I4U News, Metal Hammer, Clicker Blog, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Scene Newspaper, Star Tribune, The Port Arthur News, Providence Journal, Seattle Times, NewsBlaze, Today Online, Critical Women On Film Journal - The Women Film Critics Circle, AOL Music Noisecreep, Rolling Stone Magazine (Brazil), eHow, Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter" Edition, Southern Fried Gamer, Metalholic Magazine, The Metal Circus (Spain), fab Magazine, Music Legends, The Metal Pit, Zoiks! Online, Associated Content, TechBites, San Antonio Express-News, Wired@Home.com, Guitar Tricks, Yahoo! Buzz, Guitar One Magazine, People Magazine, New York Times, Curve Magazine, Midwest Book Review, Heavy Metal Examiner, Metal Forces Magazine, Meu Instrumento, Q Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, NY Post, Washington Post, Burn Out Magazine (Greece), Suite101.com's Modern Classical Musicians, Guitar Buyer Magazine, Excite.com, Netflix.com, Imaging Insider, Hollywood FYI, Billboard, Classic Rock Magazine, The Statesman, Guitar Player Magazine Brazil and much more
RADIO SHOWS: WQXR Classical Radio, CNN's Measure To Measure, Sirius XM Liquid Metal, L.A.'s Morning News - News Talk 980 KFWB, The Bailey Broadcast Radio Show - 92.7 FM KGBR, Blog Talk Radio's Social Media Hour, The Morning Edge with Buck and Dex-KTEG, Tommy & Rumble Show-FM99 WNOR, Performance Today - National Public Radio, The Vampyr's Underground-Heavy Metal Buzz, Scary Terry's Saturday Nightmare Show-Rock 94.7, Mac Edition Radio, Radioactive Metal, BBC Radio
TV SHOWS: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Online, ABC-TV's Take Five & Company TV Show (Grand Rapids, MI), Weekend Today In NY (NBC), Entertainment Tonight TV Show, The Joan Rivers Show, The Maury Povich Show, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, News 12 Long Island, The Morton Downey Jr. Show, Good Day New York (Fox), Talk Back Live, The Joe Franklin Show, Midday Live with Bill Boggs, The Fantasy Show, Estrellas de Oro (Channel 12)
EXHIBITS: "America's Beethoven Exhibit" at The Ira F. Brilliant Center For Beethoven Studies - Michael Broyles, Co-Curator, with William Meredith and Patricia Stroh
MOVIES: "Coming Attractions" Movie

PRESS REVIEWS/AWARDS:

-The Great Kat Honored with a STAR in the "GUITAR HERO GALAXY" - Spin Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "20 OF THE FASTEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD TODAY" - MusicRadar.com

-The Great Kat Named "50 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 10 FASTEST SHREDDERS OF ALL TIME" Award - Guitar One Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "THE 100 WILDEST GUITAR HEROES" - Classic Rock Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 8 FEMALE ELECTRIC GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - NME
-The Great Kat Named "THE BEST ROCK FEMALE GUITARISTS" - Kurier

-The Great Kat Named "TOP-10 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine's Readers' Poll

-The Great Kat Named "12 GREATEST FEMALE ELECTRIC GUITARISTS" - Elle Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "8 OF THE WORLD'S FASTEST SHREDDERS" - Gibson Lifestyle

-The Great Kat Named "20 EXTRAORDINARY FEMALE GUITARISTS" - Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter"

-The Great Kat Named #5 in "THE 50 FASTEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME" - Guitar World Magazine Reader's Poll
-The Great Kat Named #1 "FAVOURITE CELEBRITY OF MULTIPLE NATIONALITIES" - Rankopedia

-"Wagner's War" CD Named "THE BEST RECORDS 2011" - Frankfurter Rundschau Newspaper (Germany)
-The Great Kat Named "METAL MAIDEN OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2012" - The Metal Pit

-The Great Kat Named "SIX OF MUSIC'S MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN GUITARISTS" - Guitar Tricks

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 5 AMAZING WOMEN YOU ASPIRE TO BE LIKE" in "INSPIRING ALL-AMERICAN WOMEN" - Feeling Good About Feminism

-The Great Kat Named "METALHOLIC'S 15 HOTTEST FEMALE GUITAR SHREDDERS" - Metalholic Magazine

-The Great Kat Named "MOST PROMINENT WOMEN ROCK GUITARISTS" - Virtuosos De La Guitarra

-The Great Kat Named "SNOWY'S ANGEL OF THE YEAR" in "2011 RAMMY AWARDS" - Radioactive Metal Radio Show

-"Wagner's War" CD Named "THE BEST RECORDS 2011" - Berliner Zeitung Newspaper (Germany)

-"Bloody Vivaldi" CD Named #6 In "THE BLOODIEST ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME" - Ugo.com

-"Rossini’s Rape" CD Named "WRITER'S CHOICE AWARD" - Paper Dragon Ink

-"Bloody Vivaldi" CD Named "OUR 14 FAVORITE BLOODY ALBUM COVERS" - Houston Press
-The Great Kat Inducted into the "SNOWY'S ANGELS HALL OF FAME" - Radioactive Metal

-The Great Kat Named "ARTIST OF THE WEEK" on "The Vampyr's Underground" Radio Show - Heavy Metal Buzz

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 15 FEMALE ROCK GUITAR PLAYERS" - Musicouch

-The Great Kat Named "THE 50 BEST AND FASTEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD" - Fulltono Musica

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 20 GREATEST GUITARISTS" - Blog Elaphar

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 5 FEMALE GUITARISTS" - EN 440

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 100 SHRED GUITARISTS" - Musicouch

-"Beethoven On Speed" CD Named "10 ESSENTIAL TRASH METAL ALBUMS" - La Religion del Rock Pesado

-The Great Kat Named "TOP 10 FEMALE GUITARISTS" - Meu Instrumento

-The Great Kat Named "18 PEOPLE ROCKING WAY TOO HARD!" - Smosh.com

-The Great Kat Named "12 SEXY GUITARISTS OF CHRISTMAS" - Guitar Holiday

-"The Great Kat. Fastest track: Metal Messiah. The Great Kat deserves credit, not just for her incredible speed, but for sticking to her passion. An uncompromising shred demon hell-bent on bringing classical music crashing into the 20th (and now the 21st) century, preferably at about 500bpm." -Matthew Parker, MusicRadar.com

-"The Great Kat: When the Juilliard trained Kat straps on the six-strings, everything around is sucked up in a swirling vortex of hypersonic virtuosity." - NME

-"The American heavy metal guitarist The Great Kat (born Katherine Thomas) expertly wraps her band's Classical sounds into speed metal and pulls it into a vortex of sonic virtuosity." - Kurier

-"The Great Kat (Beethoven Shreds) includes a short arrangement of the tune [Beethoven Symphony No 5] at a breakneck tempo, infused with shred heroics and speed-metal accompaniment. The Great Kat's shred histrionics take Beethoven's Fifth to a whole new level...Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3. The Great Kat provides 100 seconds of utterly mad shred guitar with multiple lead parts weaving in and out of each other, all played at lightning pace." - Total Guitar Magazine

-"Female shredder The Great Kat, who actually began life as a Juilliard Music School violin prodigy and then discovered heavy metal guitar." - Ian Christe, Sirius XM Liquid Metal
"The Great Kat. This woman is the world's fastest female guitarist. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, so you know she has cred. She's a violin virtuoso and the world’s fastest guitar shredder. Her new ‘Beethoven Shreds’ CD showcases Classical music shredded on the guitar and violin, we’re talking Beethoven, Bach, Paganini. ‘Flight of the Bumble-Bee’. That’s cool!" - ABC-TV'S Take Five & Company TV Show

-"The Great Kat, whose 34 videos have collectively received over one million hits on YouTube, has released her eleventh album. Appropriately titled 'Beethoven Shreds,' a speed demon version of five revered classical tracks served up Great Kat style on guitar. Combining her love of all things metal with her knowledge of classical music, the album is a whirlwind look at Beethoven gone metal. Lacing virtuosity with speed." - Phyllis Pollack, Rock Music Examiner, Examiner.com

-"The Great Kat? Of “Beethoven on Speed” fame? Using it as a traveling practice amp? Mission accomplished! I asked to give the baseline model a whirl." - Matt Peckham, Time Magazine

-"THE LOUDER THE BETTER - INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE. From rock legends to the Devil - with callouts to and riffs from today's hottest players-our highly subjective classification of the guitar-hero galaxy. THE GREAT KAT." - David Marchese, Spin Magazine

-"No one has exploited Beethoven to the extent that Katherine Thomas, known as The Great Kat, has. She does not just play Beethoven: she considers herself Beethoven reincarnated. In a male-dominated field, heavy metal, she is virtuosic, transgressive, and aggressive." - Michael Broyles, Co-Curator "America's Beethoven Exhibit" at The Ira F. Brilliant Center For Beethoven Studies

-The Great Kat is voted #1 "Favourite Celebrity of Multiple Nationalities" - Rankopedia
-"Entering the world of The Great Kat is a truly unique experience, an adventure that combines just the right amounts of pleasure and pain." - Donald Willmott, PC Magazine

-"The Great Kat - Beethoven Shreds. She has the technical chops to outduel any bloodthirsty immortal wielding a six-string. A flash of her finger calluses must make her must love-struck fans faint. The highlight of the album, 'Paganini’s Caprice #24,' offers the most diverse display of skill. She commands each tempo shift with precision and blistering intensity, burning the strings to ash on both her violin and guitar. It’s an astounding achievement that absolutely needs to be shared. The Great Kat takes familiar songs and beats them with chains, spits acid on them, and injects them with hellfire." - Mister Frasier, Mister Growl
-"Beethoven Shreds. The Great Kat is a speed metal guitarist who has now applied her unique talent to Beethoven. The huge shreds displayed on this album will not disappoint fans of the genre. Not only is Kat a great guitarist, she's a classical violinist to boot. Tracks like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony or Bach's Brandenburg Concerto show this off to great effect with riffs that will blow you away. With the amount of talent on show this music can only be appreciated on a concert stage where it can be enjoyed at its fullest." - Adrian Roberts, Morning Star (U.K.)

-"The Great Kat. Beethoven on Speed. Flight of the Bumble-Bee, is showcased at very high tempos from the Great Kat’s fingers. The God track lets you hear multi-layered guitar solos played simultaneously which the Kat made famous as one of her trademarks. Those who saw Beethoven Mosh know what sexy and lust mixed together with Classical Thrash Metal looks like. Pure Kat. Paganini’s 24 Caprice track in honor of the great Niccolo Paganini. The solos in this track feature insane picking at top speed. This Classical and Thrash Metal album brings the audience to its knees." - Jason Saulnier, Music Legends

-SMOSH.COM NAMES THE GREAT KAT "18 PEOPLE ROCKING WAY TOO HARD!" - SMOSH.COM

-"THE METAL PIT features this month as Metal Maiden of the Month the legendary guitar virtuoso THE GREAT KAT!!! Combining classical music and guitar shredding she has inspired many females and males to pick up a guitar." - Blake Mossey, The Metal Pit

-"Guitar virtuoso The Great Kat is 'girl power' at its raunchiest. Thrash metal guitarist who's been dubbed one of the fastest on the planet. Kat's finger-bleeding speed has to be heard to be believed. She's mind-boggingly fast. Here's a short clip of Kat playing guitar and violin on 'The Flight of the Bumblebee'. Her first live performance left the entire audience with mouths agape, shocked that a woman could play faster than practically any guy in the world." - Guitar Tricks

-"The Great Kat. The grand goddess of Classical/Shred. A metal icon: Blood, Beethoven, the absence of humility, and an undying crusade to SHRED." - Mister Frasier, Mister Growl

-"THE NAKED AND FAMOUS: STARS WHO CAN'T KEEP THEIR CLOTHES ON" "The Great Kat - The Great Kat, whose real name is Katherine Thomas (sounds a lot more serene doesn't it?), has built a career on dressing like a dominatrix. Here she is in one of her more tame publicity shots, looking like she's prepared to rip our heads off." - Gigwise

-"I admire The Great Kat for her musical talent and charisma. Kat defies the odds, with mind-blowing technical skills on guitar and violin. I frequently wish that more women will pursue technical skill sets in music; the world needs more of us who self-identify as 'Great'." - sparksofme, Feeling Good About Feminism

-"The Great Kat, who is the world's fastest guitarist and plays the ultimate shred guitar, is a musical genius! 'Beethoven Shreds', doing Beethoven's 5th Symphony at lightning speed. All of the songs on this CD are played at a speed that only the most accomplished musicians could even hope to keep up with. What The Great Kat does in just a few moments is breathtaking. The speed at which she is able to play, while remaining in control of the music, is both amazing and perplexing. When you speak of 'doing things my way,' think of The Great Kat because that's exactly what she is doing by taking her gift as a classical violinist and transforming it into metal shredding of her violin and guitar in an astoundingly brilliant way. I highly recommend this CD." - Charles A. Smith, The Entertainment Bank

-"The art of female shred began with speed demon, The Great Kat. The Juilliard trained musician has won numerous accolades as one of the fastest guitar players in the world. Her talent is undeniable, and her over-the-top self-sexploitation has made her the first name to most casual metal fans lips when female lead guitarists are mentioned." - Rustyn Rose, Metalholic Magazine

-"Kat is truly one of the fastest and most over-the-top guitarists in the history of metal, and that can't be disputed. One of the best locally produced albums of 2011." - Bob Smith, Good Times Magazine

-"No one in heavy metal has exploited Beethoven to the extent of Katherine Thomas, known as 'The Great Kat.' She does not just play Beethoven. If you believe her, she is Beethoven reincarnated. Loud, blistering fast guitar riffs accompanied by screams, and an aggressive hyper-dominatrix persona. Her act is not subtle. She is direct and flamboyant about her intentions. Her virtuosity is for real. Over-the-top stage persona. This is a frontal assault." - Michael Broyles, "Beethoven in America" Book (Indiana University Press)

-"A Shocking Talent. The Great Kat is a larger than life Juilliard trained classical violinist turned guitar shredder (extremely fast guitarist in the heavy metal style). She takes her knowledge of the great works of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart and processes them through a heavy metal music filter to 'single-handedly resurrect classical music.' What she does: Kat’s extreme talent and classical training allows her to create an outrageous persona that supports both her professional message and motivation." - Rachel Weingarten, MintLife

-WQXR CLASSICAL RADIO FEATURES THE GREAT KAT IN "HOW BEETHOVEN BECAME AN AMERICAN ICON"! "Ludwig Through the Lens of Filmmakers, Activists, Rockers and Rappers. The Great Kat riffs on Beethoven." - By Brian Wise, WQXR Classical Radio

-"The Great Kat. 'Beethoven Shreds' which includes speed demon versions of five renowned classical compositions, lacing these masterpieces with the fuel and fury of metal. Combining classical content with thrash ferocity one of Kat’s signature pieces is Flight of Bumble Bee performed at over 300bpm. This storm of speed on both guitar and violin strings plays bafflingly fast, Kat effectively crashes together two opposing musical forces with all the gusto that shines through in her intimidating performances." - James Paterson, Necromag

-"Yeah! Banging my head to that! Let's meet the shredder behind this and a whole lot of classical inspired guitar histrionics, including the new album 'Beethoven Shreds' - THE GREAT KAT!" -Phil Hulett, L.A.'s Morning News - News Talk 980

"The Great Kat Shreds The Classics. I truly love my metal and this chick can shred!" - Maria Gagliano, Maria's Space
-"KATHERINE THOMAS: The Great Kat. The impressive bloody blonde, began as a model student violinist, even giving a concert as a solo violinist at Carnegie Hall. Great passion for the greats among the greats (Wagner, Paganini, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi ...) she realized that classical music was dead (according to her), and discovered speed metal. Her virtuosity on the violin was adapted to the guitar, and today is considered one of the fastest guitarists in the world." - Alejandra Rivera C., Attack Magazine

-"The Great Kat. 'Extreme Guitar Shred'. Should be watched rabidly by the fans that worship the Great Kat. Not only does she rain fiery words of degradation down on her servants, but she also dispatches her victims with blood slick on her face, fret-burning fingers, and cleavage. These are moments of pure heavy metal excess that, for a dedicated fan of the Great Kat, will be their raison d’etre. This is essential for the fans who say they worship their Classical-Shred Messiah." - Mister Frasier, Mister Growl
-"The queen of classical shred violin and one of the fastest guitar players in the world, The Great Kat." Will C, Southern Fried Gamer

-"The Great Kat. Her real name is Katherine Thomas and is known to have a very special talent for stringed instruments like the violin and guitar." -Virtuosos De La Guitarra

-"Great Kat, a foxy, speed metal-loving guitar shredder who also happens to be a Juilliard graduate violin virtuoso with a penchant for kicking the stuffing out of classical compositions by giving them rock treatments. Great Kat has apparently been amassing fans of her lightning-fast metal-meets-classical guitar playing from far and wide. I especially like her head-snapping run through Rimsky-Korsakov’s 'The Flight of the Bumblebee.' Enjoy!" -Kim Hughes, InMusic
-"THE GREAT KAT SIGNATURE SONG 'The Flight of the Bumble Bee'" "Juilliard-trained virtuoso. Heavy leather dominatrix persona so over the top." - Guitar World Magazine

-"The Great Kat. Worship Me or Die! The Great Kat at blistering tempos and intense high pitch screams that could only be delivered by the metal messiah herself. Harmony twin solos at lightning speeds to create the originality of the Guitar Goddess. Classic guitar riffs with very fast shreds only possible by the Great Kat." - Jason Saulnier, Music Legends

-"Here's a little musical wake-up call. AH! 'The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee' the guitar shredding version." - Penny Griego, L.A.'s Morning News - News Talk 980

-"Great modern Beethoven reimaginer — The Great Kat! The Metal guitarist is one of the fastest on the planet (ask Guitar World magazine, which ranked her on their list of the 50 fastest players ever). Kat is a LVB superfan known for her takes on the musical genius' greatest composition. It's pretty much exactly what you would think a wild-eyed Thrash Metal guitar shredder playing Classical music would sound like, but impressive nonetheless." - Mike Breen, Cincinnati CityBeat
-The Great Kat, a.k.a. Katherine Thomas, Juilliard graduate, composer and self-styled multi-media wizard who claims that she is the reincarnation of Beethoven. Her CD, 'Beethoven on Speed' and 'The Great Kat's Digital Beethoven on Cyberspeed CD ROM' promise to 'take you screaming into the 21st century.'" - NPR

-"Great Kat: Beethoven's Guitar Shred. This intense release follows guitarist The Great Kat as she shreds through some of the fastest and most challenging pieces, like 'Flight of the Bumble Bee,' 'Paganini's Caprice #24,' 'Beethoven's 5th Symphony,' 'Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3,' and much more." - Barnes & Noble

-"Beethoven. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Soloist, Katherine Thomas, attacked the concerto with verve and zeal. Especially during the cadenza, she exhibited superb technique. Reminiscent of the young Isaac Stern." - Ivan Hametz, Massapequa Post

-"What a joy is to hear a good violin recital! The musical feeling, warmth, technique and tonal beauty of Katherine Thomas." - Peter Bloch, Arts Close-Up, Canales

-"Get ready for a jolt!" - Martin Goldsmith, National Public Radio

-"The best music of 2011: The Great Kat: Wagner’s War, Tpr Music/Cargo" - Frankfurter Rundschau Newspaper (Germany)
-"The Great Kat is hands-down the most outrageous performer on the rock scene today - no doubt about it. The Great Kat is also one of the most skilled and passionate players on the rock scene today. With her Juilliard-trained facilities, she reworks classical fare into modern-day metal anthems and blazes with a technical proficiency which is nothing short of intimidating to even many an advanced 6-string shredder." -Skinny Devil, Skinny Devil Magazine
-"Musically the album has a lot of high points and Kat certainly shows plenty of ability on the fretboard and shows her virtuosity with a frenzied violin solo on ‘Demons’. Best cuts (musically) are probably the anthemic ‘Metal Messiah’ and the out’n’out thrash of ‘Satan Says’. The strong riffing ‘Ashes To Dust’ is also worth a mention and so too is the excellent production. If you like thrash with commercial appeal then Worship Me Or Die! is worth investigation." - Bernard Doe, Metal Forces Magazine
-"The Great Kat Shred Guitar Goddess unleashes high-speed shred guitar and violin insanity on the blistering new 'Beethoven Shreds' CD" - Brooke Hunter, Femail Magazine (Australia) - Empowering Every Woman

-"Guitar World Magazine called her one of the world’s 'greatest female guitarists,' and Guitar One Magazine called her one of the 'top ten shredders of all time.' The Great Kat. 'Beethoven Shreds'. Includes her version of the iconic classics 'The Flight Of The Bumble Bee,' Beethoven’s '5th Symphony,' Bach’s 'Brandenburg Concerto #3' and Paganini’s 'Caprice #24.'" - Phyllis Pollack, Guitar Girl Magazine

-"Hard-hitting sucker punch of shredded classical mayhem. 'Wagner’s War' is definitely a work of art provided by the hands, and twisted minds, of The Great Kat. Another must have for the everyday audiophile." - Alex Hipkins, Paper Dragon Ink

-"The Great Kat named one of the fastest guitar players. Probably the fastest female shredder on the face of the earth. 'Flight Of The Bumble-Bee' at 300 Beats Per Minute. It does not get any faster than that. This ('Beethoven's Guitar Shred' DVD) makes a great stocking stuffer. The Great Kat 'Beethoven's Guitar Shred'." - Michael Butler, MEVIO Music

-"Beethoven Shreds. The Great Kat blazes her way through The Flight of the Bumblebee, the famous opening of Beethoven’s 5th. If you like your classical music fast, furious and with a speed metal twist, check out greatkat.com." - Jim Lundstrom, The Scene Newspaper

-"The best music of 2011: The Great Kat: Wagner’s War, Tpr Music/Cargo" - Berliner Zeitung Newspaper (Germany)

-"Frickin awesome. The Great Kat! She put out a killer album, 'Beethoven Shreds', this year. The Great Kat is really doing a lot to advance metal and Classical Music - the fusion of them. She's my Snowy's Angel Of The Year." - Roch Vaillancourt, Radioactive Metal

-RATING: 10/10 (FULL SCORE) "THE GREAT KAT-Beethoven Shreds. She plays it wild, rough, raw, loud, yet always with the same passion as Ludwig would have done it. Oh, and she plays it faster, so much faster. I call this lady a musical genius. This lady is really bringing classical music into the new millennium, showing everybody that it’s cool to listen to classical music. As a true KAT slave I do not only bow for my mistress, I also reward her with the full score for this new speed metal classical piece of art. THE GREAT KAT rules." - Toine van Poorten, Metal Maidens

-"BEETHOVEN SHREDS. If you like your classical music at locomotive speed and Jimi Hendrix styled sonic guitar, then take a listen to Juilliard rebel The Great Kat zip through The Flight of the Bumble Bee, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3 and Paganini's Caprice #24. It's worth considering using this music as cool entre into the world of classical music for unsuspecting youths. Fast she is, wild she is---catch your breath and spin a listen." - Eye on Dance and the Arts

-"The Great Kat, an American shredder. A sonic assault from the guitar goddess." "Oh, Jesus, Lord almighty! This woman scared the living hell out of me." - Max Thrasher and Brandon Williams, Slaughterama Heavy Metal Zine

-"Rock Goddess! The very COOL rock goddess, The Great Kat. That was 'Flight of the Bumble-Bee'. We're talking speeds of up to 300 Beats a minute here. INSANE guitar shred speed. That is just totally insane. Get your copy of 'Beethoven Shreds'." - Bill Bailey, The Bailey Broadcast Radio Show, 92.7 FM KGBR

-"The Great Kat's 'Beethoven Shreds.' If you've heard The Great Kat before, you know what to expect - classical music performed in a metal style at blinding speeds. What really struck me was the CD cover - it's about the most bizarre I've seen in a long time." - Dan Cross, About.com Guitar

-"She does not skimp on technique and shouts to challenge the speed on the guitar, she is The Great Kat, who reinvents the great scores. She executes pieces like 'The Fifth Symphony' or Bach's 'Brandenburg Concerto' at the maximum speed on guitar and violin, with a crushing and powerful technique." - Israel Morales, Milenio (Mexico)

-"Kat is a Juilliard-trained violinist who traded in the sedate world of classical performance to play the guitar just shy of the speed needed to go back in time. Kat forces these melodies through a black hole and back out again through in a white-hot stream of incredibly fine sound particles that ascend and descend so quickly and accurately that one could debate whether the interpretations are a performance or a weapon. For those who have thus far enjoyed the carnival ride of Beethoven Shreds should have no problem putting Kat's statue alongside the greats." - Jef With One F, Houston Press

-"The Great Kat – who is not only an excellent shredder, but a fine composer, too – is probably best known for re-orchestrating classical music standards for shred-metal interpretation. This has included the works of Vivaldi, Rossini, Beethoven, and others, and requires a firm grasp of both speed-picking and sweep-picking, not to mention a very limber fret-hand." -Skinny Devil, Skinny Devil Magazine

-"Great Kat. Incredible talent, one of the best female guitar player. This blonde has managed something that no one before her could do: combine speed metal with classical music. This creates 'Beethoven on speed.' Charming and adorable, and controversial and scandalous. She is known for her eccentricity and personality." - Stefan Davidovic, M@N! Magazine

-"The Great Kat is like the female version of Gilbert Gottfried, except she looks tastier and she can shred. Guitar One magazine actually did list her as one of the Top 10 Fastest Shredders of All Time." - Islander, No Clean Singing

-"Let's Shred the Symphony. 'Beethoven Shreds', with The Great Kat's amazing speed she will blow your mind and amaze you with how short the tracks of classical music become when someone can play so amazingly fast. Her rendition of 'The Flight of the Bumble-Bee' will simply blow your mind and will have you replaying it over and over again." - Erick Castillo, Disciplined Monkey Studios

-"Great Kat, 'Beethoven Shreds' (TPR): The fleet-fingered British guitarist takes on a variety of classical pieces, including Beethoven’s Fifth symphony, a couple of Bach pieces and 'The Flight of the Bumble-Bee.'" - Gary Graff, The Oakland Press

-"That upper tier of female metal artists is incomplete without The Great Kat. Holy face-melting shredding! The Great Kat is the first ever celebrity to make an appearance on Scary Terry's Saturday Nightmare!" - Terry Stevens, Scary Terry's Saturday Nightmare Radio Show

-"This week's artist of the week is The Great Kat, the reincarnation of Beethoven, the goddess of shredding. Her new CD 'Beethoven Shreds'. The Classical mistress of the shred guitar! She's been melting our brains and our faces off. She shreds Classical like no one in the world. The Metal Goddess, The Great Kat. WORSHIP HER!" - Vampyr, The Vampyr's Underground Radio

-"The Great Kat presents 'Beethoven Shreds'. This is definitely my favorite classical speed metal record of the year." By Chris Carle, IGN

-"The guitar goddess, a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School as a violin virtuoso, considered by Guitar One magazine in the top 10 shred guitarists of all time. Kat unleashes high-speed guitar and violin madness in her latest album. Extraordinary guitarist." - La Pua (Mexico)

-"The Great Kat. Great guitar player and great entertainer. 'Beethoven Shreds'. It's just incredible. So many notes every second. It's crazy! Great Kat takes it to another level of speed. She is shredding the whole time. Paganini's 'Caprice #24'. She just shreds on that one, too. Intense guitar shredding. It's so awesome. The Great Kat is now in the 'Snowy's Angels Hall Of Fame'. We're honored to induct axe virtuoso THE GREAT KAT!" - Roch Vaillancourt, Radioactive Metal

-"Juilliard trained classical musician and face meltingly fast shred guitarist, The Great Kat, has a world wide release date for her album Beethoven Shreds. She takes classical music, pops the clutch and squeals the tires out of the gate, as she is one of the world's fastest shred guitarists. The really beauty of her music is her classical training really gives the songs a serious sense of refinement and production value." - Will C, Southern Fried Gamer

-"THE GREAT KAT WAS A GENIUS AHEAD OF HER TIME! She was absolutely brilliant and way ahead of her time. It’s kind of amazing how simultaneously obsessed with the music of the past and locked into the technology of the future The Great Kat is. She’s so sincere about her love of classical music and so cock-sure of the direction technology will head in the 21st Century… was she onto something or what?" - Vince Neilstein, Metalsucks.net

-"THE GREAT KAT. 'Flight of the Bumblebee'. Here’s how fast British-born, New York-raised guitarist Katherine Thomas plays: According to iTunes, her new album Beethoven Shreds clocks in at 7 and a half minutes long." - John Sakamoto, Toronto.com

-"Beethoven Shreds is a high-octane wild ride of a musical performance by The Great Kat, who may well be the fastest guitarist in the world (unless someone can step forth and challenge her title)! The Great Kat performs furious, magnificent shreds of Beethoven's classics on both the violin and the electric guitar (often with orchestra & band) in this exciting masterpiece, encouraging all generations of music lovers to experience Beethoven in a whole new way. Highly recommended!" - James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review's Wisconsin Bookwatch

-"The Great Kat has earned a completely justified reputation as one of the world's fastest rock guitarists - her 'shredding' has to be heard to be believed." - Bob Smith, Good Times Magazine

-"Rated 5/5 stars. The Great Kat is back, and playing her guitar the only way she knows how..FAST! She's listed as one of the top 50 fastest guitarist's of all time, and she's unleashed her latest effort called 'Beethoven Shreds'. So if you like fast guitars, then go and get this CD." - Guillermo Rascon, Loud Reviews

-"The Great Kat Beethoven Shreds. All of her greatness is defined in this one neat package. Her interpretations will 'wow' anyone that hears them. The speed and ferocity that she displays is by far superior to any other I've ever heard. If you do not own other Great Kat albums go get this one! Mind blowing, guitar fueled experience that you will want to replay numerous times over." - Dennis Day, D-Day's Revenge Metalzine

-"WEDNESDAY'S WEB VIDEO GEM: THE MYSTERIOUS 'GREAT KAT'"! "That’s The Great Kat. A Juilliard alum turned thrash metal guitarist with a flair for covering classical music. A sampling of some of her album titles should give you an idea of what we’re working with: Digital Beethoven on Cyberspeed, Bloody Vivaldi, Worship Me or Die!" - Mike, Clicker Blog

-"The Great Kat handles classical chords effortlessly, with razor sharp focus and plays her violin and guitars, incredibly faster than Beethoven would have had ever ventured to dream. She is an inspiration to us all. THE GREAT KAT THE FASTEST SHRED GUITAR FETISHIST." - Naja Kemp, Peter Kemp's Theatre

-"The Great Kat releases another blistering sonic assault on your eardrums. Do you like really fast metal? Do you enjoy some Beethoven? Well put them in a turbo blender and you get The Great Kat 'Beethoven Shreds'. This CD smashes you in the face right when you press play. The Great Kat puts down a blistering pace and never lets up. It's classical music set to 11, super fast and extremely brutal. If you like fast ass guitar / classical metal that wears your skin like Ed Gein pick this up." - Jon Chase, The Dstroyr Blog

-"The Great Kat - world's fastest guitar player. The Great Kat is known worldwide as an excellent guitar technician neoclassical / speed metal genre, but also for her high eccentricity."- Gisha and Marko Jovanovic, Metal Serbia

-"The Great Kat is a classically trained Violinist. She demands God-like admiration. Classical pieces in breath-taking speeds of high-fidelity. WORSHIP ME OR DIE! is a absolute must hear for Speed Metal fans." - Diana, Metal Hammer (Germany)

-"The Great Kat rises again as Beethoven gets the guitar shred treatment on DVD. If you like heavy metal, distorted guitars and wild ladies in bondage gear, we have just about the perfect DVD for you - The Great Kat's Beethoven's Guitar Shred. Kat's 'shredding' style is based on her classical violin education, now put to use mangling the greats of classical music into a nerve-jarring aural assault of finger-blisteringly fast electric noise. It is something you'll want to watch over and over again, as much for Kat's scantily-clad, blood-spattered dominatrix stage persona as for her blistering performances." - Chris Jenkins, Home Cinema Choice

-Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter" Names The Great Kat "20 Extraordinary Female Guitarists"! "The Juilliard-trained violinist and guitar shredder transforms classical masterworks into speed-metal songs, rages like a demented dominatrix, spews blood, bears arms, exposes her goodies, and indulges in both mental and dramatic castrations." - Michael Molenda, Guitar Player Magazine's "Guts & Glitter"

-"The Great Kat - Beethoven Shreds. Besides the respect for the unbelievable skills that one needs to pull this kind of thing off, I have to admit that I like what I hear. I think it's kind of refreshing and very funny to hear these classical melodies being performed in a more contemporary way. Over the top? You bet. 'Beethoven Shreds' shows a nice equilibrium between skill, an adventurous approach and humour. And I like that." - Peter Van Laarhoven, United Mutations

-UGO.COM Names The Great Kat's "Bloody Vivaldi" CD #6 In "THE BLOODIEST ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME"! "#6 Bloody Vivaldi. The Great Kat is probably the most respected female metal guitarist in the world, with her lightning-fast shredding winning fans wherever she goes. Most of her work is metal reinterpretations of classical pieces, and on the cover of the 1998 EP Bloody Vivaldi, she decided to take the title literally and get drenched in buckets of gore. I approve!" K. Thor Jensen, Ugo.com
-"The woman that I now believe is a dark superhero sent by the ghosts of composers past in order to make darn sure nobody forgets who they are, by any means necessary, the one, the only, THE GREAT KAT!!!!" - 'Evil' Ian Miller, AV Maniacs

-"She is fast, technical and devilish when she plays and it connects very well to classical music. Great Kat almost makes sparks out of her fingers. The Beethoven's Guitar Shred DVD is her newest product, which features breathtaking tracks. For those who like speed, she bangs!" - Henrique Inglez de Souza, Guitar Player Magazine Brazil

"Juilliard prodigy The Great Kat. One fireball force of nature. Super formidable shredder. High speed Neo-Classical shred and actual Classical compositions." - Ian Christe, Host, "Bloody Roots" Show, Your Weekly Heavy Metal History Lesson, Sirius XM Liquid Metal

-"The Great Kat. The High Priestess of Guitar Shred. She can play 'Flight of the Bumblebee' at 300 beats per minute! Wagner’s War, a no-holds-barred response to September 11, includes a cover of that tender Nazi classic 'Flight of the Valkyries.' Her followers (the 'Kat slaves') think she’s just the soldier America needs. Ranked among 'The Ten Fastest Shredders of All Time.' Totally spoiling her crazy-lady rep: She studied classical violin at Juilliard." - Melissa Maerz, New York Magazine

-"One is surprised to discover that there exists a human that fast, which is a furious woman. She is called The Great Kat, always dressed like a dominatrix and covered in blood of her enemies. Costumed in this way, there is a madness that borders on genius. The Great Kat has decided to convert the immortal themes of Paganini, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Wagner, which she calls 'shred/classical', where the scores are a hail of bullets." - Filippo Casaccia, Carmilla On Line

-"Heavy Metal Beethoven. Ya gotta see (and hear) this one to believe it. It's a guitar shred. A really really fast guitar shred. Beethoven's Guitar Shred is a DVD featuring The Great Kat, a classical violin wunderkind turned metal guitar shred virtuoso. Like I said, watch and listen for yourself." - Dave White, About.com: Classic Rock

-"She doesn't play, but incinerates, classical music -- and is faster than Yngwie Malmsteen. The Great Kat - a Juilliard graduate, takes guitar playing, classical music, and performance wow-ness to a whole new level." - Melanie "Sass" Falina, NoneLouder

-"The Great Kat is an English virtuoso violinist and metal guitarist who breaks down all classical artists like Beethoven, Paganini, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach. She plays her pieces at the speed of light. She is quite a character, genius and figure, but her ample classical training allows her to reach extreme speeds that few are able to reach." - Eddy, 7Mohijo Blog

-"The Great Kat Shred Guitar Virtuoso is the only musician taking note-for-note authentic Classical Music scores. She is fast, technical and devilish." - Guitar Holiday

-"The Great Kat. She is among the 10 fastest guitarists in the world. She has a technique worthy of admiration due to her high accuracy and degree of perfectionism." - EN 440

-"Juilliard. New York City's distinguished Juilliard school offers a well regarded music program. The music program at Juilliard features alumni such as 'The Great Kat' Katherine Thomas." - Sarah Wallman, eHow

-"The Great Kat Shred Guitar Virtuoso is the only musician taking note-for-note authentic Classical Music scores. She is fast, technical and devilish." - Guitar Holiday

-"The Great Kat 'Beethoven's Guitar Shred' is the perfect gift to impress any rocker on your list. The Great Kat is a Juilliard trained violinist turned shredder. And she is fast. She takes Beethoven's music to all new rock -n-roll heights. She is cool and your rocker would love to get this DVD for the Holidays. This is a DVD that is going to impress the rocker in your life this Holiday season." - Susan McGlaun, I4U NEWS

-"She is a violin virtuoso, and Juilliard graduate. She is The Great Kat, one of the fastest, face melting guitarists of all time. Wagner’s 'The Ride of the Valkyries' an instantly familiar song to anyone who hears the famous melody. The production value astounded me. There about a million different things going on at mind boggling speeds. It was amazing how good it sounded. It is not just your average shred guitar, there is a full orchestra of sounds backing her, and when she pulls out the violin it is amazing. Musically the album is great. An all around winner." Will C, Southern Fried Gamer
-"To play faster is impossible. Great Kat is the fastest woman in the world of metal. Guitarist who reinvents Beethoven with great speed. Beethoven's Guitar Shred, a DVD which puts her virtuosity to the service of these musical geniuses, makes your hair stand on end. Her CDs are gems of virtuosity and ahead of time, always premised on speed. The guitarist makes the music flow and electrifies the senses, and she reminds us how great were those who contributed these notes to the history of music, and as with the metal, she knows how to combine them perfectly." - Israel Morales, Milenio (Mexico)

-"The Great Kat. She is the Juilliard-trained guitar shredder goddess of great note and can play 'The Flight of the Bumblebee' at 300 beats per minute. I was charged by her 'Bloody Vivaldi' release with 'The Four Seasons' for violin, chamber orchestra and band. She’s all over it and it’s fast, amazing and memorable. Sarasate's 'Carmen Fantasy' is another classic twist. Pictured in a black bikini and chains on the back, The Great Kat’s long, golden hair is as wild as her playing is meticulous. Kat is still shocking. She's already tackled 'Beethoven's Guitar Shred' and other familiar artists." - Darragh Doiron, The Port Arthur News

-"The music of the Great Kat is such an unique, inevitable and astounding accomplishment. The Great Kat is a female, heavy metal shredder of unquestionably advanced technical proficiency and speed on her instruments. Her technique is impeccable, her skills and fluidity ARE astounding. She is quite staggering to watch and has technique to spare. She really is one of the best guitarists out there, bar none." - Gary Gomes, Perfect Sound Forever

-"The Great Kat is one of the best guitarists in the world, and she is trained as a classical violinist." - Blog Elaphar

-"The Great Kat: The world's fastest guitarist, a cross between the attitude of Wendy O. Williams, the power of Kerry King and the precision of Beethoven. Incomparable virtuosity and sensuality. The one true queen of metal and classical music ... Hail Kat!!!!" Zamir Resk Facco, La Religion del Rock Pesado

-"Great Kat strikes again. Beethoven's Guitar Shred contains classical music from Beethoven, Paganini and Bach revised in very, very fast heavy metal music and also the known Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumblebee', played in 300 bpm! Great Kat is a great instrument player. She easily shreds the guitar and the violin playing with devilish quickness and surely deserves the honors she's got from magazines from the US." - George Christodoulopoulos, Burn Out Magazine (Greece)

-"Metal Messiah by The Great Kat. You can see some of her classical music background (some of the shredding sounds like the opening to Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries) but at the same time the song is totally metal and has a good beat." - Natalya, Online Culture In 2011 Blog

-"The Great Kat has been relentless in her quest to merge classical music standards with thrash, resulting in some of the fastest guitar work ever heard in the genre. 'Wagner's War' feature Kat's impossible guitar technique as well as escapades on violin. It is sheer brutality." - Alun Thomas, GloryDaze Music

-"AX FACTS & STATS" BOOK FEATURES THE GREAT KAT INTERVIEW!
"My Favorite KAT solo is: EVERY GREAT KAT GUITAR/VIOLIN SOLO IS BRILLIANT AND EAR-SPLITTING VIRTUOSITY."
"My mission in life: THE GREAT KAT'S MISSION IN LIFE IS TO UPDATE CLASSICAL MUSIC USING SHRED METAL and BRING CLASSICAL INTO THE NEW MILLENNIUM." - Read Entire Interview In "AX FACTS & STATS" (Volume 1) Book by Dave Roberts

-"The Great Kat is a female metal guitar virtuoso, heavily influenced by classical music. The Great Kat demonstrates the extremes to which metal performers go to accentuate their virtuosity on various instruments." - William Phillips and Brian Cogan, Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music

-"The Great Kat, the virtuoso violinist and guitarist of metal who shreds all classical artists such as Beethoven, Paganini, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach. She plays their parts at the speed of light. She is quite a character, genius and figure, but her extensive classical training allows her to reach extreme speeds that few are able to reach." - Jordi Zelig Tarrega, The Metal Circus

-"Posing as a dominatrix as she pours out classical licks in the form of liquid metal riffs, Great Kat is one of the most unique figures in metal. She has the ego of David Lee Roth and the fingers of Steve Vai." - Marc Kate, Rhapsody

-"All three acts of this cycle ('War,' 'Revenge,' and 'Victory') are delivered at a breakneck pace. It's not your typical metal, but then again, the Great Kat isn't your typical metal star." - iTunes

-"The Great Kat: Guitar Heroine, Speed Metal Queen, Juilliard graduate, and one of the world’s fastest guitarists. Besides her insanely quick playing, her trademark is that she loves to play classic pieces on her guitar. She’s also quite terrifying." - Jason MacIsaac, Jason.con.ca

-"The queen of speed, the champion of all things shred and the uncontested ruler of humanity, a goddess who can play at speeds of 300bpm. The sheer ferocious power of The Great Kat’s new Beethoven's Guitar Shred DVD has burned all feeble human minds to a cinder in the wake of Kat’s invincible/truthful shred onslaught. This new bible for humanity has quickly left Kat as the dominant force on the planet Earth." - By Morgan Y. Evans, Crusher Magazine

-"Running through four pieces in a scant six and a half minutes, Rossini's Rape leads off with a version of the titular composer's William Tell Overture, arranged for a combination of speed metal band and orchestra. Slayer meets Yngwie Malmsteen, except fronted by a shrieking female violinist, which actually adds a new dimension to the sinister feel of the music. The Great Kat is without a doubt an amazingly accomplished musician." - iTunes

-"Think that you are the fastest Guitarist ever? Well, your not. But the Great Kat is." - BKnight, Southern Fried Gamer

-"The Great Kat hardcore metal musician with some serious shred, I’m talkin bloody fingers fast dudes. She takes classic tunes and mixes it up with some metal and produces one unique, fast-paced sound. There’s nothing like seeing a woman spread wide with a guitar between her legs. If you’re a fan of heavy metal then definitely take The Great Kat’s Beethoven’s Guitar Shred for a spin; it’s a unique spin on classic hits that’s sure to please. It’s been Valkor tested and TOV Approved." - Valkor, The Other View

-"BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED. THIS DVD IS JUST OUTRAGEOUS, IF YOU'RE A GUITAR PLAYER OR JUST LOVE MUSIC YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS DVD TO BELIEVE. IT'S THE GREAT KAT" - Tex Hughes, DVD Tip Sheet
-The Great Kat Named "GUITARIST OF THE MONTH" (APRIL 2010! "Guitarist of the Month. April is the month for The Great Kat. She is a composer, musical revolutionary and a musician best known for her thrash metal interpretations of well-known pieces of classical music." - RizMum, RizMum Blog

-"A lightning-quick rendition of Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville'. With visual fare as strong a selling point as her aural treats, it is no wonder that there is a video for 'Dominatrix.' Kat batters her submissive ones and bats out the double-quick fretwork. Guitar Goddess features the lusty lady of the leapin' licks among big crosses, dungeon settings, whips and chains." - iTunes

-The Great Kat "10 FASTEST GUITARIST" - Blogger On Bing Information

-"The Great Kat Earns a Big Thumbs Up from Imaging Insider!" - Elmo Sapwater, Imaging Insider

-"Blending the showmanship of metal with the intensive musical construction of classical, Kat has carved out a name for herself in musical history by shredding some of the greatest musical works of our time." - Carly Milne, AOL's Digital City

-"Guitar/violin virtuoso The Great Kat. She's a terrifying individual with the guitar and violin skills above and beyond." - Bob Zerull, Zoiks! Online

-"The Great Kat Priestess of the Guitar Shred and Beethoven. Great Kat, claimed to actually be a contemporary Ludwig van Beethoven, can perform some insanely crazy feats, including performing many of Beethoven's works at ridiculously mind-numbing speeds. Great Kat and Beethoven demonstrated incredible music accomplishments. (Great Kat actually holds a degree from Juilliard)." - Sabrina Young, Associated Content
-"Kat has secured her position as the only classically-trained violinist-turned scantily-clad demonic guitar dominatrix and ambassador of the fine musical arts! Wow. It's difficult not to be bowled over by The Great Kat when she pretty much leaves you no alternative! Centering in on the universal male love of blood, cleavage and wickedly fast/intricate guitar displays. BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED, an ultra high-energy paen to Ludwig Van, J.S. Bach, Rimsky-Kosakov, that devilish Paganini, and of course, The Great Kat herself." - Ian Miller, AV Maniacs

-"The Great Kat, guitar virtuoso and shredding queen. She graduated from Juilliard after studying the violin but then turned her attention to the guitar, turning classical pieces into insane speed metal. A rad chick with an incredible talent." - Jasmine, Blonde Metal Blog

-"The Great Kat's take on classical music, which is what she's really known for, I think my favorite video would have to be 'Beethoven's Fifth Symphony,' which is simply brutal. 'Hot Shred Bits 2,' that flash by to the tune of some seriously fast shred guitar. I know The Great Kat will never disappoint me...and I can't think of any other artist that I can say that about. So, if you ask me if this release is worth checking out...my response would be, 'You're damn right it is!'" - Paul Autry, Ballbuster Music

-"The Great Kat one of the fastest guitar players in the galaxy releases new CD. Wagner's War. It's pretty insane and her abilities are proven on this disc. She just shreds. Over the top speed runs, and a violin. She is a classically trained musician and throws down on the violin for some extra ripping." - Dstroyr

-"The Great Kat dazzles with her virtuosic high-voltage guitar technique (and penchant for heavy metal/goth) on her Beethoven's Guitar Shred DVD. Wildly entertaining." - fab Magazine

-"This dvd is made for guitar enthusiasts who believe speed is everything. They will love this dvd. For speed freaks." - David Berkham, DVD Corner's Blog

-"Beethoven's Guitar Shred, featuring The Great Kat, is one hell of a way to infuse both the love of metal and classical music into one gift. With performances of classical pieces like "Flight of the Bumblebee" amped up to 300bpm and face-melting solo work, this is a great fun gift that will have you watching her fingers in awe." - Rene Rosa aka Evil Adam, Entertaining Evil

-"Wow! Very rarely does a DVD come along that inspires the old 'You'll have to see it to believe it!' But such is the case with The Great Kat's Beethoven's Guitar Shred, an amazing display of speedy guitar wizardry. Kat slices and dices the Paganini composition with precision on guitar but she also plays a violin part that makes Charlie Daniels' fiddle-off with the devil on 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' look like a molasses-dripping contest." - Kevin Wierzbicki, antiMUSIC

-"The queen of speed. The Great Kat plays shred covers of classical composers like Beethoven and Wagner. One of the fastest guitarists of all, her persona knows no limits." - Zach Zimmerman, Associated Content

-"The guitarist Katherine Thomas aka The Great Kat is ranked among the fastest metal shredders of all time." - Danny Kringiel, Spiegel Online (Germany)

-"Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat (aka Katherine Thomas) is the most mind-bogglingly fast." - Elle Magazine

-"Great Kat alone has added the virtuosity of Marty Friedman, the perfectionism and complexity of Yngwie. Beethoven On Speed, a real clinic that would make the most dexterous on the six strings hesitate. It is metal, thrash and neo-classical shred, devastating scholarly - perfect fusion of two apparently opposite musical forms, but that without a doubt can converge at the moment of extreme complexity." La Religion del Rock Pesado

-"An incredibly talented musician. My fingers hurt just listening to that ("The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee"), which is remarkable. The speed with which her fingers are moving to do that--it's INSANE!" Cathy Brooks, Social Media Hour on Blog Talk Radio

-"On the new DVD 'Beethoven's Guitar Shred', The Great Kat (a.k.a. Katherine Thomas) buzzes through 'Flight of the Bumblebee' at a mind-numbing 300 beats per minute. The classically trained musician claims to be one of planet's fastest guitar players, and who can argue?" - Lou Carlozo, Chicago Tribune
-"The Great Kat is a Juilliard-trained violin virtuoso who demonstrates the complementary aspects of classical and metal through her over-the-top, dominatrix persona, her self-styled 'shred/classical' genre and her instructional DVDs. With the rarity of her gift and the minority of her gender in this genre, she's been tearing up her fretboard and blistering her fingers for plenty of years. Those who don't hop on the Great Kat express are bound to get run over!" Amy Sciarretto, AOL Music Noisecreep

-"She possesses a prodigious talent, a virtuosic precision that allows her to play classical transcriptions on her guitar at upwards of 300 beats per minute. The Great Kat is one of those outsize performing personas as well as a masterful musician." - Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

-"Beethoven’s music performed by The Great Kat, a Juilliard-trained musician and one of the fastest 'shredders' of all time. Beethoven’s Fifth that is played with absurd velocity on an electric guitar. Beethoven can never have found himself in odder company than that of The Great Kat, and I amused myself thinking what he would have made of it all. I like to imagine one of his furious temper tantrums. But Mozart, a more ribald soul, would surely have found it hilarious. " - Peter Aspden, Financial Times

-"Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat has been called 'The High Priestess Of Shred' and is one of the most mind-bogglingly fast guitarists you’ve ever seen. She is best known for her thrash metal interpretations of well-known classical pieces." - Dawsons Music (U.K.)
-"The Great Kat - Hungarian Rhapsody #2 ** One of the Greatest Songs of All Time" - Voice Of Reason Playlist

-"Beethoven’s Guitar Shred is a collection of Kat’s videos showing her playing various classical pieces, Speed Metal style. If The Flash played guitar, this is what it would look like. Several magazines proclaim her one of the world’s fastest guitarists, and I believe it. It’s astonishing to watch. The music is recognizable to anyone who knows the classical pieces. Flight of the Bumble Bee would be great for any arcade game with a frantic pace. She’s also such an extreme personality that I could see The Great Kat herself in a videogame." - Jason MacIsaac, Jason.con.ca

-"Her guitar performance is beyond energetic, transcending to the level of mania, as she shreds a ferocious medley of Beethoven, Bach, and raw fervor. A raucous blend of classical music, heavy metal, and stinging social commentary. Beethoven's Guitar Shred is truly unforgettable, and especially recommended for metal fans." - James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review

-"The Great Kat has launched her new DVD in which the extraordinary guitarist includes classic works by the deaf genius (Beethoven), Bach and Paganini. Katherine Thomas broke speed records by playing the famous piece "The Flight of the bumblebee" at a dizzying 300 beats per minute. A fierce guitarist specializing in heavy metal versions of the classics." - Guillermo Aguilera, Contenido

-"The Great Kat is a leather-clad dominatrix who plays lightning-fast metal versions of the classics. This is sex meets shred as Kat rips through The Flight Of The Bumble Bee on electric guitar at 300 beats per minute." - Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

-WINAMP Names The Great Kat #24 IN "TOP ARTISTS IN UNITED STATES" & #19 IN "TOP ARTISTS IN MEXICO" - WINAMP

-"The Great Kat, who you may know as one of the fastest, fiercest heavy metal guitar shredders in the universe. I popped it in, and was delighted to find some of the greatest heavy metal videos ever made. This lady is hard core. She plays Beethoven's symphonies the way he always intended: incredibly fast and covered in blood." - Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Online

-"To the beat of Beethoven at Full Speed. The extraordinary guitarist in this work shows a strong and terrifying personality. A DVD for heavy people, a strange mixture of rock, classical music, hemoglobin, some sex and terror." - Guillermo Aguilera, Supermexicanos

-"Move over, Jamie Foxx. The Soloist's insanely genius Juilliard apprentice is up against some formidable competition, and she's female. The Great Kat is basically showing the male competition how it's done, better and faster. Her raging, fast forward in real time Beethoven's Guitar Shred is like nothing that has come before. A mix 'n match medley of Beethoven, Bach, Abu Ghraib and Islamic insurgency. A classical/metal lovers everywhere wakeup call, these mini-musicals for guitar, violin and machete could very well blow your mind." - Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
-"Kat is a classically trained violinist graduated from Juilliard. But what do you do when you're a hot (technically and physically) virtuoso? Her answer was to apply her substantial violin technique to the electric guitar. And the results are amazing." - Henry Davis, TechBites

-"Blood + Beethoven + metal = Great Kat. Uber-fast metal guitar wiz. She performed Beethoven tunes at top volume covered in blood and shrouded in flames." - Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune


-"More female chauvinist than feminist, Kat is best described as a 21st century Janis Joplin who breaks out of the conventionally assigned gender role limitations of acceptable female behavior, creatively and otherwise, to give the historically male dominated music scene a woman's energy and edge." - Prairie Miller, Critical Women On Film Journal - The Women Film Critics Circle

-"The Great Kat should be feared because her hyper-blasting, neo-classical, whirlwind guitar playing is so precise and intense. This woman really is a better guitarist than most men ever were. Beethoven’s Guitar Shred DVD is a portable clinic of seemingly inhuman guitar antics. Dominating torture, blood, fire, anti-terrorist sentiments – all wrapped in an oddly tasteful, hyper-classical visual feast." - Mark Morton, Heavy Metal Examiner

-"Today one of the best ('shredding') is The Great Kat. Kat really is original and inventive and like nothing that has come before. One might compare her to Janis Joplin." - Chuck N. Baker, Veterans Reporter

-"The Great Kat. She's loud and profane. Her fretboard speed is awesome, and she'll take on all challengers to her classical-shred mastery. And, oh yeah, she gargles blood." - Guitar Player Magazine

-"Thrill again to the electrifying playing of The Great Kat in Beethoven's Guitar Shred." - Michael Janusonis, Providence Journal

-"The Great Kat the best guitar shredder of our times." - Elmo Sapwater, Imaging Insider

-"Genius at work in this metal masterpiece. This Juilliard-trained violinist puts her intensely fast fingers to new use playing some of the fastest shredding you’re ever going to hear on both electric guitar and violin. Amazing version of 'Flight of the Bumblebee.'" - Jonathan Knell, Campus Circle
-"One is surprised to discover that there exists a human that fast, which is a furious woman. She is called The Great Kat. With her, the themes of Beethoven become a projectile." - Rolling Stone Magazine (Italy)

-"The Great Kat can outplay just about every guitarist on the planet. She can zoom up and down a fretboard faster than a hungry cheetah on steroids. Her fretboard speed is awesome."- Michael Molenda, Guitar Player Magazine

-"'Girl power' is a gross understatement. The world's first shredding dominatrix." - Guitar One Magazine
-"The Great Kat - the world’s foremost female shredder. If you think composers like Antonio Vivaldi and Niccolo Paganini are just stuffy old white guys, wait until you see a leather-and-fishnet clad wild woman bump up the BPMs. You really need to see her videos in order to comprehend just how talented — and completely over-the-top — the Great Kat's persona is in person." - By Jonah Bayer, Gibson Lifestyle

-"She has technique galore -- playing incredibly fast (shredding). Her speed-demon take on classical music is fun to listen to. The driving rhythms at these speeds and amplification can be spectacular." - Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Now's Classical Musings

"Ultimate, electrifying, incandescent, revolutionary musician." - Naja Kemp, Peter Kemp's Theatre

-"Played hot enough to melt the plastic plants on a public access TV stage." - Blender.com Videos
-"In the matter of virtuosity, the speed metal guitarist, The Great Kat, leaves you stunned. The guitarist makes an impression with her dominance of speed techniques." - Henrique Inglez de Souza, Guitar Player Magazine Brazil

-"The Great Kat's chops are impressive – the speed with which she spits out scales on both electric guitar and violin is astounding, especially when accompanied, as it is on the DVD’s six videos, by her snarling, wild-eyed metal posturing and head-banging." - Patrick Enright, The News Tribune
-SPIN MAGAZINE DECLARES THE GREAT KAT "THE SPEEDIEST, SCARIEST FEMALE SHREDDER OF ALL TIME" - Caryn Ganz, Spin Magazine

-"This one-of-a-kind musician knows excitement." John Lorinc, CNN Radio's "Measure To Measure"
-"The more you know about The Great Kat, the more she seems like a walking, talking unifying theory of women and rock guitar." - David Segal, The Washington Post

-"The Great Kat can totally shred. In fact, she's so scary fast on guitar and violin, that once you retrieve your ego from the gutter, you almost have to laugh." - Michael Molenda, Guitar Player Magazine

-"The Great Kat, New York's head-banging thrash goddess, continues to connect the dots between metal music and classical with her latest, 'Wagner's War.' Inspired by the events of Sept. 11, Kat renders some of music's most famous, aggressive, battle-inspired pieces in shredding-speed metal arrangements that hiss and spit." - Dan Aquilante, New York Post

-"The wave of the future might well be heavy-metal Beethoven by way of Juilliard." - John Rockwell, The New York Times

-"Kat's hyper-driven humor and aggressive presence may be exactly what is needed to set straight the basics of Beethoven and Bach." Marilyn A. Gillen, Billboard Magazine

-"Her music isn't heard; it's felt. Loud and constant, it cuts through the listener's body like a blunt knife." Farhan Memon, The New York Post

-The Great Kat, Juilliard prodigy-turned-caterwauling speed-metal guitarist, may be abrasive, but judging from this disc, she's never boring. A-" Bob Strauss, Entertainment Weekly