That sort of dilemma faces me with my review of Lori Linstruth. The hallowed halls of metal guitar are noticeably devoid of craftsmen of the "fairer sex". So, it is hard to simply describe Lori in terms germane only to the instrument she so deftly wields. To say that Lori is "just another guitar player", and yet ignore the fact that she is a woman is hard for me.

Yet, that is what I will do here. I will ignore the false handicap that my metal guitar background has saddle Lori Linstruth with. It's not Lori's "fault" she's a woman. No, it's my fault that I've been cloistered in my closet with Yngwie, Kotzen, Roth, and Schenker. Her womanhood should remain a zero-sum event, yet, strikingly, I still find it to be a glorious discovery - this flaxen-haired songstress.

And, what's ironic about the players I so-identify with, is that Lori Linstruth derives such power and grace from all of these Teutonic (titanic) icons of my youth.

I first heard Lori Linstruth play as "The Song of the Month" at GuitarWar.Com. I was immediately impressed with her attention to the feeling of the tune. Her fingers powerfully announced each note. Her strong vibrato was accented by a liberal dose of tremolo over the passing tones in each melodic movement. She makes an important statement in her song, "If (AKA Pastel Black)". Listen to her melody fade-in.

Can you hear the vibrato and tremolo punctuate the notes? Linstruth arrives at her next note, quite often, after a vibratory pause and an "almost harmonic deriving" pinch. For guitar purists her use of vibrato and tremolo is an "addition to" a piece. It is part of her style. It is the oxygen her guitar needs to sing.

If you are of the "betting persuasion", let me wager you this: You've not heard a more unique melodic movement than that which begins at 1:55, all year long. The outro of "If (AKA Pastel Black)" is Wagnerian in concept, Linstruth by design.

Lori's tone is best described in terms of Michael Schenker. Her use of a slightly phased "wah" sound, and highly compressed-sounding mid-range allows each note to clearly impress upon the cones in your speaker.

And, here's something else. Watch her videos. Look at how far down the neck she slides to then slide back up into her next note. You'll not find a missed note, or beat. Lori Linstruth controls her guitar with a skill most can only envy from afar.

Her use of arpeggios is in the Uli Jon Roth school. Very deliberate. Speedy when necessary. More often than not, though, her arpeggios are just, plainly, necessary. Please watch her fingers from the video for the previously-mentioned, "If (AKA Pastel Black). From :20 to :33, Linstruth plays "text book" arpeggios-as-melody. Lori Linstruth is a student of the "teutonic guitar" arts. I find no pretense on her part that her music is anything but "what it is". And, "what it is" is glorious, triumphant, and, metallic.

At Lori's site, she says, "I am very excited about the prospect of making music in a band context again, as well as reforging my friendship with the lovely Warbride girls." This is in reference to the reformed "Warbride" (Lori's prior band).

Funny, I spent the first section of this article publicly flagellating myself for my de-facto chauvinism, and Lori (comfortably) extols her femininity.

Funny? No. Ironic? Yes.