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Quote from Music Connection Editor: Bernard Baur

It’s been a long time since fans have had a speed guitarist they could idolize. Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen and Van Halen are all from another era. Well, the torch has apparently been passed to The Light Speeder, German Schauss. Fusing rock, jazz, and classical music into lightening riffs and spellbinding melodies, this guitar hero shreds his way into immortality. But, Schauss is more than just another speed shredder…he’s a communicator as well. His passion and skill make him a unique songwriter – one that not only impresses, but also touches your soul.
--- Bernard Baur, Review Editor, Music Connection

HMP Magazine, Poland

Reviewed by :Mikolaj Furmankiewicz

German Schauss is another, after Marcel Wittfeld, German guitarist who left the fatherland to improve his skills at American masters. But, let's start in turn. German picked up the guitar when he was twelve. Before long, he started to take private lessons, and, in the meantime, he was listening to his very favorite instrumentalists - Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert. It turned out that the only one, natural way of German's musical development is enrolling at the Munich Guitar Institute. MGI prepared German very well for educational challanges that they were waiting for him in the USA. In 1998, he started studying at the Berklee College of Music under an outstanding musicians' and lecturers' supervision - Joe Stump, Jon Finn and Wayne Krantz. During his educational period, he received scholars and raked in some music awards, and finished Berklee with honors (magna cum laude)! In 2002, he recorded the first demo "Acceleration 420" and "Eso" EP with a band Esoteriqa next year. The newest material of German fell into my hands and I was very curious what the fuzz is all about. The listening was preceded by reading of the Berklee's faculty members' opinions (of Tom Stein, Joe Stump, Jon Finn) and one Shrapnel Records artist - Scott Johnson's. I must admit that I haven't read so unanimously super-positive opinions on artist's music for a long while! There is also a thesis existing that a teacher promotes own students, so one should keep the opinions of such a kind at distance. But, in that case, my "conservatism" was needless, because the words of mentioned people are crystally true! On "The Lightspeeder", German showed off his pure mastery - in shredding-power metalish "sauce" with a light progressive "flavors" and instrumental hard rock's "aftertastes". His music is full of solemnity and royal Majesty! Ladies and Gentlemen - one thousand perfect notes per minute and a whole world become dancing with German! His style consists of elements known from other instrumentalists' manners - of Tom Hess, Mike Walsh, Joe Stump, Luca Turilli, and Racer X. There is no doubt that German Schauss is one of the most eminent shredder in the history of the genre! German's students are lucky chaps! Why? Firstly - he is a great guitarist. Secondly - creates as brilliant melodies as itself he is! And thirdly - as Tina Turner sang - he is simply the Best! Child prodigy! Magnificent! Long live German!

The Shred Zone.com Demo Review

“The Awakening” is a truly amazing song that is action packed with superhero like licks, arpeggios and melodic harmonies. The main melody line has a great hook and it really sets up for what’s to come. Shredders beware the wrath of this German born shred machine.

“Dreams” opens up with some exquisite metal guitar riffin’. German uses some great odd chord combinations through this section that aren’t easily missed. Then finally at around the two minute mark he zooms in and shreds his butt off! Schauss smokes the fretboard with a very tasty neo-classical lead. German was defiantly going for something different with this song, because his rhythm playing was the main focus. The lead played a minor role compared to the rhythm. It’s not everyday you hear shred players back off the nitro to let another style dominate the track.

“The Dawn” is a prime example of what neoclassical shred should sound like. He whips out plenty of arpeggios and pedal runs to last you a life time. Schauss’s technique is simply breath taking. Sure the world is filled with millions of neoclassical shredders, but how many of them can play at light speed and still keep a melody line going? Well German is one of those players. He’s packed with soul and you’ll hear it with every note that pours out from his hands. “The Dawn” has plenty of cool licks, runs and sweeps that are executed perfectly and with the utmost melody in mind. I especially liked the lead phrasing at 4:01 that carried on until the end of the song. It was a great harmony and the choice of notes was priceless.

“The Final Showdown” begins with some super fast and heavy riffin’ that leads into the onslaught of hyper speed shredding. German defiantly goes for the dark and evil shred approach in this one, blending melodic speedy harmonic minor runs and pedals. Pay close attention to the main melody line in this song, its very catchy and will have you rewinding it over and over.

“Fire” is a very different when compared to the rest of the cd. It has a very upbeat guitar nature that reminds me of the old school Savatage tunes. Don’t ask why, it just does. This song is another great rhythm based one that is just consumed with passion and fury. German will defiantly keep you banging right along! Then enter the main lead line. Can we say tapping from hell?!? German executes a super tight and shred-o-riffic finger tapping phrase that will have your mouth dropping to the floor. Yes, I said floor.

“Freedom Metal Dance” is the shred fest from hell to say the least! German doesn’t back off the gas pedal for even a second during the intro. From first note to last, he barrels through it with superior technique and clarity. Then the song hoops into a progressive jam with some very interesting riffing selections. After that, Schauss dips back to the blazing neoclassical induced fits of rage. Hell I don’t think my metronome could keep up with him! Overall this is a great tune and offers a lot to players who enjoy raw speed.

“Chasing the Dragon” is the singing star on the cd. German pulled out all the stops and devised an extremely melodic shred classic. The song has endless melodies that just weep with soul. His main melody line established a tight vibe and he builds upon it throughout the whole song. I really enjoyed the arpeggio selections that German used throughout the song, because they locked in and didn’t sound out of place. They matched the rhythm sections perfectly and will steal in the listener’s attention away. I’d also like to point out his creative use of keyboards. Schauss used angelic like effects on the keyboard to emulate a choral like tone. I could really imagine myself soaring through the sky while listening to this masterpiece.

“Sunset” brings the demo cd to a close with a very soulful jam. The guitars are mainly clean leaving German with plenty of headroom to work with. This song was one of my personal favorites, because it showed the other side of a shred demon. So we know he can shred his pants off with the greatest of ease, but can he play slowly and with melody. And the jury says, GUILTY! “Sunset” is filled with emotion and passion. German poured his soul into this song and you can tell with every note. He created some of the best melody lines I’ve ever heard in an outrageous shred cd. I’ve reviewed truck loads of cds, and its not every day that a player really moves you with a melody line. I would really like to commend German for his god like performance in this song. It is truly a master piece, and I can’t wait to hear more tunes like this come from his hands.

All in all what else can I say otherwise that this cd is amazing, breathtaking and a must own for any fan of shred with soul. Classic shred masterpieces like “Chasing the Dragon” and “Sunset” will defiantly hit home hard. German Schauss is no stranger to being an educated player. He graduated from the Berklee School of music and studied under guitar heroes like Joe Stump. Schauss is a guitar player to keep close tabs on, because missing a new song is truly a loss to mankind. Along with that if you’d like to hear some new stuff, stop by www.Esoteriqaband.com, Schauss’s new band. Esoteriqa are a Boston based Funk / Rock / Metal band that are certainly attracting a lot of attention. German I give you four out of four stars for this killer demo, you deserved it! Please stop by German’s Mp3.com website to hear some audio samples from this demo.

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Guitar9.com Debut CD Review. Epic, Virtuosic, Neo-Classical Progressive

Mind-blowingly fast sweeps. Complex, classically influenced progressions. Odd, even and fractional meters. Shredded, corpse-chopping, speed picking. A head-splittingly large number of notes! All this and more can be heard on German Schauss' demo CD-R Acceleration 420, a collection of eight neo-classical progressive instrumentals designed to shock, awe and make you soil your drawers. You'll feel as if you're traveling at 420 MPH through a tunnel on a motorcycle as you hear the notes whizzing by your ears, made possible by Schauss' total technical mastery of his instrument. The material on the demo, as heavy as is, could benefit by a real drummer instead of a machine, but for the purposes of showing Schauss' skill on the six-string, it probably does the job. Speed freaks have another potential hero coming their way when Schauss finds a bassist and drummer that can keep up with him.

Born in Germany, German was influenced by American hard rock and instrumental guitar music such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Racer X. When German was twelve his grandmother bought a guitar, which he picked up and started playing. He soon got serious about the guitar and he decided to become the best and fastest guitar player in the world. After finishing High School in 1995, he attended the Munich Guitar Institute (MGI) in 1996 and was voted the fastest guitar player. In 1998 he left Germany to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in order to refine his guitar playing and compositional skills. Recently, German has finished his education at Berklee College of Music with a Bachelors Degree in Professional Music graduating with honors, Magna Cum Laude. He also has been playing guitar for a new musical production, "Hot Star Nebraska" which was performed in spring 2002.

Currently, German is working on his music, practicing, recording 24 hours a day, and rehearsing with his solo band as well as recording and playing out with his new sounding rock project Esoteriqa which draws from several styles, including funk, shred and hip hop. German will be teaching this summer at the five-week performance and one week guitar session program at Berklee College of Music. This summer, German will be performing with his band at the prestigious Jemfest in Orlando.

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Shred Guitarist -- Only the BEST and FASTEST ( Guitarist.com )

GERMAN SCHAUSS - An absolutely explosive shred guitarist that draws from several different influences. Giving him a sound and style unique unto himself. If you're a fan of over the top shred ( ala: STUMP, MALMSTEEN, PETRUCCI ). Then German is a guitarist you have to check out.

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Hot New AOR Reviews 2001: GERMAN SCHAUSS 'DEMO CDR' (DEMO CDR)

Guitarist GERMAN SCHAUSS from Germany sent me a demo CDR that contains 6 of his songs. Musically we can hear great instrumental 80s influenced American Melodic Hard Rock/Heavy Rock. German is an excellent guitar play and it all sounds very impressive. Songs like "The awakening" (slightly progressive), "The dawn" (very attractive guitar play a la MALMSTEEN) and "Dreams" (very melodic a la instrumental DOKKEN) just sound great. I wonder how they would sound with vocals on it… Anyway, there's more to come in the future from German Schauss, for now, check out his songs at: www.germanschauss.com.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

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AOR/ FLASH Magazine Review 2001: GERMAN SCHAUSS "German Schauss" (SELF PRODUCED) Rating: 75
Reprinted at Undertow Review: GERMAN SCHAUSS (by Nicky Baldrian) GERMAN SCHAUSS

A new German guitar hero whose music best represents resurgence in Malmsteen and Dream Theater - style theatrics, Dream Theater because of Schauss' technical expertise, his songs groove with numerous chord progressions, fiery picking and unrestrained arrangements and Yngwie Malmsteen because Schauss' compositions produce epical scales that are fast with a neo-classical edge, thus what we hear are exciting well thought out compositions, full of energy, extremely fast picking, good tapping and sweeping techniques.

My only gripe with this is the production quality which at times can spoil the feel of the compositions, however this can be over looked as Strauss' is a highly motivated and inspiring German player.

You like Eddie Van Halen and Paul Gilbert, then listen to 'Dreams', a straight ahead rock instrumental with a fast swirl of mid section speedy licks, like Dream Theater, Tony MaCalpine, Stratovarius? check out the technical and symphonic 'The Dawn' and 'The Awakening', like Racer X and Cacophony then check out my fave cut 'The Final Showdown' where Schauss really tears up the guitar antics and is an inspirational piece with a nice tone, the playing is very neo-classical and shreds in the same light as Becker, Friedman and Paul Gilbert, totally brilliant and unique, the playing is fast 'n furious whislt 'Fire' contains a similarly effective melody, this song is very melodic a'la Dokken and Winger and cries out for lyrics, then it's back to the neo-classical shred fest of 'Freedom Metal Dance' whilst 'Sunset' is another favorite song because the playing is quite laid back an exotic reminding of Joe Satriani a'la 'Rubina' and 'Friends' etc , the melody is tuneful and atmospheric.

A most impressive player, Schauss shouldn't have any problems breaking into the guitar genre, but I feel that his talent could also lie within a full band situation if he could put one together which will result in eventual recognition. A player to keep your eye on.

by Nicky Baldrian

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