View source for The Great Kat

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Short description|American musician}}
{{other people|Catherine Thomas}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2020}}
<!--as Katherine Thomas redirects here-->
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Great Kat
| image = 
| caption = 
| birth_name = Katherine Thomas
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|6|6}}
| birth_place = [[Swindon]], England
| origin = United States
| instrument = Guitar, vocals, violin
| genre = {{hlist|[[Speed metal]]|[[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]|[[thrash metal]]|[[neoclassical metal]]|[[power metal]]|[[melodic death metal]]|[[instrumental rock]]}}
|occupation=Musician
| years_active = 1986–present
| label = [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]]
| website = {{url|greatkat.com}}
| current_members = Kat<br />Jeff Ingegno<br /> Lionel Cordew
| past_members = {{hlist|Tom Von Doom|Chip Marshall|Adam Killa|Kevin Dedario|Scott Borrero| Rob “Banks” Fitkin}}
}}

'''Katherine Thomas''' (born June 6, 1966), best known by her stage name '''The Great Kat''', is an American guitarist and singer best known for her [[thrash metal]] interpretations of well-known pieces of [[European classical music|classical music]].{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} Most feature her using the electric guitar, but on some she uses the violin. Thomas is a classically trained violinist, graduating from the [[Juilliard School]] and touring for a time playing conventional classical music before crossing over to metal. {{cn|date=June 2025}} 

Her classical background, technical skills and self-promotion are sometimes compared to [[Yngwie Malmsteen]] {{According to whom|date=June 2025}} . In an interview in metallian.com she claimed to be the reincarnation of [[Beethoven]]. {{cn|date=June 2025}}

Her public persona, as portrayed in her publicity photos and videos, is mainly compared to that of a [[dominatrix]], albeit in an over-the-top, [[tongue-in-cheek]] manner. {{according to whom|date=June 2025}}

In 1990, Swiss [[black metal]] band Mordor recorded for their first demo tape "Odes" a tribute song for Thomas, titled "The Great Kat Is God".{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Discography ==
* 1986 – ''Satan Says'' ([[Demo (music)|demo]])
* 1987 – ''[[Worship Me or Die!]]''
* 1990 – ''[[Beethoven on Speed]]''
* 1996 – ''Digital Beethoven on Cyberspeed'' ([[Extended Play|EP]])
* 1997 – ''Guitar Goddess'' (EP)
* 1998 – ''Bloody Vivaldi'' (EP)
* 2000 – ''Rossini's Rape'' (EP)
* 2002 – ''Wagner's War'' (EP)
* 2005 – ''Extreme Guitar Shred'' ([[DVD]])
* 2008 – ''Total Insanity'' (compilation)
* 2021 – ''Mozart Beethoven Bach and Shred'' (EP)
* 2021 – ''Beethoven, Beethoven and the Reincarnation of Beethoven'' (EP)
* 2022 – ''Ludwig Van Shred''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.greatkat.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.guitarnoise.com/review/the-great-kat/ 'Favourable' listener review of Wagner's War]
* [http://www.unratedmagazine.com/articles/Archive/2009/The_Great_Kat_Beethoven.cfm UnRated Magazine Beethoven's Guitar Shred]
* [http://tuned-out.com/?p=12  Interview from Tuned-Out.com in Detroit. Reviews of Castration video with Kat's responses]
* [http://musiclegends.ca/interviews/great-kat-interview/ Music Legends Interview with The Great Kat]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Kat, The}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women heavy metal singers]]
[[Category:American heavy metal singers]]
[[Category:American heavy metal guitarists]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:American lead guitarists]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Musicians from Swindon]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American violinists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]