To Infinity and Beyond: An Interview with AD INFINITUM

Zur deutschen Version gehts hier.

If you can’t get enough of Rockharz, check out my reports on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4!

As we all know, Social Media can be both a blessing and a curse. For me, it’s also a useful tool to discover up and coming artists and bands. One of these artists is Melissa Bonny and her content has always intrigued. Naturally I was more than curious when she presented her newest band on her socials. Now, almost three years later, I had the chance to interview the four of them during their time at Rockharz. Enjoy reading what this band had to say and how it was possible for them to release three albums in two years!

Thanks again to the talented lightinmirror.de for the awesome pictures!

Shieldmaiden’s Voice: If you had to describe AD INFINITUM in three words, which would you choose?

Melissa: Modern Symphonic Metal.

Korbinian: Yes, I was actually thinking the same! Modern Symphonic Metal it is!

Adrian: Not „energetic“ or „dreamy“?

Korbinian and Melissa: No, it’s Modern Symphonic Metal!

SV: What distinguishes your band from other bands in your genre?

Korbinian: Well… for starters, we have an eight-string-guitar…

Melissa: …without a head!

Korbinian: Without a head! That is not very common in Metal music, some bands use seven strings, but with eight strings you can go even lower than with seven strings. The sound is very modern and even a bit djenty and I feel like Symphonic Metal bands don’t usually have that in their repertoire. Another thing that distinguishes us is Melissa’s screaming which is also quite uncommon in our genre. 

Melissa: I feel like we added some elements of Modern Metal and Death Metal that make it more aggressive and younger and fresher sounding. 

Adrian: We also have quite the classical song structure so that people can connect easily with the hooks. You’re not overwhelmed by massive orchestrations, it’s more focussed on the band’s sound and that is a nice common thread throughout our entire music. There are symphonic elements, but the core is still good and heavy songwriting. 

SV: In both 2020 and 2021 you released an album, technically two in 2020 if you count Chapter I Revisited, which is a really high output for a band. How was that possible?

Adrian: No sleep… [everyone laughs]

Korbinian: Actually, we didn’t have a choice, really. Covid happened when the first album came out in March of 2020. Several tours and festivals were planned and because of the lockdowns nothing happened. Then we released Chapter I Revisited and when that came out, we already started writing Chapter II – Legacy. We didn’t have anything else to do which is why we just had to be creative.

Melissa: It was our way to stay connected with the fans that we just grabbed. Usually you put out an album and then you go on tour where you meet the people and are able to create memories with them. We couldn’t do this with our first album and we wanted to offer them some content online to also accompany them through the pandemic and to stay present in their lives while using our time the best way we could. 

SV: Totally makes sense! What are message you want to convey in your music? What message are the most important?

Melissa: Fun!

Korbinian: Try to be true to yourself. That’s a general thing. Try to be authentic and be interested in literature and historical events and figures.

Melissa: The way we write music is that it’s not strictly linked to one genre.  We have a lot of influences from everywhere and are super open-minded. We find inspiration in genres that are far away from Metal and we bring them into our music because we find nice and tasty elements. That is why I think that one message we try to convey to the people who like our music is that we’re open-minded and we want you to have fun with our way to see music.

SV: You’re also an international band. How did the pandemic influence the songwriting you just talked about?

Melissa: Not so much because we work remotely anyway. We were exchanging ideas on the internet and the only way it really affected us was when we had to shoot videos and pictures and other content where we had to be together. That was very complicated! We were unsure of transportation and lockdowns and crossing borders and all the different restrictions, so that’s the way it affected us. 

SV: On a brighter note: What does it feel like to finally be able to hit the stages?

Korbinian: It’s great! It’s the best feeling ever! We literally dreamt about this for years, to present our songs to an audience and we are! Rockharz is an incredible opportunity to do so!

SV: What was your impression of your gig today at this festival? How was it for you?

Niklas: It was very, very good! At first we were a bit unsure because it started to rain like 20 minutes before our stage time and no one knew if the weather would hold. In the end everything was fun and the sun even came out! We were looking down into smiling faces of the people enjoying our music, catching our vibe, clapping their hands and jumping around. It’s absolutely fulfilling to experience and it was an insane gig! Definitely a red mark in my calendar!

Melissa: It was crazy to see so many people either singing our songs or being interested in what we sound like. To see all these metalheads in front of us, which we didn’t know if it would be the case or not, was a very nice surprise!

SV: Do you have any more touring plans for this year?

Melissa: Yes, we do! In the Fall, we’re going to be on a massive tour with AMARANTHE, BEYOND THE BLACK and BUTCHER BABIES around Europe and we’re very excited for it. 

Korbinian: And even after that, there is a Christmas show in Southern Germany in Schwäbisch-Gmünd which will be like our end-of-the-year-party! 

SV: What is a reason for people to come and see you live?

Melissa: The people should come because we have so much fun interacting with the people and it’s an energy that bounces between the stage, the crowd, back to the stage and back to the crowd and so forth. It’s just a different interaction compared to when you listen to the album.

Adrian: We always try to deliver a very, very good show and we always make sure that our high standards for quality are met, which is something we highly invest in. 

SV: What are your favorite songs to perform live?

All at once, immediately: AFTERLIFE!! [everone laughs]

Korbinian: And also Into the Night!

Melissa: And Animals!

Niklas: And Your Enemy!

SV: If people wanted to support you, what would be the best way to do that?

Korbinian: The main thing would be coming to the concerts. If you’re up for it, buy a CD, not just listening to it on Spotify, but actually buying it…

Melissa: …or do both!

Korbinian: Both helps a lot! If you want to be really, really good to us, buy a shirt. That helps a lot financially. The main thing is still coming to the concerts though, have fun and enjoy the music!

Melissa: I have to add something because there is a misunderstanding with buying CDs and streaming songs. For us it’s great if people stream our music, because there are a lot of people who discover us through the algorithm on Spotify. If you add us to your playlist, then your friends will discover us which is why I’m actually very pro-Spotify. 

Adrian: Also watch our Youtube videos, share them, because Youtube is also a great thing. 

Niklas: It’s worth watching because we have beautiful aftermovies of every festival.

Adrian: We’re trying very hard to build our own Youtube channel and we’re releasing aftermovies of every show and they’re very good! We have a great videographer with us.

Melissa: We’re trying to give our audience an impression of what it’s like to be on the road with us!

SV: That is actually awesome! Unfortunately we’re nearing the end and I have one last question: If you could send your fans one message, what would it be?

Korbinian: We can use the Rockharz motto?

Melissa: Oh yeah!

Korbinian: Metal, Beer and Best Friends! I think it’s a good message for today!

Amazing! I mean, what else do you need besides Metal, Beer and Best Friends (and 1 Million Euros)? In case you can’t get enough of AD INFINITUM, make sure to check out their upcoming tour and their merch as well!

We’re also almost done with the Rockharz content, there is one last interview left. After that, you can get excited for awesome new stuff. Stay tuned!