Interview With A Roadie feat. Ad Infinitum (Melissa Bonny & Adrian Thessenvitz)

In this edition of Interview With A Roadie, Melissa Bonny and Adrian Thessenvitz of Ad Infinitum were kind enough to give me some of their time during a day packed with media for their new album. We got to talk about recording their new studio album, playing live shows after a year and a half break, how streaming is actually helping bands, and Adrian even tells us why he's currently traveling around Germany with his friends.
00:00 Intro
00:57 Interview Start
01:24 Adrian's Travels
03:12 Musical Backgrounds
09:36 Forming Ad Infinitum
13:47 Adrian's Guitar
16:37 Melissa's Guest Spots
17:53 The Dark Side Of The Moon
19:39 Europe's Music Scene
20:44 Making The New Album
25:22 Recent Live Shows
26:46 Supporting Bands & Music
31:05 Interview Wrap Up
PRE-ORDER "CHAPTER II - LEGACY", THE UPCOMING ALBUM FROM AD INFINITUM, OUT OCTOBER 29, 2021:
www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/...
FOLLOW MELISSA BONNY ON INSTAGRAM:
/ melissabonny
FOLLOW ADRIAN THESSENVITS INSTAGRAM:
/ adrian_thessenvitz
FOLLOW AD INFINITUM ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Web-Site: adinfinitumofficial.com/
Instagram: adinfinitum...
Twitter: adinfinitumband?l...
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Donate on PayPal: paypal.me/tankthetech
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violentgentlemen.com/search?q...
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#adinfinitum #interviewwitharoadie #roadiereactions #tankthetech

[@ravensoulmetal8466]

If it wasn't obvious before, I think we can all agree now that Melissa is adorable.

[@WillVafuth]

Agreed. When I first saw Melissa (in the Feuerschwanz Ding video) as well as Rage of Light (Mechanicals) I thought she was just drop dead gorgeous. But her personality in interviews really is just adorable.

[@The_Pickle_Mob_24_7]

Just found this band….so awesome….❤❤

[@StergiosMekras]

They look like lovely people. Exactly the kind you want going hard, dark, and fun!

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Adrian your guitar work is off the charts amazing.

[@LionheartSJZ]

Great interview Tank! I love how Melissa is beaming and smiling the entire time! So charismatic! Both of them are fantastic!

[@Kilian600]

She's a sweetheart

[@patrickschardt7724]

Melissa is a powerhouse of a vocalist. These interviews are fantastic

[@jarl7380]

Omg Melissa looking so gorgeous there's no words

[@iDEATH]

Oh nice! I'll be looking forward to this one later on. Ad Infinitum deserves more ears and eyeballs on them for sure.

[@rolandpaal1878]

How did i not know about this band.. Whole day full album on repeat since then.. LOVE IT.. Thanks Tank and Massive Thanks to Ad Infinitum.. Cant wait to see you live

[@JMurdochNZ]

Nice one Tank. Melissa is adorable. Hopefully you will soon be reacting to Ad Infinitum's new song "Afterlife" featuring Nils Molin from Amaranthe. Two of the best vocalists on the planet going toe to toe, and it is quite glorious.

[@TankTheTech]

I've already recorded it and it'll be up next week! Absolutely loved it.

[@zaio15_DarioMannu_DM-DrumCover]

Nils Molin sing also in another great band as Amaranthe, Tank you should react to some song from Dynazty, great great great band!!!

[@Thomas.Wright]

@@TankTheTech SPOILERS, DUDE!

[@JMurdochNZ]

@@zaio15_DarioMannu_DM-DrumCover I have said this many times in regards to Nils - if you search on KZbin, you will find footage of him singing "The Show Must Go On" by Queen. He NAILS it. Enough said.

[@guyvandurme7228]

@@TankTheTech Can't wait to see it

[@kylrean3891]

I am SO glad you got a chance to talk with them. They are awesome people. And speaking of German bands, there's another one you might want to check out. Very similar situation in that they just released their second record about a month ago. Super talented, but not very well known (at least with people I know). Give "Enemy Inside" a listen, even if on your own time. I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised! If you want to check a video, look for "Lullaby". You'll get some gear to review.

[@guyvandurme7228]

I will check, thanks

[@beldin2987]

Nice, i love Melissa and especially what she did with Ad Infinitum, since to be honest i'm not a big fan of harsh vocals, but with Ad Infinitum she found the right balance to not overuse it and then its ok for me. greetings from Bremen, Germany 😄🤘🏼

[@guyvandurme7228]

Alyssia White Gluz (arch ennemy) mostly sings with harsh vocals but in the video : "handshake with hell" she has a clear voice ! Give her a chance too...

[@pierreverove3732]

WoW Tank ! That’s nice ! Mel & Adrian are so sweet persons, I’m happy you have this opportunity to have a talk with them

[@Thomas.Wright]

Love Melissa! When Patty lost her home in the floods, Melissa was one of the first artists I saw posting about it trying to raise support. I'd like to see Patty and Melissa work together on something.

[@pierreverove3732]

@@Thomas.Wright yes, she’s very supportive to other artists and generous. What about harp & hurdy gurdy in a DSOTM track ? That would be great !

[@Andy_from_de]

That was a great interview to enjoy with the first coffee of the day. 😊

[@Arzie81]

Great people doing great music giving great interview for great dude. Pre-ordered Chapter II already, obviously.

[@PNW5ohTREE]

Look forward to this one. Melissa Bonny is amazing.

[@guyvandurme7228]

I already was a huge fan of Melissa; well now i like her even more. She is a great singer ( we know it for a long time) but also such a great person ! By the way you mentioned you like Eluveitie;;; and Feuerschwanz then you will probably like Feuerschwanz featuring Fabienne Erni : Bastard von Asgard (such a voice !) . Fabienne also appears in the Dark side of the Moon : New horizons video. Enjoy !

[@FallingPig]

Another great interview. Thanks Tank and the guests. These always make my day.

[@taz2491]

Judging by Melissa's smile I feel this is gonna be fun. Liked in advance 😉

[@Thomas.Wright]

Have you considered maybe using the Tasmanian Devil as your icon?

[@taz2491]

@@Thomas.Wright Haha! Yes, that's what I had. But at some point it disappeard and I was to lazy to put it back :D

[@darthcalanil5333]

They're such lovely people. Quite hyped for the album ❤️

[@gnihi1]

I love this band. All of them have a nice charisma. I preordered the album, bought the first as mp3 (needed the physical edition as well, so i bought that too), and I am more excited about Chapter II knowing that its nearly 100% them. Unstoppable was absolutly awesome and I can´t stop myself from headbanging. Looking forward to see them life some day :) Thank you Tank for this interview. P.S. You would be very welcome to germany. Greedings form North Rhine Westfalia.

[@Pygmyer]

Loved the interview, thank you, Ian, Melissa and Adrian! Also, Adrian, what was the university you graduated from? Was ist SAE, Deutsche POP or an entirely different one? Can't wait to see you guys live, all the best and stay healthy!

[@adrianthessenvitz2130]

Hey man, Deutsche Pop and SAE are private institutions and not official universities, like the "Musikhochschulen" (music college) in Germany. They are public universities and because of that, quite hard to get a spot there. Since you have a free education in universities in Germany, they only take 1 to 3 new students per instrument per year. So yea, studying there was a dream come true 😃

[@benjpr5395]

My favourite metal band at the moment with my favourite reactor!! I can’t miss that!

[@sergioramiz]

I believe Melissa is going to be the next big thing! I haven’t seen such talent and good looks since Floor Jansen!

[@guyvandurme7228]

Let's mention Amy Lee who has a featuring in the song Snbonzakura by Wggaki Band (You Might be surprised....)

[@MissHmusicK]

Awesome content! Been enjoying the new Ad Infinitum album as well!!

[@N1yaw]

Nice to hear you love Eluveitie, one of my two favourite bands 👌and nice interview with two great people

[@wavedark7842]

Beautiful Interview

[@aussiemetalfan]

Really enjoyed this interview. I have been following Melissa and her band since around May last year. I have also been telling friends here in Australia (trying to get Ad Infinitum an Aussie fan base!!). Considering I haven't been to Europe since 1977, I am not sure I want to move there, but I am planing a visit for late July 2022 and hope to catch them live. One of many German/Eurpean metal bands I am keen to see (Feuerschwanz too, he he). Speaking of, you need to interview them I feel :)

[@aka_Tatjana]

I get more and more hyped for the new album and pre-ordered on iTunes right away :) And I have to admit, I have a major girl crush on Melissa, she is so charismatic and seems so positive.

[@aaronbarlow4376]

It's hard to focus because Melissa's smile is enchanting.

[@Buffaloheart68]

Been a fan of Melissa since I heard Rage of Light. Nice that you recently discovered them and already doing an interview.

[@jbird518]

they need to come to the states

[@csphoenix9]

Great interview.

[@Wuppser]

Seams like a common story. Listen to Feuerschwanz, and after I heard Melissa singing for the first time, I ordered Monarchy and Legacy immediately.

[@itsmefrifri_]

You are more than welcome to the Netherlands Tank!

[@stephsteph4574]

Moving to Germany sounds good 👌 it's really nice here 😉

[@torsten.breswald]

great job

[@SergioImbarlina]

Another AWESOME interview. Tank - you have a great interview style...full of background knowledge so you know what to ask to keep the conversation going. And your laid back demeanor I believe makes everyone comfortable talking with you. Dude - I think you've found your groove here. Also, tempting as it might be to move abroad, you might find yourself in a unique capacity here in the US becoming a proxy representative for these European bands looking to break into the US market...or help them expand their footprint (ahem...insert certain Swedish power metal band name here). There's a saying I've heard recently that resonates with me - "You be the change you want to see." To that end, I see you becoming an individual of increasing influence in the US Metal scene & you do have music industry connections. Just like how you got your job six years ago, something like that might materialize in a similar fashion at some point because of this channel. Till then, keep up the good...scratch that...keep up the GREAT work!!!

[@TankTheTech]

Wow, thank you so much for the kind compliments. And honestly, I've thought about this a lot. I would love to use this platform to help out bands outside of the US, and even work with them in some capacity.

[@SergioImbarlina]

@@TankTheTech On a separate point, I think you might want to protect your channel by setting up external mirrors on Rumble. I just can't shake the feeling it would be a very wise move to hedge against KZbin's fickle policies & their subjective enforcement. So if KZbin one day decides to nuke TankTheTech, we'll all know where to find you without missing a beat.

[@HypnoticChronic1]

This was a great interview I adore Ad Infinitum, it was nice to finally get to hear from Adrian I always got the same vibe from him that I got from Tosin from Animals as Leaders that they could absolutely destroy if given half the chance. And Tank since you mentioned getting into a lot of German bands I got another to throw into the mix for you, give Parasite Inc. a listen if you want some song recommendations The End of Illusions (its just audio no video but its my personal favorite) or Sunset Overdrive (also just audio) or Once and for All (which has a video). On a side note as a American I myself find the European music scene far more interesting and enjoyable than the American music scene in particular when it comes to metal.

[@iDEATH]

Nice interview, Tank. I am going to push back just a bit on the whole thing re distinguishing between male and female vocalists. I completely agree that it is a pointless distinction when you're talking about it in a raw "how good is..." sense, but men and women just don't sound the same. Just as there's a clear difference between a baritone and a soprano and there's reason to distinguish between the two under the right circumstances. Personally, I prefer the sound of the female voice, so "female fronted" is just a shorthand to catch my interest, bump a band up the queue a few places in my "gotta check that out" list, and stuff like that. The trick is to not make the distinction when it's not useful, but perhaps more importantly, not to give it a negative connotation unnecessarily or out of some misguided "Politically Correct" nonsense.

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Music is one area where male or female is irrelevant, both men and women listen to and like both men and women. As long as the music is good no one cares.

[@iDEATH]

@@aaronbarlow4376 I couldn't agree more, but I suspect you may be missing my point. Male and female humans have different physiologies. This includes the vocal apparatus. In essence, men and women are playing different instruments when it comes to voice. Obviously it's not a perfect comparison as everyone has a unique voice and instruments are made with certain standards in mind, but the cello, viola and violin all sound distinct from each other, but still related, right? Melissa is a truly wonderful singer, but you'd never mistake her for a man by the sound of her voice, nor would you mistake Nils for a woman by his, even when he's nailing those high notes in Afterlife. Denying that biological reality doesn't help anyone.

[@lennartlarsen6797]

good interview

[@Thomas.Wright]

MELISSA! 🖤🖤🖤

[@icecreamsandwichiify]

Around 2:20. I agree completely.... Fixed the typo. Lol...

[@levischorpioen]

If you move to Limburg in The Netherlands, you’ll be real close to Germany while also catching some of the amazing atmosphere here with lots of venues and alternative culture. just a suggestion :P

[@Kilian600]

You're definitely one of the best KZbinr EVER !!!

[@TankTheTech]

Thank you so much!

[@dmdm1355]

I really enjoyed when Melissa was part of the Rage of Light. Tank, react to her songs with this band, pls 🙏🙏

[@GridDownSurvival]

You lucky bastard.. 🙃😁😁😁

[@davidbronke5484]

Dude! If you end up moving to Europe, let us know - I just moved from the US to Germany with my wife and kid. It's great, but the move definitely cost way more than we expected. 😹

[@War624]

I wonder how much they make from other streaming services, compared to Spotify. I use KZbin Music, as I have a YT Premium account. Regardless, the last two singlea have been amazing. Super excited for the new album.

[@samael7867]

Musikschule manheim is doing a great job to teach and encourage children for music

[@arturfonseca3596]

Dude, really bring your family to Europe, better in everything that makes people’s live better, mostly healthcare and education! Your daughter will have overall a better education and better health! Great interview, I will for sure dig more in this band! All the best 💪

[@thebeerstalker2952]

They also have great t-shirts they design themselves

[@cknotzer]

If you look to Europe don't forget to check Austria too! 🇦🇹 ("cities made of wood" as your former president said... 😂) Really good place to life. You do a really awesome job!

[@nilshult5115]

Great interview, finaly a youtuber with intresting topics. There´s a swedish band called Brothers of metal that I think you find intresting.

[@bloodofdark1]

Greetings from germany! You Rock man 🤘

[@TankTheTech]

Danke!

[@bloodofdark1]

@@TankTheTech sehr sehr gern!

[@SokolRock]

Thank you for an interesting interview! As for the topic you raised, that metal music in the USA is now clearly in a worse state than in Europe, it seems to me from the outside that there are several reasons: Firstly, it seems to me that American musicians are too prone to competition. Instead of cooperation, they often fight with each other in the media for far-fetched reasons, splitting the fan community. Another problem is the American metal fans themselves, who, it seems to me, are too elitist and tribalistic: They are trapped in the grip of their favorite subgenres and often do not want to perceive something different from the genre canons they are familiar with. And besides, they respect only the heaviness in metal, despising the more melodic bands in the genre. Of course, not everyone is like that, but this is clearly a very influential part of metal fans, because of which, in my opinion, it would be difficult to hold diverse metal festivals like Wacken in the USA, and in general it does not help to support and promote metal music.

[@TankTheTech]

Excellent points.

[@Pygmyer]

Also, Tank, YES, move to germany! I'll give you german lessons and tours for free if you're up for it! The three of you are very welcome here. :)

[@georgeantonioandrei8570]

Hey, that was an awesome interview. What song is in the outro? I'm not familiarized with Chapter 2, Legacy, have to dive into it.

[@josephwrubel7781]

Great interview Tank check out a band from PA.Usa called Duskmourn epic folk metal sound song called Deathless

[@ricknesar1627]

I am about to jump out the window Tank! I got sick so I´ll miss the Orbit Culture release party and you haven´t reacted to the new EP yet. Please help me being able to smile again!

[@TankTheTech]

We did a full listening party to the entire EP on my Twitch stream the day of the release. Sadly, I can't post any of it to KZbin.

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

16:28 headless guitars, generally speaking, keep their tuning better, and also are slightly better intonation-wise because of the zero fret

[@metalhead82891]

Yo Tank, Shadow of Intent drops a new song at midnight tonight. 👀

[@TankTheTech]

Ooooooooooooooooh.

[@metalhead82891]

@@TankTheTech it’s out, sir. You’ll love it.

[@jhdix6731]

You're thinking about moving to Germany? Real estate is rather affordable near Wacken.

[@TankTheTech]

Hahahaha. Good to know!

[@HH-hd7nd]

@@TankTheTech And Wacken is only a 30 minute car ride away from Hamburg which is an awesome city.

[@geaichterbiertrinker724]

Dude please react to CYPECORE - THE ALLIANCE. Very unknown Band with highquality metal! Also from Germany

[@77aleks77100]

Melissa is adorable, but such many frontwoman metalbands I don’t have such a big heart to love everyone, maybe later.

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Does KZbin exposure and views help support the band financially? Do promoters get and consider youtube stats?

[@TankTheTech]

The simple answer to both questions is yes. Bands can collect ad revenue from their videos, and in most cases, also collect the ad revenue from reactors that have used their videos and music in their reactions. The copyright claim system on KZbin exists so that bands are getting paid their royalties for their music being used, rather than reactors being able to easily make money by just doing reactions to popular bands. And if promoters use advanced analytic apps while browsing KZbin, they could easily see which countries are viewing the videos to get a good idea of how popular bands are in certain places.

[@aaronbarlow4376]

@@TankTheTech Good. Melissa is quite savvy knowing how much exposure youtube reactors get, I mean they get more views than the original music video of some bands. Getting interviewed by or reacting with reactors is a great promotional strategy. Not that they need it, Ad Infinitum are incredible and Melissa is insanely gifted.

[@ChaosTheorist]

University professor - Alright for your final exam I want you to play a unique song that you think everyone can enjoy Band - Plays Unstopable Professor 😳

[@MrRabiddogg]

If you don't download all of Ms. Bonny's music she will call you up and sing to you. In the demon voice. At three AM. You're nightmares will never be the same.

[@94djanek]

Please Listen to☺ Mono-run for your life Gothic hard rock

[@arkb0t379]

I've seen the harsh vocal tutorial she's talking about hahaha

[@joro2769]

I don´t get the problem in differentiate between female an male vocalists. They ARE different - not better ore worse - but different. So why is it not okay to distinguish ? I slightly prefere female voices whereby i love combos were i get both in the same song.

[@TankTheTech]

Because a lot of the time the separation excludes the talent from the rest of the vocalists. For example, many metal outlets commonly do Top Lists of the best vocalist and musicians, and it's all men. But then instead of having it for women, they give em a dumb category like Hottest Women In Metal rather than talking about their actual talent.

[@Soundoholics]

Melissa is an amazing singer! Now she's growling more tastefully when appropriate. Too much growling in Rage of Light. For me anyway.

[@kenknight5983]

I really have to agree with you about USA vs touring in Europe. There are bands that send themselves broke trying to crack America when Europe is way better connected. I guess bands look to America because they hear stories of a record executive attending a small club and signing a band on the spot. Reality- a lot of starving bands