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Every artist experiences certain milestones in their career. For the talented and charismatic Swiss singer Melissa Bonny, several of them are happening right now. With her band Ad Infinitum, she has just entered a new era by releasing their fourth studio album and embarking on their first headlining tour. At the beginning of next year, she will also release her first solo album. She told me more about all this, and a bit more, before her concert at Masters of Rock Café in Zlín.

I think I read somewhere that you started singing as a little girl in a school choir.

Yes.

When and how did you realize that you wanted to join a metal band?

I think I was around 18 when I joined some friends in a rehearsal room for the first time. At that time, I wanted to make more music, and they were looking for a singer, so I tried with them and then joined them. That was my first band, and then we started playing more concerts and touring, and I really got a taste for it.

Your voice is absolutely incredible. Have you worked, or are you still working, with a vocal coach, or are you self-taught?

I worked for a few years with a vocal coach. I was actually first in a choir at school and then worked with a vocal coach privately. Now I work on my own most of the time.

In many of your songs, you use both clean vocals and growls. Is it difficult to switch between them within one song, and do you prefer one style over the other?

I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it, and I’ve been doing this for many years now, so right now it’s very easy to switch. I enjoy being able to do both in one song. It’s nice to have different tools in my box to express different emotions.

You founded Ad Infinitum while you were still part of Rage of Light. What made you want to start another band at that time?

At first, it was not supposed to be a band. I just wanted to make a different kind of music, because with Rage of Light it was very much the main composer’s vision, and I enjoyed it very much, but I also wanted to do something different on the side. It was just supposed to be a little EP of five songs, but then I started working on it and spending more time and energy on it, and also investing some money for a good production. Then I realized, let’s just make a band.

The first three Ad Infinitum albums all have the word “chapter” in their titles. Are they conceptually connected?

Yeah, they are. For the first three records, we got inspired, both for the lyrics and for the soundscapes and melodies, by history. Each album was connected to a certain period and characters in history. For the fourth record, we decided to move away from this and do something more personal, especially with lyrics that were no longer connected to other people in history but more to personal experiences and feelings.

Okay, so does Abyss mark the start of a new chapter for the band?

Yeah, exactly.

And will it continue this way?

Yeah. So right now, we are planning to do another set of albums. Three albums with that kind of sound and also with themes that are more personal- From personal struggles and insecurities to empowerment. And to really transmit it in a way that people can connect to it through personal experiences.

You are also a member of The Dark Side of the Moon project. How did the idea of recreating famous movie and game soundtracks come about?

It started with a bet with Hans Platz, the guitarist. I had recorded for Feuerschwanz, and they released their video for “Ding,” the song that I sang on- Pretty much at the same time as we released, I don’t remember if it was Marching on Versailles or Unstoppable, and both videos were doing really well. Just for fun, we said, “First one that reaches one million views on YouTube wins.” Then Hans said, “Okay, but what do we win?” And I was like, “I don’t know.” And Hans said, “Okay, if I win, you record a song with me.” He had in mind this cover of a Game of Thrones song, which was Jenny of Oldstones. And he won, the Feuerschwanz video reached a million before the Ad Infinitum video. We recorded Jenny of Oldstones, and when we finished recording and mixing, I think the management and label heard it, and they thought, “Why not make an album?” And we were like, “Okay.”

Many fans describe your music as cinematic and powerful. Since we’re also talking about The Dark Side of the Moon, do you have any interest in writing for movies or games one day?

Yeah, that would be nice, actually. I would love to. I’ve already participated in a video game once, and this is something that I really love because it’s a different universe, but it’s still connected to my interests. I really love playing video games, and I spent a lot of time playing them when I was a teenager. So it’s a nice thing. And movies, of course, would be fantastic.

Do you have any favorite video game?

At the moment, I love Zelda. Yeah, I would say this is the one right now. Back when I was a teenager, I spent hours and hours playing World of Warcraft.

You often collaborate as a guest singer with other bands. Honestly, to me, you seem to be one of the most active metal musicians today. Do you ever find time just for yourself?

Sometimes. When I have free time, I still love to do some music-related things. I try to sometimes force myself to do something different. The good thing is that now I have a dog, and thanks to my dog, I go for walks in nature more often. Which is very, very good. I love watching series and movies, but I do spend a lot of time making music.

I imagine you receive a lot of collaboration offers. How do you decide which ones to accept?

That’s a good question. In the past, I often accepted every time I loved a song, I was like, “Okay, let’s do it.” Now I realize that I don’t have an infinite amount of time and energy. So most of the time, I really focus on Ad Infinitum, The Dark Side of the Moon, my own solo project, and if a friend has a project or a band that I really want to collaborate with. Unfortunately, I’ve had to decide to say no to a lot of projects at the moment because I realized I was saying yes, and then my schedule was fully booked, and it was too much for me. So now I really go with my heart, if I really, really want to, or if it’s a good friend. That’s how I choose at the moment.

Speaking of your project, you are releasing your first solo album at the beginning of next year. How do you feel about it, and what inspired you to create it?

Well, I’m very, very excited and a little bit nervous because it’s different from what I’ve released before. And that’s actually the reason why I wanted to do this, because I’ve been releasing metal songs for many years now, and it’s not all I am. I wanted to have the freedom to release something that’s metal, pop, rock, and something a little bit in between, without people being like, “Oh, this is strange.” Because this is an album that nobody asked for, it’s an album nobody expected. With Ad Infinitum, we have a certain sound and we’re a metal band, so we follow this path. But with this album, I’m really free to do whatever I want. There are a few surprises on this album, and I don’t know how metal fans will like them or not, but I think fans of music will think it’s a fun album.

This is your first headline tour with Ad Infinitum. How did you feel before it started, and how do you feel now after playing several shows?

Before it started, we felt a bit of pressure, because when we were a support band, we had less responsibility in terms of ticket sales and the show itself. But now that it’s our name on top of the list and it’s our turn to prove what we can do, of course there was a bit more pressure before starting the tour. Now that we’ve started, it feels really good because we see that there are a lot of people who want to see us live, who want to see us evolve, and who want to see what we do as a headliner. We’ve had fantastic shows so far, several sold-out ones, and this is an achievement that really makes us realize that we’ve come a long way since we started the band.

So, would you say that the biggest difference is that sense of responsibility?

I think so, yeah. At least for me personally, that’s how it feels. That we have a responsibility to deliver something and to prove ourselves.

Touring can be both exciting and exhausting, I believe. What helps you stay grounded and keep your voice in shape during long tours?

Health, sleep, and eating. For example, when I’m on tour, I feel like my body needs more fuel, so I eat more but try to eat healthy. I try to sleep as much as I need. And then, it’s the environment, for example, now we’re on tour with Tulip and Seven Spires, and there’s a good vibe, there are friendships, and this is also a big thing. It keeps the mood happy. I mean, it’s not something you can control, but we’re very lucky, I think.

And is it possible to get enough sleep on tour?

Sometimes it’s difficult, but I’m lucky because I can sleep easily. Sometimes it depends on the roads. If the roads are bumpy, you wake up. But no, I think it’s possible, especially now that we’re lucky enough to have a bigger crew who takes care of more things, so we have the possibility to relax a bit more.

What is something fans might be surprised to learn about you?

Oh. What is something? I don’t know. In which context?

In any context you want to share.

Oh. Okay, so… I had to choose at some point what I wanted to do as a career, and I originally planned to join the police. While being in the army before trying to enter the police academy, I realized that this would stop me from making music as much as I wanted. So I stopped there and changed to music as a professional career.