Her infusion of bluesy, hard rock vibes into the music gives these tracks a distinct edge. Melissa's spectacular voice adds to the latter's appeal, with her beautiful, velvety lower-register shining through in tracks like "Somewhere Better" and "Ravenous". Other aspects of Chapter III – Downfall are more conventional, such as the uptempo, high-energy rhythms that dominate most of the songs, the interplay between electronic samples and bombastic orchestrations, and the poppy vocal hooks that inevitably take hold of the choruses. The collision between these djent aesthetics and more traditional, melodic metal influences is one of the album's most intriguing aspects, placing it in a timeless space between 1980s/90s hard rock and the contemporary modern metal of bands such as Within Temptation and Delain.
The chugging djenty breakdowns that surface in most tracks add further grit, as do Melissa's occasional alternations between snarly growls and sweet, clean singing. The guitars possess serious bite, both when they produce first-class riffage and when they venture into well-constructed melodic leads and solos (as in "The Underworld"). The album's twelve songs boast a significant amount of substance. While the band operates within well-trodden sonic coordinates, evoking streamlined songwriting and poppy contaminations akin to many modern metal bands, Melissa and her three bandmates eschew the lazy approach of crafting songs that are merely cute chorus singalongs. In fact, this delicate balance between catchiness and substance is where Ad Infinitum’s considerable class is most apparent. It is a solid release that plays to the strengths of the band’s singer with tons of massive vocal hooks, but also packs a solid metallic punch that will satisfy listeners who may be less ear-candy-inclined.
Formed as a vehicle for the exquisite and eclectic voice of Melissa Bonny, the Swiss/German band has just released their third full-length, Chapter III – Downfall, on Napalm Records. In such a demanding landscape, talent can make a real difference between success and oblivion - which is precisely what keeps Ad Infinitum at the forefront of the pack. Female-fronted symphonic metal is a crowded genre, where a myriad of different bands experiment with a relatively narrow range of influences and aesthetics.
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