“We didn’t want to disappear right after our first release” – interview with Adrian Thessenvitz of Ad Infinitum about ‘Chapter I Revisited’

Ad Infinitum conjured a new spell, transforming their debut album, Chapter I: Monarchy into an enchanting acoustic reimagination. The quartet brought to life back in 2018 rapidly made its way straight into the hearts of the symphonic metal community and even beyond! Chapter I Revisited is a really special version of their first full-length, looks back on this successful path, and opens the gates for everything which is about to come. These ten acoustic songs carrying the listener on gentle wings into a dream-world of soothing acoustic soundscapes – we had the pleasured opportunity to talk about it with the guitarist, Adrian.

“I’m fine because my days are pretty packed with planning, recording, writing, teaching, and organizing the shipment of our winter t-shirt design. I like it when there’s some work to do!” – he opened the conversation then we dived into the new material and experiences. First of all, we were curious about the most memorable moments during those two years. “Hm… Each time we see each other is very memorable. But one of the coolest things happened in Madrid two years ago when we had our first photoshoot. It was one of the hottest days of the year, and we had to experience this in Spain. So, after that shooting, we were driving to one of our hosts and we jumped into their swimming pool in the middle of the night. I can tell we needed that!

The biggest challenge is also a big advantage because we live in different places and countries. So, every time we see each other, we are working really hard.

For example when we recorded the live show in Cologne: we had one day for rehearsal and two days for recording the live show and producing several other videos and having a photoshoot.“

Adn what was the inspiration behind Chapter I: Monarchy? “For me, as a guitarist, I was inspired the most by the pre-production” – he added. “It was so dark and had some serious goth-vibes and this mixture with the historic lyrics really caught me. We all knew that this is going to be something big.” Our next question was pretty simple: when and why did the idea come up that they want to do an acoustic version of their debut album? “Right after the release, we read the reviews and they were all very positive about the two acoustic tracks at the end of the deluxe version. At the same time, our tours got postponed and we didn’t want to disappear right after our first release. So, we had to think of something and we decided to turn the whole album into an acoustic version.“

“We had an interesting time during the recording of the album. I think that I can speak for every band member, that we all were extremely nervous, even shaky, because of the high expectations of our producer. But yeah, that’s how you get a nice album.“
Fun facts about “Chapter I Revisited”

And how much was it different to re-do the acoustic versions than to record new music? “The plan was clear: I had the single tracks of each song and I had to think of something about how to arrange the orchestrations for guitars. It turned out pretty well, but it was a lot of work. It took me about three months to record just the guitars. But everybody in the band was very creative with this. Especially Melissa and Nik had very cool ideas to give our songs a new touch.” So, what about the teamwork? “It’s pretty uncomplicated. We can agree on every decision. And we all have the will and time to push Ad Infinitum with all we got.”

Of course, the pandemic also affected the works on the acoustic record. “Well, it turned everything upside down” – Adrian highlighted. “Tours got canceled, and we don’t know when we can finally start to play live. But we are very creative and productive, and we make the best out of this situation.” And is a new album on the horizon? “Yes, there are already time schedules and some song ideas. But it’s too early to be more specific.”

“We are very excited about the feedback of our fans regarding our acoustic album! It was a lot of fun to produce this, and we can’t wait to show you all! Thank you very much for your patience and your support – we can’t wait to play for all of you! And it’ll be worth the wait! A lot of things will be announced in the near future!“
Adrian’s message to the fans

Chapter I Revisited release date: December 4th, 2020.

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