The Impassioned Power Metal of Bad Marilyn

BAD MARILYN • 2024
📸 Alexandra Hauser

The Impassioned Power Metal of Bad Marilyn

Based out of Switzerland, Bad Marilyn present inspiring female-fronted power metal in its finest hour.  Their latest album is entitled Eye Of The Snake, featuring their absolutely stunning new single entitled Children of Tomorrow. They’ve opened for the likes of Crystal Ball and Black Diamonds, and are primed and ready to present their music to an entire world!  Highwire Daze recently caught up with keyboardist Andri Leonardo to find out more about this thrilling new band on the rise.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Bad Marilyn, and how long the band has been together.
My name is Andri Leonardo, I am the keyboardist for Bad Marilyn. We started out in 2021, during the pandemic. The current line-up has been together since 2023.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We are based in Wangen an der Aare, Switzerland. The metal music scene is quite big in Switzerland. But you can find all kinds of genres here.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Eye Of The Snake?
Someone’s always watching you. And I don’t mean the state by no means. But in daily life, whatever you do, someone is watching. If you think about it, it makes you wonder about your personal integrity and how you portray it to the outside. Are your actions true to the things you say? Think about it.

Artwork • “Eye Of The Snake”
🎨 Stan Decker

Select two songs from Eye Of The Snake and what inspired the lyrics?
“Children of tomorrow”; it kind of refers to the previous question. Are you doing what it takes to create a good tomorrow for our children? A world with less struggle and pain? That was the inspiration behind the song. I definitely want to make things better so that the next generations don’t have to struggle as much as we did and live a better life.

“Perfect moment”; Sometimes we wait for things to be perfect before we make a move. Truth is, things will never be perfect and that moment will not arrive. One should just go ahead and do it, and you will see that you will create the perfect moment out of that. That’s how life works. Be bold and go for it and you will have nothing but perfect moments happening.

Who produced Eye Of The Snake and what was it like working with them?
Dennis Ward produced our album. It was a great experience working with him, watching him do his thing and see the songs prosper and become bigger than the visions we had when we wrote them. It is a great blessing to be able to work with a producer who has years of experience and improves your songs. It was also a great learning process for me personally and I am very thankful for it.

Your guitarist Sammy Lasagni has been involved with notable bands such as Godiva, Panorama, and Gods Of Silence. How did he become involved with Bad Marilyn?
Sammy and I have known each other for over 20 years, though we never actually played together. In early 2021 he called me up and asked me if I wanted to join his newest project. I was intrigued and after thinking about it for a couple of weeks I said yes. It turns out that he and I work together well. We have this mutual understanding of music and how it should sound. He is a great asset to my writing and we can feed off of each other. I enjoy working with him a lot

What could one expect from a live Bad Marilyn show?
Fun. Pure fun. It is called “playing” music and the word playing implies nothing but having fun. You never played anything in your life if you didn’t have fun doing so. That’s what we wanna bring across, an evening of fun for both of us, the audience and the band.

Has Bad Marilyn ever played here in the States or is that something you would like to do in future days? If so, what was the experience like?
I used to live in the US (Boston and LA) for a long time and played live gigs with my own band Devas and several other artists. I still visit a lot and have my connections. It is therefore very likely that sooner or later we will be playing in the States.

I love American audiences. They’re honest and straight to the point. So you know the feedback you get is true. I appreciate that over fake feedbacks. I am definitely looking forward to playing there again.

BAD MARILYN • 2024
📸 Alexandra Hauser

What was the experience like opening for Crystal Ball and did you get the meet or hang out with them at all?
They are all great musicians and fun to hang out with. We did get to hang with them backstage. Sammy has known the guys for years and so there was no ice to break. It was a good experience to open for them and warm up the audience. We were also welcomed by their fans and that made the whole show special.

Another terrific band you opened for was Black Diamonds. How did that show go and what were some of the highlights?
Again great musicians with years of experience. It was as if we’d known each other forever. I enjoyed their show very much, great songs, very entertaining and exactly what I hope for when I go to see an band: fun! It was a double headlining evening and we were very excited to rock the crowd.

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of Bad Marilyn?
I have my own band Devas, a prog rock band. It has been dormant for some time, but we are finishing our sophomore album hopefully this year, if not then next spring. It’s a bit different and more experimental than Bad Marilyn. I kinda need this as musical counterweight. In Devas I am the front man on vocals and I enjoy that it is different on many levels for me.

What’s up next for Bad Marilyn?
More shows, more video productions and starting up the writing process for the next album. You can never be too early with that. I have many new ideas for songs and I am sure the others do too. So I am looking forward to working with the guys and engage in a new creative process.

Any final words of wisdom?
Don’t give up, whatever you do. Create the perfect moment yourself and rock on!

LINE-UP:
Andrea Raffaela • Vocals
Sammy Lasagni • Guitars
David Craffonara • Bass
Andri Leonardo • Keys
Armin Schöpfer • Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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