Melissa Ann VanFleet is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her debut project Ode To The Dark was recorded with the team behind Italian gothicmetal band Lacuna Coil's 2016 album Delirium and released to underground critical acclaim on October 13, 2018. She has garnered attention among the heavy metal music community for her piano cover version of American heavy metal band W.A.S.P.'s song "Sleeping " on YouTube and acoustic 2015 LP Metal Lullabies. She has toured internationally and appeared on the Full Metal Cruise II presented by Wacken.
Early life
Melissa VanFleet was born February 8, 1986 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She sang her first solo when she was in third grade and completed her first studio recording at the age of 12. As a child, she wrote poetry and lyrics as a form of therapy to help deal with complications of having a parent with a chronic illness. VanFleet is a self-taught vocalist and pianist. She is also a trained dancer in all styles. She has said that being a ballerina instilled in her an appreciation for classical music and cites Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as a major influence.
Career
VanFleet recorded a piano cover version of American heavy metal band W.A.S.P.'s ballad "Sleeping " in 2012. She originally recorded the cover as a birthday present for her dad and then posted the video on YouTube. VanFleet has received acclaim from present and past members of W.A.S.P., including co-founder and original guitarist Randy Piper and present lead guitarist Doug Blair. In 2013 and 2014, VanFleet performed at various venues including Musikfest in her hometown of Bethlehem, House of Vans in Brooklyn, New York, Webster Hall, The Cutting Room and had several long-term residencies at Hard Rock CafePhiladelphia. She began working with booking and management company Noisegate Productions, based in Germany. She debuted as the vocalist of dark alternative duo COPPÉLIA at the Trocadero Theatre in September 2014. In April 2015, VanFleet went on tour in Spain. She also performed on the Full Metal Cruise II, presented by German music promoter Wacken, alongside Blaze Bayley, DORO, HammerFall, Axxis and more. Her acoustic LP Metal Lullabies was released on August 19, 2015. She performed at Musikfest in August 2015 to promote the album release and was named #1 of "7 Stellar Acts at Martin Guitar Lyrikplatz." In 2016, VanFleet revealed to Ultimate Guitar that she was collaborating on a project with Scott Rockenfield of Queensrÿche and Nick Douglas of DORO. In February 2017, VanFleet recorded at BRX Studio in Milan, Italy with the team behind Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil's 2016 album Delirium – producer/bassist Marco Coti Zelati with engineers Marco Barusso, Dario Valentini and Marco D'Agostino – and her debut single "Raven," featuring Doug Blair of W.A.S.P. on lead guitar, was released on October 13, 2017. A visual teaser trailer was published to YouTube on October 6, 2017 to promote the single. VanFleet recorded a live piano version of "Raven" as part of an exclusive for Rock Rebel Magazine in March 2018. In February 2018, VanFleet revealed plans of a forthcoming EP during an interview on the Emptyspiral podcast. On October 6, 2018, three promotional visual teaser trailers were published to YouTube and VanFleet released the projectOde To The Dark to underground critical acclaim on October 13, 2018. In May 2019, VanFleet was featured as a guest vocalist on a song titled "Nemesis" by Italian symphonic death metal band Genus Ordinis Dei. The single was released via Eclipse Records on May 24, 2019 and the music video debuted on May 28, 2019. In July 2019, VanFleet accompanied Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil on piano during an intimate acoustic segment of the band's two sold out shows at the Gramercy Theatre in New York. When asked about VanFleet's involvement during an interview with hardDrive Radio, Scabbia said, "It all started because Marco, our bass player, produced her record and that's when we met her in Milano. When we thought about a piano version of the songs and an acoustic part of the 119 Shows in New York, we immediately thought about her. We asked her and she was super excited because she has been a Lacuna Coil fan and we had a great time. We rehearsed for the first time the same day as the first show but everything went amazing."
