https://www.facebook.com/visitormetaluk
Sounds like: Metal
From: United Kingdom
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? How did the name "Visitor" come about and is there any meaning to it?
Originally started out as a group of guys jamming in a room in the good old days where you actually played with real humans face to face! Sound was organically born from thrash influences and a sprinkling of rock giving melody. We're fairly unique because we go from very fast/heavy to melodic but without it sounding forced. Also most of the melody comes from the drummer Tim singing, which is a positive surprise for people new to Visitor at gigs! The name Visitor is referring to an aliens/extraterrestrial theme. We originally didn't lean too heavily into it, but in the last album and this new one, we're leaning more into it in terms of lyrical content, artwork and stage image.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Excitement, high energy, fun. We take ourselves seriously, but not too seriously and also want to show that music doesn't have to be contrived, it can still be fun.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
We say it's alien themed danger thrash, but with an injection of melody.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Almost impossible to pick three. Testament and The Haunted for thrash and would love to play with one of the Scandinavian melo death bands like Soilwork, At the Gates or similar. Meshuggah would also be a dream (although we sound nothing like them).
5. What's your thoughts on AI generated music?
We consider AI as a tool to enhance music and that's where it should remain. You could argue clever software has been doing stuff to music for decades, thinking about drum trigger/sound replacement, tuning vocals etc. We think fully AI generated music will get boring very quickly because it all sounds the same. For now - humans will continue to be creative.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
Metal has been a bit stale over the last few years. 10-15 years ago all the bands sounded the same (over processed/super edited tech/prog) but these days thankfully, more melody and hooks are creeping back into metal, which is very welcome! Old school thrash seems to be making a massive comeback too, which is odd and amazing at the same time!
7. What’s the current music scene like there in the UK?
It could be better for metal. Considering the UK is arguably the original home of metal (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden etc) - our unsigned/local scene these days is quite poor. Audiences are much better in mainland Europe. That said - there are a LOT of new metal bands coming out, so the scene will organically start to flourish.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
It's changed the music ecosystem completely and it's all our own fault, because most of us use these streaming services and love the flexibility as a consumer but we don't like the terrible compensation as a band. It's quite sad to see big metal bands having to have Twitch feeds or VIP passes at gigs to make additional income. Selling merch and physical media will compensate slightly, but it will never go back to how it was in our opinion. That said - the way that bands can now release their music without a record label is exciting.
9. What’s next for Visitor?
New album 'Extrasolar' drops on 6th September with our album launch gig on 7th Sep at Grand Central in Manchester, UK. We will then be pushing heavily for more gigs and looking to get booked onto festivals for next year. Keep an eye out for a mothership looming over a major city near you.
10. Any shoutouts?
Thanks to our alien overlords for giving us inspiration! Look to the skies!
