From Detroit, Michigan, Visitor gives us hard-hitting rock on their latest release "333." The guitars are charged like a bullet ready to fire out of the chamber and lead singer, Randy Gray is skillfully belting out lyric's, "laying it all out on the line."
We love the gritty, grunge tinged guitar solo two and a half minutes into the track; it chugs like a heavy steam engine grinding down the track.
Visitor is a four-piece rock band made up of members Randy Gray (lyrics and vocals), Steve Dombroski (guitar), Dustin Buckley (bass), and William Pierce (drums).
"333" is written from the eternal perspective of feeling someone or something watching over you, and being accepting of that presence. The lyrics discharge one's innermost enigmas in life looking for absolution from the angel in disguise. Lyrics like, "I've been pushed around, I've been so let down," "When I lay all of this on the line, its time for me to stop telling these lies," has Randy bathing his angel in disguise with honesty hoping to be absolved from his lies, and walk down a path guided in light, perhaps to the other side.
If you love heavy guitars, charged vocals, and dark auras, Visitor's "333," is your cup of tea. Just perhaps don't play it a 3:33 am, or do, it is your call.
Discover "333" here.
Hi Visitor! We are very intrigued by your latest hit "333." We most urgently want to ask you, have you seen a ghost and where do they normally hide (so we can avoid those places)? No, I’m totally answering this. When I was a kid I used to be terrified of those stairs in basements that had the open backs to them. Because ghosts can totally just swipe at your feet and take you out. Wherever those stairs are, THAT’S 100% where ghosts hide. Avoid them at all costs. In all seriousness, your new track is a skillfully constructed blend of gritty rock and roll that glides over you, every element you incorporate into "333" gives a chared performance. What overall feeling do you want to give to your listeners through your songs? Wow, thanks so much! That means a ton to hear. I think this was the first song that we completed as a band. When I (Steve) was writing the original guitar riff, I recorded it on my phone where every other song idea I have lives. When I finished it to send to the guys to write to, it was 3 minutes and 33 seconds long. I was at a point in my life where I was searching for change but didn’t really know where change would come from. If you look up the spiritual meaning of 333, it essentially means that ascended masters are guiding you on a path to find your inner truth.
When I explained that to the guys, this song came alive about how none of us are ever really alone. And that if we listen hard enough and pay attention enough, you always have someone or something watching over you and guiding the way. An angel in disguise, if you will.
Outside of that, each song has its own “thing” to it. If we can connect to people through our music and make them go “wow, they get me”, and they can enjoy the experience of the music, then we’ve done our job.
You're all from Detroit Michigan, how did the band start and where has your direction in sound gone to from where you started?
Most of us have been in a band with one another since we were kids. Band names have changed and line ups have been swapped out, but we’ve sort of just stayed together based on similar music styles.
Kids at our school were VERY into bands like 311 and Incubus growing up, so those bands were huge influences when we were younger. Hell, we used to do our own 311 day shows covering 20,30, or eventually 50 of their songs. Early on, you could absolutely tell that we were influenced by them if you listened to us.
As time went on though, and we all started to experience the real world in jobs and just life, the sound got heavier, more aggressive, and just grittier. Plus we all just got better at our instruments, which means we aren’t so one dimensional anymore.
What does the creative process look like for you as a group?
Usually, it starts with me (Steve) coming up with the initial guitar parts for a song. I’ll map out what I want to do for verses and choruses, and then make some decisions on pre-choruses, bridges, and that sort of thing. When I have a relatively completed initial idea, I’ll send it to the guys so that they can start working through some of their own ideas and be ready to chat through changes. We’ll usually then pound through it together as a group until we have a completed idea with a completed structure, guitar solos if they’re needed, breakdowns, and vocal melodies.
One thing that I’ll give Dustin a ton of credit for as a bassist, but also as an artist, is that he has this ability to take an initial idea I present to him and take it to a different level. He and I form a pretty damn good duo while writing together. After all that is done, Randy (our singer) will put lyrics to it and then add harmonies in the studio. At that point, any guitar melodies or other instrumental melody parts will usually be added at the end of the whole process. What's next for Visitor?
We’ve been putting out singles once a month during the pandemic to stay busy and get some momentum going. The state of the pandemic has certainly put a damper on that, but we’re plugging along.
We’ll have a few more singles to put out with this album and we’re also planning on a July 25th Album Release show if things pan out. Then, we want to get out there, play more shows regionally, build up our following, and use some of this momentum we’ve been able to get from the single releases we’ve done. Our bass player, Dustin, made a lyric video for our single Apollo Chaos, which is now over 20,000 views on YouTube. For us, that’s insane because no one really knows about us since we’ve purposely stayed away from playing shows until our first album was done.
After getting some larger shows under our belt, we’re back into the studio to record some of the songs we’ve been working on in quarantine. There’s a lot of anger and hurt out there right now, so there’s been quite a bit to write about and be inspired by. The music that will come out of this time we’re in should be some real and heavy-hitting stuff.