Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
KING BUFFALO will release their fourth EP, ‘Dead Star‘, on March 20th. Their most brazenly experimental offering to-date, ‘Dead Star‘ will self-release throughout North America and see European issue via Stickman Records.
Self-recorded in late 2019 and early 2020 by guitarist and vocalist Sean McVay, bassist Dan Reynolds, and drummer Scott Donaldson, ‘Dead Star‘ continues to push KING BUFFALO’s psychedelic aspects deep into the cosmic ether, and basks in elements of ambient drone, space rock, prog, mantra-style heavy and synthesizer soundtracking, as well as the bluesy, classic riffing and creative urgency that has underscored their particular style since their 2013 demo and 2016 debut album, ‘Orion‘. A depth of mix comes courtesy of Grant Husselman, while Bernie Matthews mastered.
“In the early stages of Dead Star, we made the decision to make a strong commitment to experimentation,” explains guitarist/vocalist Sean McVay. “From exploring different time signatures, tunings and textures, to tweaking the song writing processes themselves. We’re extremely proud of these recordings, and feel it’s some of our most ambitious work yet.“
‘Dead Star‘ continues the risk-taking that fueled ‘Repeater‘, honoring the core dynamic of KING BUFFALO as a band, while boldly introducing new ideas and sides of their sound to their audience. We have their first from ‘Dead Star‘ single, “Eta Carinae“, streaming below via Bandcamp, as well as a brand new video for “Red Star Pt. 2“.
‘Dead Star‘ Tracklist:
01. Red Star Pt. 1
02. Red Star Pt. 2
03. Echo of a Waning Star
04. Ecliptic
05. Eta Carinae
06. Dead Star
‘Dead Star‘ was written and recorded by KING BUFFALO in Rochester, NY at the Main Street Armory in December of 2019 and January 2020. Produced and engineered by Sean McVay, mixed by Grant Husselman, and mastered by Bernie Matthews. The artwork was created by Ryan T. Hancock with fonts by Mike Turzanski.
“These six songs deviate and expand on horizons that we as King Buffalo haven’t yet reached,” says drummer Scott Donaldson, who also handled the graphic layout of ‘Dead Star‘ with Ryan T. Hancock’s striking cover art. “It’s extremely exciting to make something familiar, but unlike anything we’ve previously done. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
The widely-hailed progressive heavy rock trio from Western New York have preorders available on their website now [HERE]. Pre-orders include a private stream of the title track from the six-song, 36-minute release.
All current tour dates as of this article date are posted below. They also have plans to tour Europe in the summer of 2020. I’m sure you can expect even more…
King Buffalo 2020 Tour Dates:
Mar. 19 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Mar. 20 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Mar. 21 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Mar. 26 Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
Mar. 27 Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo
Mar. 28 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
Mar. 29 Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre
Mar. 31 Calgary, AB @ Palomino
Apr. 02 Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Apr. 03 Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Apr. 04 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Apr. 05 – Portland, OR @ Lola’s Room
Apr. 07 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Apr. 08 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Apr. 10 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Apr. 11 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Apr. 13 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
Apr. 14 – St Louis, MO @ Duck Room
Apr. 15 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Apr. 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
Apr. 17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Apr. 18 – Syracuse, NY @ Funk N Waffles
Apr. 25 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig (w/ All Them Witches)
May 09 – Springfield, MO @ Mother’s Brewing
May 14 – Northampton, MA @ The Parlor Room
May 15 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
Jun. 05 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Jun. 11 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Elevation (w/ The Sword)
Jun. 12 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre (w/ The Sword)
Jun. 13 – Indianapolis, IN @ Vogue (w/ The Sword)
Jun. 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ The Sword)
Jun. 25 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place (w/ The Sword)
Jun. 26 – Ashbury Park, NJ @ Wonder Bar
Jun. 27 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
Jul. 01 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/ The Sword)
All tickets are available at www.kingbuffalo.com
KING BUFFALO
Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, Synth
Dan Reynolds – Bass, Synth
Scott Donaldson – Drums, Percussion
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