King Buffalo (USA - Psychedelic/Space Rock)

Hi everyone,

I’d like to suggest adding King Buffalo to the Psychedelic/Space Rock category.

They’re a trio from Rochester, NY, formed in 2013, and their music blends spacey textures with stoner heaviness and a strong progressive mindset. What I find most compelling about them is how their songs evolve — slow builds, atmospheric layers, and dynamic shifts that go way beyond traditional stoner or psych rock. Many tracks are over 8 minutes long and feel like journeys in themselves.

Their sound reminds me of a mix between Pink Floyd, Elder, and Electric Moon, but with a clear identity of their own. Each album feels conceptual and cohesive, and they’ve been really consistent in quality and evolution over the years.

Line-up:

• Sean McVay – guitar, vocals

• Dan Reynolds – bass

• Scott Donaldson – drums

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Discography:

• Orion (2016)

• Longing to Be the Mountain (2018)

• Dead Star [EP] (2020)

• The Burden of Restlessness (2021)

• Acheron (2021)

• Regenerator (2022)

Edited by dehachezeta - April 10 2025 at 10:37

Hi and thanks for the reply! Here’s a short bio and some listening links:

King Buffalo is a psychedelic/progressive rock trio from Rochester, NY, formed in 2013. Their sound blends hypnotic, atmospheric textures with heavy, fuzz-driven riffs and progressive song structures. Known for long, expansive tracks and conceptual albums, they have carved a space of their own in the modern psych/prog scene.
The band consists of Sean McVay (vocals/guitar), Dan Reynolds (bass), and Scott Donaldson (drums). Their influences include Pink Floyd, Tool, and Elder, and they’re often compared to acts like Electric Moon, My Sleeping Karma, and All Them Witches.
They’ve released six studio albums, many of which follow thematic arcs and feature evolving musical narratives — particularly The Burden of Restlessness (2021), Acheron (2021), and Regenerator (2022), which were released as a trilogy.

Dead Star Full Album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyAK1Y5SSAY

The Burden of Restlessness Full Album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGGBa90m844

Let me know if you need anything else, I’d be happy to provide more info!

Cheers!

Possible alternative AI and plagiarism-free biography for consideration:

KING BUFFALO is a heavy psych/stoner power trio based in Rochester, NY, which was initially formed as a four-piece in September 2013. Bassist Dan REYNOLDS and vocalist/guitarist Sean MCVAY had been playing together in another Rochester-based heavy psych/stoner band called ABANDONED BUILDINGS CLUB for a few years, and at the same time drummer Scott DONALDSON and another vocalist/guitarist named Randall COON were also part of the Rochester heavy psych/stoner scene in a band called VELVET ELVIS.

Both these projects had simultaneously started to fall apart for various reasons, and Scott needed to honor some prearranged VELVET ELVIS tour dates, so he asked if Dan and Sean of ABANDONED BUILDINGS CLUB could fill in for these gigs alongside himself and Randall COON. However, the four soon found themselves jamming and writing new material instead of knuckling down to learn the old VELVET ELVIS songs, and within a month they had recorded their first demo as KING BUFFALO, after which they immediately went on tour.

Shortly afterwards, second guitarist Randall COON moved away from Rochester to live in Philadelphia, leaving Scott, Dan and Sean to continue KING BUFFALO as a three-piece. Several splits and one-offs followed, and the band's impressive live show soon brought them International recognition. Approximately three years after its formation, KING BUFFALO self-released the debut full-length studio album 'Orion' - a powerful mix of heavy psych, blues, and stoner rock - on 15th March 2016.

A European tour to promote the album followed, along with several US tours with ELDER and ALL THEM WITCHES, before KING BUFFALO returned to the studio in late 2017 to begin work on their sophomore full-length release. A well-received EP called 'Repeater' was released to maintain fans' interest in the meantime, before 'Longing to Be the Mountain' finally hit the shelves on October 12, 2018 - as a self-released album in the USA, and with Stickman Records taking care of matters in Europe.

An EP called 'Dead Star' was then released in March 2020, but the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic forced the band to postpone or cancel all of its forthcoming shows scheduled for later in the year. After a couple months, they found that they were able to start meeting up again at a safe distance in their large studio and rehearsal space, and decided that since they couldn't tour, they'd start writing again. Before long had accumulated over four hours' worth of new ideas, which were subsequently edited down to leave sufficient material to fill three LPs. The writing and pre-production was done during 2020 and early 2021, and the band announced that they would release all three albums in 2021 as a special 'pandemic trilogy'.

Parts one and two of the trilogy, 'The Burden of Restlessness' and 'Acheron', were indeed released on June 4th and December 3rd 2021 respectively, but the pandemic-induced delays meant that the release of the final part 'Regenerator' had to be put back until September 2nd, 2022. All three albums were self-released in the USA, with Stickman Records once again making the albums available in Europe.

The band returned to live performances following the pandemic in late 2021 supporting US stoner rock band CLUTCH on their '30 Years of Rock & Roll' tour, followed by a full North American tour with English doom metal band UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS in the spring of 2022, and a subsequent UK and European tour which included festival appearances in several countries.