Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
King Buffalo, Dozer, Pelican, High Desert Queen, Blackwater Holylight, Howling Giant, Daevar, Bottenhavet, Moonstone, The Sword, Russian Circles — I mean, do I really need to say more here than the list of names. Desertfest Oslo 2026 will be the third edition of the Norwegian Desertfest installation, and one might accuse them of coming out of the gate swinging. Some of these — The Sword, Earthless, High Desert Queen, etc. — are being shared with Desertfest Berlin and Desertfest London, setting up the possibility of three weeks of touring at least for a few acts here. Then there’s King Buffalo, who I think are just spending their entire summer abroad next year. Not gonna complain about it if there’s a chance I can see them.
To that end, I was lucky enough to be invited to cover Desertfest Oslo last year and, unsurprisingly, I had a blast. Should I be so fortunate as to be invited again, I’ll go, but I’m not about to presume. Whether I’m there to see it or not has no bearing on the sickness of the lineup-thus-far, as you know, but still makes for a nice daydream.
They’ve got tickets on sale now, as per socials:
Let’s get this train running! 🔥
We’ve been so excited to share the first batch of bands coming to Oslo the 8th and 9th of May 2026.
From great geniuses of the genre, to guitar-wielding warlocks of the wasteland. From divine drop-d decibels, to new necromancers of nostalgic noise.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
First of all, this art frigging rules. Kuba Sokolski Illustration is apparently the party responsible for the look of Desertfest Berlin 2026, and I dig it. The colors, the theme, the implication of narrative in becoming part of something bigger than yourself. Oh yeah, and the first band announcements are pretty killer too.
Russian Circles, Hermano, The Sword, Acid King, King Buffalo, Truckfighters, Earthless, Crippled Black Phoenix, Pelican, Mother’s Cake, High Desert Queen, Zerre, and Dope Purple comprise the first cohort to join the lineup, and aside from having me at Acid King and King Buffalo — which, yeah; also Hermano — it’s good to see The Sword will take their reunion to Europe next Spring, and Truckfighters will likely be out supporting their new album, which is due around that time as well.
This won’t be nearly all of it, but it’s plenty and it’s a killer start. As with every year, I look forward to seeing how Desertfest and the European underground circuit will shape up for next Spring. Here’s the announce from social media:
BERLIN, THE DESERT IS CALLING! 🌌
We’re beyond stoked to drop the first wave for Desertfest Berlin 2026 // 14.-16. May 2026 – and it’s a riff-heavy ride straight into the void 🌙
Russian Circles will crush you with their cinematic post-metal soundscapes, while desert rock legends Hermano return with John Garcia at the helm. Texas riff titans The Sword are back to shake the ground, and the mighty Acid King keep the doom thick and smoky. King Buffalo invite you to drift away on cosmic psych grooves, while fuzzlords Truckfighters bring the Swedish desert storm with their first new album in 10 years.
Earthless will melt your mind with endless space jams, and Crippled Black Phoenix deliver apocalyptic rock full of grandeur. Expect instrumental heaviness from Chicago pioneers Pelican, plus wild progressive energy from Mother’s Cake. Adding Texan groove power from High Desert Queen, new wave of würzburgs thrash metal Zerre, and psych-doom freakouts from Taiwan’s Dope Purple – the storm is real.
If this line-up speaks to your soul – better grab your tickets now before they vanish into the haze:www.desertfest.de
DESERTFEST BERLIN 2026 14.-16. MAY 2026 COLUMBIA VENUES, BERLIN
⚡FIRST ANNOUNCEMENTS⚡ RUSSIAN CIRCLES HERMANO THE SWORD ACID KING KING BUFFALO TRUCKFIGHTERS EARTHLESS CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX PELICAN MOTHER’S CAKE HIGH DESERT QUEEN ZERRE DOPE PURPLE AND MANY MORE!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Surprise, here’s a new King Buffalo live record. Well, here’s the link to preorder one, anyhow. Well, the link will be active on Friday. So what’s this? An excuse for me to put on “Balrog” again, I guess? And notification of the existence of a thing? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Not to be confused with 2020’s Live at Freak Valley (discussed here), the impending sequel, Live at Freak Valley Vol. 2 — and here’s hoping they make it a trilogy at some point — will launch vinyl preorders this week in the test-press edition (pictured below) and others available direct from the band. I was there for this set (review here), and I’m glad it’s being released. By no means is it the band’s first live album, but if King Buffalo want to normalize putting out a bunch of records from the tours they do and that helps sustain the band, then as far as I’m concerned the more the merrier.
For the first time available on vinyl, our full 2023 Live at Freak Valley performance. These tracks have been mixed and mastered for vinyl and feature a completely different set from the 2019 version. NO SONGS REPEATED!
FVV2 Test Presses – Available this Friday at 12pm EST. Limited to 25, hand numbered, and ship immediately! They include a poly bag, a signed “thank you” from the band, a hand numbered insert, and an exclusive alt art poster.
FVV2 Deluxe Edition – Limited to 500 units and pressed to 12″ Puke Green vinyl. The Deluxe Edition includes a Gatefold Double LP with a hand numbered insert and polybag.
FVV2 Standard Edition – Limited to 1500 units and pressed to 12″ Metallic Silver vinyl. The Standard Edition includes a Gatefold Double LP and comes shrink wrapped.
27.6 – Deventer, NL @ Open Air 28.6 – Wiesbaden, DE @ SOL Sonic Ride 29.6 – Larz, DE @ Fusion Festival 30.6 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol 3.7 – Feldkich, AT @ Poolbar Festival 4.7 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse 5.7 – Donje Primislje, HR @ Bearstone Festival 7.7 – Athens, GR @ Floyd 8.7 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club 9.7 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape5 11.7 – Erfurt, DE @ Stoned From the Underground 30.7 – Tubingen, DE @ Waldbuhne 31.7 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza 1.8 – Munchen, DE @ Free & Easy 2.8 – Segrate, IT @ Magnolia Stone 5.8 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8 6.8 – Dortmund, DE @ Piano 8.8 – Kortrijk, BE @ Alcatraz Festival 9.8 – Moledo, PT @ Sonic Blast 11.8 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 12.8 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand 13.8 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla 14.8 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla 15.8 – London, UK @ The Garage 16.8 – Wasquehal, FR @ The Black Lab 17.8 – Carhaix, FR @ Motocultor Festival
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 11th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
To my limited knowledge, the first of the tour stops below to be announced was Bear Stone Festival in Croatia, and that was last November, just over four months ago. If another fest was earlier than that, fine. I think the point stands it was a while back. Not that I’ve been up at night wondering when King Buffalo would announce their summer plans — not that I… havent? — or anything, but I know this is a band with fans in no small part because I am one, so their doings are of interest either way, and my big question about the tour is if they’ll go supporting a new album.
If so, that announcement would probably also need to be pretty soon. King Buffalo aren’t slouches when it comes to getting word out ahead of a record, so unless they wanted to make a point of a surprise drop — which, on the off-chance that somebody from the band sees this, would be fun too and maybe save some time — one would expect a heads up well in advance, at least to the Bandcamp email list, which is where I got this tour announcement from.
You can see for yourself in the run, the lineup of festivals is like a festival lineup in itself the names are so killer. Of these, my plan is to see King Buffalo at Bear Stone Festival and I’ll consider myself lucky to do so. If you’ll see them here or there, no doubt you’ll share that sentiment:
**TOUR ANNOUNCE** More European dates are incoming but, here’s some to wet your whistle.
27.6 – Deventer, NL @ Open Air 28.6 – Wiesbaden, DE @ SOL Sonic Ride 29.6 – Larz, DE @ Fusion Festival 30.6 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol 3.7 – Feldkich, AT @ Poolbar Festival 4.7 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse 5.7 – Donje Primislje, HR @ Bearstone Festival 7.7 – Athens, GR @ Floyd 8.7 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club 9.7 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape5 11.7 – Erfurt, DE @ Stoned From the Underground 30.7 – Tubingen, DE @ Waldbuhne 31.7 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza 1.8 – Munchen, DE @ Free & Easy 2.8 – Segrate, IT @ Magnolia Stone 5.8 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8 6.8 – Dortmund, DE @ Piano 8.8 – Kortrijk, BE @ Alcatraz Festival 9.8 – Moledo, PT @ Sonic Blast 11.8 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 12.8 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand 13.8 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla 14.8 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla 15.8 – London, UK @ The Garage 16.8 – Wasquehal, FR @ The Black Lab 17.8 – Carhaix, FR @ Motocultor Festival
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Dayum. SonicBlast Fest came out hard with its first lineup announcement and things have only gotten more heartstirring since then. In a new round of 13 lineup adds, they bring King Woman, Messa, Monolord, King Buffalo, The Atomic Bitchwax, Daily Thompson, Vinnum Sabbathi, Castle Rat, Tō Yō, Witchthroat Serpent and more to the bill, and when you look at the rest of the poster and see Fu Manchu, My Sleeping Karma, Earthless, Slomosa, Gnoma, Daevar, Amenra, Emma Ruth Rundle and so on, yeah, fair to call it compelling, not that “weekend on the beach in Portugal” should be a hard sell on its own either.
And while you’re looking at the poster below, surely you’ll also note the part where it says there’s more to come. I don’t know that that’ll be another full round of 13 bands, but honestly, SonicBlast is always packed, so anything’s possible. I was there in 2023 and it was awesome. Great place, nice people, and I learned how to order espresso in Portuguese, which was a bonus. If you can get there, you should take a look, is all I’m saying. I even left the emojis intact.
The following comes from socials:
13 is the magic number 🔥🔥
We’re so thrilled to confirm 13 new bands for the great reunion of weight and psychedia that will once again – for the 13th time! – take place in August, on the already mythical Duna dos Caldeirões beach ⚡️🔥
King Woman, Monolord, Chalk, Ditz, King Buffalo, Messa, Castle Rat, Dead Ghosts, The Atomic Bitchwax, Witchthroat Serpent, Vinnum Sabbathi, Tō Yō, Daily Thompson will join us at our wild party ⚡️
King Woman Monolord Chalk Ditz King Buffalo Messa Castle Rat Dead Ghosts The Atomic Bitchwax Witchthroat Serpent Vinnum Sabbathi Tō Yō Daily Thompson
Tickets are already available at BOL and Masqueticket (links in bio)
If you’re in Portugal you can also buy your ticket at Fnac, Worten and Ctt stores
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 11th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
No question King Buffalo are among the US’ foremost heavy psychedelic rock bands. I’ll entertain suggestions if you have any for others to top them, but mostly because I can’t think of any names off the top of my head. If you were lucky enough to see them out with Parks from All Them Witches supporting on their recent tour, kudos. I caught them in Brooklyn (review here) at the start of the tour with Sun Voyager on the bill. The band they’ve become is, frankly, astonishing.
I could go on at some length with plaudits for their chemistry, aural heft and dynamic — sorry, but talking specifically about Dan Reynolds‘ basswork requires more space than the internet can hold — but I’ll spare you in the name of their likely being more to come from them in terms of summer tour dates. Note that these shows are booked with Route One (run by Ben Ward of Orange Goblin), Desertscene London, who do Desertfest London, and the esteemed Sound of Liberation, whose 20th anniversary party King Buffalo will also play in June, and the band have also been confirmed for Croatia’s Bear Stone Festival — see you there — and the long-running Stoned From the Underground in Germany on the first two weekends in July. To me this says a significant summer tour announcement is incoming.
You know what I’d like to go with it? Word of an album. King Buffalo don’t owe anybody anything after the ‘Pandemic Trilogy,’ but they’re not ones to rest on laurels, and if the December single “Balrog” was a herald, I’m ready for what’s coming. Fingers crossed for sometime soon.
And King Buffalo supported by The Atomic Bitchwax rules. Great pairing. From socials:
We are stoked to welcome NY heavy psych sires King Buffalo back for a full UK tour this Summer! Joining them will be very special guests – stoner fuzz lords The Atomic Bitchwax 💥
11th August 2025 – Nottingham – Rescue Rooms 12th August 2025 – Glasgow – Classic Grand 13th August 2025 – Manchester – Gorilla 14th August 2025 – Bristol – Thekla 15th August 2025 – London – The Garage
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 29th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
True, the first SOL Sonic Ride (info here) hasn’t happened yet, as European heavy booking company Sound of Liberation mark their 20th anniversary with a growing series of all-dayers, but this June in Wiesbaden, Germany, SOL Sonic Ride Part II will bring a fine sampling of touring acts to the proceedings, including King Buffalo, Brant Bjork Trio, the resurgent My Sleeping Karma, Valley of the Sun, Daily Thompson, The Machine and Einseinseins. Wait, that’s everybody. Well I guess it’s a pretty solid bill then.
Note that if you’re dividing the year into quarters — which is something I do around here every now and again; every couple months — this still only covers half of 2025. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there’s more to come before the year’s out. 20 years, especially 20 years booking heavy music in a time that’s seen the rise of the internet, a global pandemic, and unprecedented instability generally, is a triumph. They should have a party every weekend if that’s what they want. If it ends up being four throughout the rest of the year, well fucking earned.
From socials:
⚡️20 YEARS OF SOUND OF LIBERATION – SOL SONIC RIDE PART ll⚡️
Hey friends,
The celebration continues! 🪩
Join us for SOL SONIC RIDE PART II on June 28, 2025, as we mark two decades of heavy riffs with another epic festival day!
Expect mind-blowing performances from a killer lineup, including:
KING BUFFALO • BRANT BJORK TRIO MY SLEEPING KARMA • VALLEY OF THE SUN DAILY THOMPSON • THE MACHINE • EINSEINSEINS & more to be announced soon!
This time, we’re taking over Schlachthof Wiesbaden for a day packed with electrifying energy.
Posted in Reviews on January 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
First night of the tour, and the first of two nights in NYC for King Buffalo, who pick up more or less where they left off show-wise in December. They played Asbury Park in my beloved Garden State last month and a scheduling conflict had me elsewhere, so I knew I didn’t want to miss them this time. Also in December, the trio of guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Sean McVay, bassist/keyboardist Dan Reynolds and drummer Scott Donaldson posted “Balrog,” a new standalone single, which I took as a sign they’re beginning to move forward from the three-album cycle that has defined their last few years — 2022’s Regenerator (review here) and 2021’s Acheron (review here) and The Burden of Restlessness (review here) — and in addition to wanting to hear a new song live, wanting to hear songs from what fans have dubbed the ‘Pandemic Trilogy’ was a big factor in the decision to drive to TV Eye, which is buried so deep in Ridgewood that it almost feels like gatekeeping.
It took me less time to get there than when last I made the journey, which was a relief. I was enticed to leave the house early by the prospect of a couple hours’ writing time in the car — it’s time I’d have spent in traffic otherwise and just been stressed out to get here later — and no regrets. I get pretty anxious for going to shows these days anyhow. Most of the time, my solution to that is to not, which, though invariably cheaper, is probably not the correct answer, even if this venue just happens to be so deep in Ridgewood you’d have an easier time getting to the city by train from Connecticut.
May a two-band-max bill forever be the law of the land on weeknights. This being the first night of the tour — with Sun Voyager opening, no less; it’s been since Grim Reefer Fest in 2023 — it was something of an occasion, and though if all goes according to my evil plans for summer festivals, this wouldn’t be the only time I’d see the band in 2025, well, I’d been looking forward to seeing them in New York since I missed them in Asbury Park last month, and a month is even longer than it took me to drive to the venue, which is so deep in Ridgewood that dicks like me from Jersey call it “upstate.”
I have a million of ’em. Hang tight.
Doors were at 7:00, which to me spoke of an 8PM start. But I know I’m not the only person who likes these bands, so I went in at doors instead of hanging back, was the first one other than the sound guy and the bands setting up in the room. Fine. I said hi to Sun Voyager and some of King Buffalo’s expanding and loyal following, Bill Kerls and Amanda Jayne Vee, and others whose names I didn’t know but who knew each other. Found a spot on the floor to write, read, wait. The curtain was drawn, so not much to look at anyway. Sun Voyager went on at eight.
But not really. I don’t know what the deal was, but shit happens and sometimes it happens half an hour after you think it’s going to. I was up front for the duration, hanging out with a swath of good people local and otherwise. The two who had the horse masks on at the Slomosa show in Jersey were there, once again showcasing good taste. When Sun Voyager went on, it was with some new material, an extended take on “God is Dead” drawing from their 2022 self-titled (review here) and 2018’s Seismic Vibes (review here), “Caves of Steel” from the self-titled and some new material that showed how they’ve grown with bassist Stefan Mersch and guitarist Christian Lopez (also of Heavy Temple) both contributing vocals.
The band were set up on stage in a line with Lopez at stage right, Mersch in the middle and Kyle Beach pounding and swinging away stage left, providing outbound propulsion. Careening through the divide between hard driving psych and space rock, their groove was both well known to the crowd, subdued but appreciative on a Thursday, and welcomed, and Lopez was a blast on stage. No surprise there, I suppose, if you’ve watched him play a set on a given night, but a needed reminder that when you’re tearing holes in the galaxy with your 13th solo, you’re probably also having a really good time. I was having a good time watching it, I know, and now I have new Sun Voyager to look forward to, which I didn’t when I left the house to drive to TV EYE, which is so deep in Ridgewood something something blah blah okay I admit it I got nothing. But it sneakily got to be too long since I saw Sun Voyager and I was glad to rectify that in such face-liquefying style.
People were stoked for King Buffalo. This is a band with fans. They have inspired loyalty. A community is building right now, as we speak.. That’s not an inconsiderable achievement. I mean, yeah, people show up to shows for bands all the time, but I was up front before the band went on, and it was a deep passion on display as folks were swapping stories of past gigs — apparently Asbury was the best ever; so it goes — as they waited. The curtain parted eventually and the band came out and went into “Hours” and “Mercury,” both from Regenerator, for a mellower start ahead of “Grifter” from The Burden of Restlessness and “Shadows” from Acheron. Set-wise, I showed up for the Pandemic Trilogy, and I got it, plus the new song “Balrog” heralding an album in who-kn0ws-what state of completion, “Goliath Part 2” and a jammy stretched out “Kerosene” from 2016’s Orion (review here), “Eye of the Beholder” from 2018’s Longing to Be the Mountain (review here).
“Centurion” from the same record led into the closing pair of “The Knocks” and “Firmament.” It would have been hard to find two songs to better summarize the emotional catharsis between The Burden of Restlessness and Regenerator than those. “The Knocks” is intense and dug in, sharp in its stops and I hit my head on the monitor headbanging which I hadn’t done since seeing Lo-Pan at Roadburn 2014. It is the hardest, arguably the darkest place emotionally on any of those three records. “Firmament,” on the other hand, is the release, and the two are complementary in their builds and rhythm.
And what to say about King Buffalo at this point except they’re among the best the US has to offer in heavy psych and among the best heavy psych has to offer, period. McVay is a somewhat reluctant frontman, but a frontman nonetheless. He can shred, he can sing, he can play guitar and keyboard at the same time if the song calls for it. I don’t know what time Donaldson was playing in for “Grifter,” but I know I can still hear those three-in-a-row snare pops in my head. And Reynolds? Shit. King Buffalo have a lot going for them as a band, but the character and fluidity Dan Reynolds brings to their songs on bass is second to none. I mean it. Anytime you want to lock yourself into the vibe? Key in on Reynolds. He’s over there taking “Shadows” for a walk, dropping the bottom out from the floor in “Centurion,” and giving “Balrog” a little bit of funk, which you didn’t even know it needed but hell yes it absolutely did.
You know, the thing of it is, you can kind of imagine King Buffalo in it for the long haul. I mean, it’s already going on 12 years since their demo (review here) came out, and they’re established headliners. Among the best of the bands to have emerged in the heavy ’10s. But they don’t feel like they’re done growing, and they’re dedicated to what they do, both on stage and in the studio. Am I still going to be going to King Buffalo shows in 15 years? You can kind of imagine it. I look forward to what their future brings, in both the short and long term. That’s been the case all along.
I got home from Queens like 12:15, which wasn’t bad. Thanks to Scott and King Buffalo for having me out, to TV Eye for existing and hosting shows, to you for reading and to everyone I was talking to at the venue for being kind and welcoming. King Buffalo’s fanbase, as you likely know if you’re part of it, is full of sweethearts. May it continue to flourish. If you’re headed to night two, enjoy. As you may be aware, the venue’s pretty deep in Ridgewood.
