King Buffalo: Live Review-Orion

I recently had the chance to catch up with our brothers from Rochester, New York, King Buffalo at Pittsburgh's own Club Cafe. Freeing myself from the mundane activities of a Tuesday evening for the enigmatic efforts of the New York natives I was treated to live cuts off of their freshman LP entitled Orion. A name fitting the spacey and psychedelic aura that has enshrined the trio since the falling of their 2013 Demo EP. If you have yet to spin said demo, do yourself a favor, scroll back a few words and click the link. Tunes like Pocket Full of Knife and Providence Eye don't just fall into your lap every day. The dreamy licks and spiraling rhythmic swirl of Providence Eye where near masterpiece material. Any fan of heavy psychedelia won't need too many spins to find that Orion is up to the task of satisfying those moist ears.

Orion delivers a psychedelic-punch that few modern day rock bands can deliver. Throughout the evening the Pittsburgh fans enjoyed Sean's guitar devotion and distortion pedal mastery which evoked a by-gone era of guitar virtuosos. Sure, there are tons of excellent guitar players out there, many that can incorporate the very same things with the right amount of distortion, but Sean and King Buffalo just let it come from the heart... and that my friends it what sets them apart. Scott and Dan's work pulse through the bodies very fibers, raising the hair on the sonically intoxicated listeners. Soaring higher, Orion's sub-structure of songs melds and fuses with one another building into an euphoric frenzy that complete the record. Subsequent listens only allow the listener to realize the immense growth King Buffalo have achieved throughout these recent years. Not only is it apparent throughout Orion, but even more so during a live set.

Orion is due out August 5th and can be purchased here. Pick up a copy and immerse your auditory cortex in King Buffalo's space-blues caravan or catch them on tour!

Members:
Scott Donaldson - Drums // Vocals
Sean McVay "Uranium Jesus" - Guitar // Synth // Lead Vocals
Dan Reynolds - Bass // Synth



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LP Review: Perceptionism by Violence of the Sun

Italy has an amazing collection of heavy bands on the current scene, each with their own distinct sound and masters of their art, and yet another one is being added to the long list, covering stoner, fuzz, psychedelia, sludge and doom, Giulianova’s Violence of the Sun. This is technically the band’s first full length proper as their first (III Times) is a collection of their first three Eps, and it is an almighty impressive listen.

Growing from a duo to four members shortly after inception, the band have grown from strength to strength throughout their early Eps, so that the beauty that is Perceptionism can sound as mighty as it does, easily flicking between heavy guzzling fuzz, to swathes of stoner hazed doom with unbridled ease and excitement. The record doesn’t so much explode into life as gradually build a setting to get you nice a comfortable before ‘Earth’ finally hits you where it hurts and the psychedelic vocals are overtaken with anger and passion that transcends into the guitars and drums, letting all hazy hell loose. The vocals express a raw power which reflects a passion and disparity that cannot be faked; these guys are the real deal. As soon as the passion of ‘Earth’ ends, the Fu Manchu-esqe ‘Feeding The Dolls’ sets you off chugging down the highway into many a desert stoners’ dream outing, lots of driving riffs, songs about friends and good times, while ‘Cathedral of Hate’ carries the weight of fellow countrymen Black Rainbows heavily on their shoulders as the thick layers of fuzz come strangling out of the speakers to delight the heaviest of souls.

Throughout the rest of the record, the guys show just exactly what’s in their locker, with ‘The Devil’s Bell Rings Again’ being a one-part party anthem, and the other part a break-down of deep country blues and despair, ‘Bleeding Cake’ takes on a much darker and sludgier tone than what has gone before it, showing the band’s anguish and embittered hearts, which is also echoed as the record ends, with ‘Golden Sapphire’ mixing dark psychedelia before bestowing aggressive vocals, and unleashing a killer riff to bring the song to a close.

To put it bluntly, these four Italians (Andrea Elkhaloufi, Francesco Pacifici, Mattia Maiorani, and Gigi Di Giacomo) are some damn talented motherfuckers who’ve crafted a record which will appeal to all readers of this blog. If the Italians are indeed going to be taking over this whole scene, perhaps it is the best thing that has happened to us in years! Happy listening!

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