Buffalo Killers

Cincinnati outfit Buffalo Killers blend hard rock, loose-limbed boogie, psychedelia, and early heavy metal into music that wanders yet hits with force, yielding tracks suited to stoners rather than qualifying strictly as a stoner rock act. The group formed at the beginning of 2006 once guitarists Andrew Gabbard and bassist Zachary Gabbard chose to dissolve their earlier combo, Thee Shams, a forceful garage rock band shaped by the Rolling Stones. Mere months after Thee Shams ended, the Gabbard brothers teamed with drummer Joseph Sebaali—who had briefly handled keyboards for Thee Shams—to pursue an alternate path under the Buffalo Killers name. They promptly tracked their self-titled debut at John Curley's Ultrasuede Studios, securing a release through Bomp-distributed Alive Records by autumn 2006. Critics in the indie rock world responded with strong praise, prompting the band to promote the record through extensive touring. Their follow-up, Let It Ride, arrived in 2008. Following opening slots for the Black Crowes and the Black Keys, the trio reentered the studio for 3, issued in August 2011. Their fourth full-length, Dig. Sow. Love. Grow., came out the next year. Six-song EP Ohio Grass surfaced on vinyl during spring 2013 before gaining a bonus studio cut plus three live recordings for a summer CD edition. Adding guitarist and lap steel player Sven Kahns as a fourth member, they delivered the Jim Wirt-produced Heavy Reverie in May 2014. After supporting the album on the road, Buffalo Killers headed back into the studio and issued another six-song EP, Fireball of Sulk, before year's end. Once they completed their own analog facility, Howler Hills Farm, the band utilized it to capture 2017's Alive and Well in Ohio.