Dax Riggs | |
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Background information | |
Born | Evansville, Indiana, U.S. | October 15, 1973
Genres | Alternative rock, blues rock, swamp rock, indie rock, sludge metal |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1990–present |
Member of | Acid Bath |
Formerly of | Golgotha, Agents of Oblivion, Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets, Deadboy & the Elephantmen |
Dax David Riggs (born October 15, 1973) is an American musician, best known for fronting the sludge metal band Acid Bath in the 1990s. He has been a part of many projects since then, including Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. In 2007 he began releasing material under his own name.
Corruption was Riggs in his teens fronting a thrash metal band that played cover songs, though they never played a real gig. [1]
Golgotha was the sludge/thrash metal foundation of what would later become Acid Bath. The band released one demo, Wet Dreams of the Insane (1991), under that name before changing it. It featured Riggs as the lead vocalist, Mike Sanchez and Jerry "Boon" Businelli on guitar, Jimmy Kyle on drums, and Chad Pierce on bass.
Acid Bath was a seminal sludge metal band from southern Louisiana. The band was marked by an unusual blend of sludge metal, swamp blues, doom metal, hardcore punk and psychedelia. Singer Dax Riggs's voice could range from a guttural growl to a Roy Orbison-esque wail in mid-song. In the liner notes for their second album, Paegan Terrorism Tactics , the band thanked the ghost of Roy Orbison (as well as David Bowie) for his help in creating their sound. The band was also noted for Riggs's imaginative and distinctive lyrics which often featured themes of death and drugs.
Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets was a project of Riggs between 1995 and 1997. Only two Daisyhead recordings are known to exist: Skeletal Circus Derails , a six-song recording from 1995, and a self-titled 14-track album from 1997, where most of the songs are cut off before they end.
They also detail a point in Riggs' career when he struggled for life after Acid Bath, which disbanded following the death of bassist Audie Pitre in 1997.
Toward the end of Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets, Riggs was pushing for a more melodic sound, which materializes in his subsequent bands Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. That sound was first heard on the Daisyhead recordings.
Agents of Oblivion was the first of Riggs's post-Acid Bath projects to release any official recordings. The band first emerged with a five-song demo, featuring former Acid Bath guitarist Mike Sanchez on lead guitar. The demo included "Big Black Backwards", "Ash of the Mind", and other songs which would later appear on the band's 2000 self-titled debut. The album included the five demo songs in addition to "Riding the Wormhole", a new version of "The Skeletal Circus Derails", and a newer, faster version of Acid Bath's "Dead Girl". The album features a blend of spare, dark ballads interspersed with blues-based heavy metal, although the sound never reverts to the more aggressive stylings of Acid Bath. The band broke up after a short tour in support of the album.
Deadboy & the Elephantmen was Riggs's next band, active from 2000 until 2007. Initially a solo project, it later morphed into a full band before eventually settling on a two-piece lineup of Riggs and drummer Tessie Brunet. The band toured on many festivals with various bands, including Fiery Furnaces, Peaches, Eagles of Death Metal, Wolfmother and Heartless Bastards, and released albums on Fat Possum Records.
Riggs's solo project started out under the name T-Daks & His White Plastic Soul. Riggs performed a handful of live shows under that name, mostly performing acoustic. After the breakup of Deadboy & The Elephantmen in early 2007, he stated that he would release future albums under his own name. His first solo album, We Sing of Only Blood or Love, was released on Fat Possum Records in August 2007. [2] His second album, Say Goodnight to the World, was released on August 3, 2010 (also with Fat Possum Records). [3]
On October 15, 2024, it was announced Acid Bath would be playing at the Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas on April 12, 2025. [4] Along with returning original members (Riggs, Duet, and Sanchez), Zack Simmons (Goatwhore), and Alex Bergeron (ex-Agents of Oblivion) were announced on drums and bass respectively. [5]
Sludge metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, tuned down guitars and nihilistic lyrics discussing poverty, drug addiction and pollution.
Goatwhore is an American extreme metal band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1997.
Acid Bath is an American sludge metal band from Houma, Louisiana that was active from 1991 to 1997. Regarded as one of the first and most influential sludge metal bands, they combined a doom metal foundation with elements of hardcore punk, death metal, gothic rock, blues, and Southern rock to create their unique sound. The band broke up following the death of bassist Audie Pitre in a January 1997 traffic collision, but announced a reunion in October 2024.
Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists. Recently, Fat Possum has signed younger rock acts to its roster. The label has been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, The Observer, a Sundance Channel production, features on NPR, and a 2004 documentary, You See Me Laughin. Fat Possum also distributes the Hi Records catalog.
When the Kite String Pops is the debut studio album of American sludge metal band Acid Bath. Released on August 8, 1994, it is considered an underground classic and an early example of sludge metal. The album's artwork is a self-portrait made by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy while in prison awaiting execution.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist.
Deadboy & the Elephantmen was an American indie rock band active from 2000 to 2007. Based in Houma, Louisiana, the band was fronted by Dax Riggs.
We Are Night Sky is the second and final full-length album of Deadboy & the Elephantmen. It is also the first full-length album to feature drummer Tessie Brunet. It is the first of the three records contract with Fat Possum Records.
Mike Riggs is an American heavy metal guitarist. The highlights of his career include his work for Rob Zombie's solo albums and currently his skills as a guitarist, vocalist, and producer for Scum of the Earth, of which he is the only original band member.
Paegan Terrorism Tactics is the second and final studio album by American sludge metal band Acid Bath. It is the band's last album before their disbanding in 1997 due to the death of bassist Audie Pitre.
Marq Torien is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the hard rock act BulletBoys. He is the only member to have remained with the group since the release of their self-titled debut album in 1988.
Demos: 1993–1996 is a compilation of demos by American sludge metal band Acid Bath. It was released by Rotten Records in December 2005.
If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky is the debut album by Deadboy & the Elephantmen, fronted by Dax Riggs, formerly of Acid Bath and Agents of Oblivion. The album was re-released on February 5, 2008, under Dax Riggs's name only, and again in 2010 by Rotten Records, using the band's proper title. It features Dax Riggs, Jason Dupre (guitar), Christopher T. Gautreaux, Jeff LeCompte, and Kurt Westwood.
We Sing of Only Blood or Love is the debut solo album by American singer and songwriter Dax Riggs. It was slated to be the next Deadboy and the Elephantmen album before the band's dissolution. Riggs decided to release it under his own name on August 21, 2007. Matt Sweeney provided a combination of guitar, bass, piano, and backing vocals for all of the tracks, as well as producing the record.
Agents of Oblivion was an American rock band from Louisiana that evolved from Acid Bath. Fronted by Dax Riggs, their sound displayed influences from swamp rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, grunge and metal, among others.
Agents of Oblivion is the only album by American rock band Agents of Oblivion fronted by Dax Riggs, formerly of Acid Bath.
Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets Live is a 14-track live recording and the second recording by Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets. This album was recorded live by Andrew Oberste in 1997. This live recording includes a few songs that Dax has never revisited since, like: Ghost of a Ghost, The Skeletal Circus Derails, Riding the Wormhold and Winter Ritual. There are also a few covers included, David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and Iggy Pop's "Neighborhood Threat" being among them. Half of the song titles are unknown. It also contains perhaps the earliest recording of the "Deadboy & the Elephantmen Theme Song," which Riggs would eventually play when he formed a band by that name in late 2000.
Radio Edits 1, or simply Edits, was a remix album by American sludge metal band Acid Bath, released in September 1994 to radio stations only for promotional purposes. This album was not available to the general public and was an attempt to get the band more exposure. The four songs on this album were the most popular from the band's first full album, When the Kite String Pops, that were remixed and cleaned up to make them suitable for airing on the radio.
Say Goodnight to the World is a solo album by the American singer and songwriter Dax Riggs, released in 2010.
Tess Brunet is an American musician and producer, who has recorded and performed under the band names The Black Orchids, Au Ras Au Ras, Animal Electric, Generationals, and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. She began working in the lo-fi genre of underground rock, recording on portable cassette tape machines while living in New York City. Brunet has worked with various artists including Daniel Johnston, Lady Bo of Bo Diddley, Floating Action and Twin Tigers, to name a few. Brunet released her first solo albums under Animal Electric in 2008 and Au Ras Au Ras in 2011 and 2012. Tess currently performs and records with her band The Black Orchids. She has toured extensively in various bands since 2003 playing mostly drums and guitar. Tess owns and operates an independent record shop and DIY record label with her husband in south Louisiana.