Acid Bath
Encyclopedia
Acid Bath was a seminal American
sludge metal
band from Houma
, Louisiana
that was active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined doom metal
roots with influences from black metal
, death metal
, gothic rock
, blues
, folk
, and country
. In a Pit Magazine interview, vocalist Dax Riggs
classified their sound as "death rock" (referring to death as a dominant lyrical theme, rather than deathrock
), and also classified the band's music as a blending of stoner metal and doom metal. In another interview, guitarist Sammy Duet described their sound as "gothic hardcore".
, Mike Sanchez, Chris Vicknair, Jimmy Kyle, and Jerry "Boon" Bushinell. Tommy Viator was later replaced by Jimmy Kyle. Joseph J. Fontenot was the bassist for a short period of time and so was Hans van den Aardweg. Tommy Viator and Joseph Fontenot were also members of Audie's band Shrüm
.
Acid Bath was formed in 1991. The band was based south of New Orleans in several small towns including Houma
, Thibodaux
, Morgan City
and Galliano
. Influenced by thrash metal
as well as bands and artists such as Black Sabbath
, David Bowie
, Alice Cooper
, Celtic Frost
, Carcass
and Darkthrone
, they recorded their demo Hymns of the Needle Freak with their manager and producer Keith Falgout in 1993. The strength of the demo earned them a deal with an independent label. They released When the Kite String Pops
produced by Spike Cassidy in 1994, followed two years later by their second and final effort Paegan Terrorism Tactics
(also produced by Keith Falgout). Neither gained them mainstream success by any means, but both albums earned a high degree of underground acclaim. In 2005, another album composed of their demos, Demos: 1993 - 1996, was released.
ist Audie Pitre
and his parents were killed by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign.
While rumors of another album circulated after the band's end, nothing new surfaced. The supposed album was named "Killer Rat Poison". Tommy Viator played keyboards on this album. Sammy Duet has only given out copies to a few close friends because he used some of the riffs for Goatwhore's earlier material.
Dax Riggs
and Mike Sanchez went on to perform in the band Agents of Oblivion
, releasing one self-titled album in 2000 and disbanding shortly thereafter. Starting in 2000, Riggs was also the frontman for the swamp rock band Deadboy & the Elephantmen
, before he began releasing material under his own name in 2007. Sammy Pierre Duet was once a member of Crowbar, but has since left the band. He is now a member of the blackened death metal band Goatwhore
and Ritual Killer and his doom metal
band with Kelly Pitre (the brother of Audie) Vual. Sammy Duet has remained an open satanist since his days in Acid Bath. Audie formed a unique metal band in 1995, blending black metal
vocals with the heavy sound of two bassists with no guitars, known as Shrüm. Shrüm utilized one bass guitar with distortion with the other being clean.
-influenced sludge metal
with a mixture of death growls and melancholic goth
/grunge
-style vocals and acoustic guitar passages, as well as use of sampling
and the spoken word
poetry. The band sampled sound clips from controversial movies including Blue Velvet and A Clockwork Orange
. Dax Riggs' vocals were processed, which produced an industrial
feel; some other instruments have been processed through industrial effects in their recordings (such as the snare drum on the second half of "New Death Sensation"). One of Acid Bath's most trademark sounds was the way in which they crafted multiple tempo
changes and worked them into the song structure. Their experimentation drifted into diverse territory. The song "Scream of the Butterfly" is an acoustic blues
song with the drummer utilizing double bass drum patterns toward the end of the song. The song "The Bones of Baby Dolls" experiments with folk
musicianship, and the song "Dead Girl" is a country
song and was described as such by Dax Riggs.
Dax Riggs' lyrics are frequently poetic, oftentimes displaying an obsession with death, drug use, mental illness, dark humor, Louisiana-based regional culture, and continuous references to animism
as well as paganism, nihilism, and misanthropy. He has claimed these inspirations are culled from comic books, namely those authored by Frank Miller
, Alan Moore
, and Clive Barker
, and has also expressed admiration for ANSWER Me!
and Boiled Angel
. Allmusic's William York has stated that the song "Venus Blue" could have been a radio hit "if not for the graphic lyrics". Another facet of their presentation which may not have endeared them to popular sentiment was the use of art by John Wayne Gacy
and Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Due to the controversy surrounding Kevorkian's artwork on the album, Paegan Terrorism Tactics
was initially banned from Australia. The ban has since been lifted.
Despite only releasing two albums, as well as a number of radio edits and an official bootleg DVD, Acid Bath have gained a strong underground following (especially in Louisiana
) owing to the unique, experimental nature of their music.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
band from Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
that was active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
roots with influences from black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
, death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. In a Pit Magazine interview, vocalist Dax Riggs
Dax Riggs
Dax David Riggs , is an American musician from Houma, Louisiana, most well known for formerly fronting the sludge band Acid Bath in the 1990s. Dax 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...
classified their sound as "death rock" (referring to death as a dominant lyrical theme, rather than deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
), and also classified the band's music as a blending of stoner metal and doom metal. In another interview, guitarist Sammy Duet described their sound as "gothic hardcore".
Biography
Acid Bath was an incarnation of two bands, Dark Karnival which featured Audie Pitre, Sammy "Pierre" Duet, and Tommy Viator, and Golgotha which featured Dax RiggsDax Riggs
Dax David Riggs , is an American musician from Houma, Louisiana, most well known for formerly fronting the sludge band Acid Bath in the 1990s. Dax 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...
, Mike Sanchez, Chris Vicknair, Jimmy Kyle, and Jerry "Boon" Bushinell. Tommy Viator was later replaced by Jimmy Kyle. Joseph J. Fontenot was the bassist for a short period of time and so was Hans van den Aardweg. Tommy Viator and Joseph Fontenot were also members of Audie's band Shrüm
Audie Pitre
Audie Thomas Pitre was an accomplished bass guitarist. He also added back-up vocals in Acid Bath and formed another band known as Shrüm . Pitre formed Shrüm with the idea to have two bass players, himself and Joseph J...
.
Acid Bath was formed in 1991. The band was based south of New Orleans in several small towns including Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
, Thibodaux
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
, Morgan City
Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....
and Galliano
Galliano, Louisiana
Galliano is a census-designated place on the Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 7,356...
. Influenced by thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
as well as bands and artists such as Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
, Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
and Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
, they recorded their demo Hymns of the Needle Freak with their manager and producer Keith Falgout in 1993. The strength of the demo earned them a deal with an independent label. They released When the Kite String Pops
When the Kite String Pops
Side TwoTrack 14 contains samples from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, as well as the 1986 David Lynch film Blue Velvet.-Acid Bath:*Dax Riggs – Vocals*Mike Sanchez – Guitar*Sammy "Pierre" Duet – Guitar, Backing Vocals...
produced by Spike Cassidy in 1994, followed two years later by their second and final effort Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Track 1 is listed in the liner notes as "Pagan Love Song".Track 12 is sometimes mislabeled as "Ode of the Paegan".The length of Track 11 including the hidden track is 24:08.-Acid Bath:*Dax Riggs - Vocals*Mike Sanchez - Guitar...
(also produced by Keith Falgout). Neither gained them mainstream success by any means, but both albums earned a high degree of underground acclaim. In 2005, another album composed of their demos, Demos: 1993 - 1996, was released.
Break up and subsequent projects
After two studio albums, Acid Bath's career came to an abrupt close on January 23, 1997 when bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Audie Pitre
Audie Pitre
Audie Thomas Pitre was an accomplished bass guitarist. He also added back-up vocals in Acid Bath and formed another band known as Shrüm . Pitre formed Shrüm with the idea to have two bass players, himself and Joseph J...
and his parents were killed by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign.
While rumors of another album circulated after the band's end, nothing new surfaced. The supposed album was named "Killer Rat Poison". Tommy Viator played keyboards on this album. Sammy Duet has only given out copies to a few close friends because he used some of the riffs for Goatwhore's earlier material.
Dax Riggs
Dax Riggs
Dax David Riggs , is an American musician from Houma, Louisiana, most well known for formerly fronting the sludge band Acid Bath in the 1990s. Dax 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...
and Mike Sanchez went on to perform in the band Agents of Oblivion
Agents of Oblivion
Agents of Oblivion was an American alternative rock band from Louisiana that evolved from the ashes of Acid Bath. Fronted by Dax Riggs, their sound encapsulated psychedelic rock and blues-rock elements creating swamp rock.-History:...
, releasing one self-titled album in 2000 and disbanding shortly thereafter. Starting in 2000, Riggs was also the frontman for the swamp rock band Deadboy & the Elephantmen
Deadboy & the Elephantmen
Deadboy & the Elephantmen was an American indie rock band from 2000 to 2007. Based in Houma, Louisiana, the band was fronted by Dax Riggs ....
, before he began releasing material under his own name in 2007. Sammy Pierre Duet was once a member of Crowbar, but has since left the band. He is now a member of the blackened death metal band Goatwhore
Goatwhore
Goatwhore is an American blackened death metal band, formed in 1997 in New Orleans, Louisiana.- Biography :Goatwhore was formed by singer/guitarist Sammy Duet following the breakup of his previous band, Acid Bath. Soilent Green singer L...
and Ritual Killer and his doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band with Kelly Pitre (the brother of Audie) Vual. Sammy Duet has remained an open satanist since his days in Acid Bath. Audie formed a unique metal band in 1995, blending black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
vocals with the heavy sound of two bassists with no guitars, known as Shrüm. Shrüm utilized one bass guitar with distortion with the other being clean.
Musical style and legacy
Acid Bath are best known for blending extreme, grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
-influenced sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
with a mixture of death growls and melancholic goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
/grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
-style vocals and acoustic guitar passages, as well as use of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and the spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
poetry. The band sampled sound clips from controversial movies including Blue Velvet and A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
. Dax Riggs' vocals were processed, which produced an industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
feel; some other instruments have been processed through industrial effects in their recordings (such as the snare drum on the second half of "New Death Sensation"). One of Acid Bath's most trademark sounds was the way in which they crafted multiple tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
changes and worked them into the song structure. Their experimentation drifted into diverse territory. The song "Scream of the Butterfly" is an acoustic blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song with the drummer utilizing double bass drum patterns toward the end of the song. The song "The Bones of Baby Dolls" experiments with folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musicianship, and the song "Dead Girl" is a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song and was described as such by Dax Riggs.
Dax Riggs' lyrics are frequently poetic, oftentimes displaying an obsession with death, drug use, mental illness, dark humor, Louisiana-based regional culture, and continuous references to animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
as well as paganism, nihilism, and misanthropy. He has claimed these inspirations are culled from comic books, namely those authored by Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, and Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, and has also expressed admiration for ANSWER Me!
ANSWER Me!
ANSWER Me! is a discontinued magazine which was edited by Jim and Debbie Goad and published between 1991 and 1994. Extremely misanthropic in its editorial content, it focused on the social pathologies of interest to the Los Angeles–based couple. The magazine was a major source of inspiration for...
and Boiled Angel
Boiled Angel
Boiled Angel was an independent comic book by Florida-based underground comic book artist Mike Diana in the early 1990s. The comic contained graphic depictions of a variety of taboo and gory subject matters....
. Allmusic's William York has stated that the song "Venus Blue" could have been a radio hit "if not for the graphic lyrics". Another facet of their presentation which may not have endeared them to popular sentiment was the use of art by John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was an American serial killer, rapist and clown who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawlspace of his home, buried three others elsewhere on his property, and discarded the...
and Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Due to the controversy surrounding Kevorkian's artwork on the album, Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Track 1 is listed in the liner notes as "Pagan Love Song".Track 12 is sometimes mislabeled as "Ode of the Paegan".The length of Track 11 including the hidden track is 24:08.-Acid Bath:*Dax Riggs - Vocals*Mike Sanchez - Guitar...
was initially banned from Australia. The ban has since been lifted.
Despite only releasing two albums, as well as a number of radio edits and an official bootleg DVD, Acid Bath have gained a strong underground following (especially in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
) owing to the unique, experimental nature of their music.
Last line-up
- Sammy "Pierre" Duet - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Mike Sanchez - guitar, backing vocals
- Jimmy Kyle - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Dax RiggsDax RiggsDax David Riggs , is an American musician from Houma, Louisiana, most well known for formerly fronting the sludge band Acid Bath in the 1990s. Dax 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...
- lead vocals
Former members
- Audie PitreAudie PitreAudie Thomas Pitre was an accomplished bass guitarist. He also added back-up vocals in Acid Bath and formed another band known as Shrüm . Pitre formed Shrüm with the idea to have two bass players, himself and Joseph J...
- bass guitar, backing vocals (1991–1997) - Joseph Fontenot - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Tommy Viator - drums, keyboard
Albums and compilations
- When the Kite String PopsWhen the Kite String PopsSide TwoTrack 14 contains samples from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, as well as the 1986 David Lynch film Blue Velvet.-Acid Bath:*Dax Riggs – Vocals*Mike Sanchez – Guitar*Sammy "Pierre" Duet – Guitar, Backing Vocals...
(1994) - Paegan Terrorism TacticsPaegan Terrorism TacticsTrack 1 is listed in the liner notes as "Pagan Love Song".Track 12 is sometimes mislabeled as "Ode of the Paegan".The length of Track 11 including the hidden track is 24:08.-Acid Bath:*Dax Riggs - Vocals*Mike Sanchez - Guitar...
(1996) - Demos: 1993-1996Demos: 1993-1996Demos: 1993-1996 is a compilation of demos by the band Acid Bath. It was released in January, 2005 on Nuclear Blast.-Track listing:# "Dr...
(2005)
Demos
- Wet Dreams of the Insane (Golgotha demo) (1991)
- Screams of the Butterfly (1992)
- Demo II (1993)
- Hymns of the Needle Freak (1993)
- Liquid Death Bootleg (1993)
- Radio Edits 1Radio Edits 1Acid Bath Edits was released by Rotten Records LP in September 1994 for promotional purposes to radio stations only. This album was not available to the general public and was an attempt to get the band more exposure...
(1994) - Radio Edits 2 (1996)
- Paegan Terrorism Tactics Outtakes (1996)
Videos
- "Apocalyptic Sunshine Bootleg" (1994)
- "Toubabo Koomi" (1994)
- "Double Live Bootleg!" DVD (2002)