Acid Bath, originally from New Orleans, recorded in 1991 the demo
Hymns Of The Needle Freak, but rose to prominence only with
the album When The Kite String Pops (Rotten, 1994).
Their music is a close relative of grindcore (both the vocals and the drumming often rely on the genres stereotypes), but it has the merit of blowing up its structures with a series of rhythmic irregularities, ranging from pauses to tempo changes, from crescendos to jazz-influenced passages.
The individual elements are not particularly original (Dax Riggs croaks according to the manual, and guitarists Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez seem capable only of predictable riffs that recycle Black Sabbath motifs for the thousandth time), but the whole constitutes a grindcore much smarter than average, packed with rhythmic ideas and stretched over five to six minutes.
When The Kite String Pops
is essentially a gradual deconstruction of the genre: first, by casting doubt on the still conventional breakneck style of The Blue, then by undermining rhythmic foundations with the stuttering pace of Dope Fiend and the monumental riff of Dr. Seuss Is Dead, which could rival
the Melvins
and Black Sabbath.
Accentuating the eccentricities, Jezebel sinks into an abulic tap-dance, while Tranquilized assimilates the psychedelic hard rock of Hawkwind. At that point, the sound is ripe for a fusion of horror and industrial elements, as in The Morticians Flame, or for a grotesque danse macabre like What Color Is Death. Little remains of grindcore, and that little disappears entirely in Scream of the Butterfly, which could be a suite by
King Crimson and
Genesis
, and in The Bones of Baby Dolls, an acoustic piece drawing on medieval troubadour music and Slavic folk. Throughout, an atmosphere of imminent suicide reigns, worthy of
Cure.
Acid Baths progressive grindcore finally brings something imaginative and creative to the stifling panorama of the genre.
Paegan Terrorism Tactics (Rotten, 1996) presents a finally moderated sound, far from grindcore and rather in full-on doom mode. The Black Sabbathstyle riffs and the macabre litany of Paegan Love Song immediately signal that times have changed. Baroque chimes and danceable cadences populate the dark-punk landscape of Graveflower. New Death Sensation is even a long atmospheric ballad, flirting with
Christian Death
(and is arguably their masterpiece).
Their legendary barrage of guitar fire is reduced here to occasional flares, decorative embellishments rather than vital lifeblood. Two or three death-metal bursts are inconsequential.
Acid Bath split up after the death of the bassist.
Acid Bath's singer Dax Riggs and guitarist Mike Sanchez formed the
Agents Of Oblivion (Rotten, 2000), whose album is a modest collection
of
hard-rock and glam-pop ditties (Slave Riot, Ash of the Mind).
Deadboy And The Elephantmen was Riggs' solo project immediately after disbanding
Agents of Oblivion, but only
If This Is Hell Then I'm Lucky (2002) documents that lo-fi pop-psychedelic stage.
Deadboy And The Elephantmen then became the duo of Dax Riggs and vocalist Tessie Brunet,
that debuted with We Are Night Sky (2006), a collection of better
arranged bluesy songs more typical of Louisiana's rock traditions.
Riggs' solo debut was We Sing of Only Blood or Love (2007), followed
by
If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky (Fat Possum, 2008) and
Say Goodnight To The World (Fat Possum, 2010).
Dax Riggs and Mike Sanchez resurrected Agents Of Oblivion for
Agents of Oblivion (Rotten Records, 2012).
