Acid Bath

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Acid Bath

Background information
Origin Houma, Louisiana
Genre(s) Sludge metal
Years active 1991–1997
Associated acts Agents of Oblivion, Deadboy & the Elephantmen, Goatwhore, Crowbar
Website www.acid-bath.com
Former members
Last lineup:
Dax Riggs
Joseph Fontenot
Sammy "Pierre" Duet
Mike Sanchez
Jimmy Kyle
Left prior to band breakup:
Audie Pitre
Tommy Viator

Acid Bath was a heavy metal band from Louisiana, USA active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined sludge metal and doom metal with death metal, grindcore, stoner metal, blues rock, and even folk in their music. In a Pit Magazine interview, vocalist Dax Riggs classified their sound as "death rock" (referring to death as a dominant lyrical theme, rather than the horror punk genre of the same name). Acid Bath was an incarnation of two bands, Dark Karnival which featured Audie Pitre and Sammy Pierre Duet, and Golgotha which featured Tommy Viator, Dax Riggs, and Mike Sanchez. Tommy Viator was later replaced by Jimmy Kyle. Joseph J. Fontenot was the bassist for a short period of time. Tommy Viator and Joseph Fontenot were also members of Audie's band Shrum.

Contents

[edit] Biography

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. They recorded their demo Hymns of the Needle Freak with their manager and producer Keith Falgout in 1993, and the strength of the demo earned them a deal with an independent label . On this label, they released When the Kite String Pops (produced by D.R.I.'s Spike Cassidy) in 1994, followed two years later by their second and final effort Paegan Terrorism Tactics (produced by Keith Falgout). Neither gained them mainstream success by any means, but both albums earned a degree of underground acclaim. Recently in 2005, they released another album composed of their demos, Demos: 1993 - 1996.

[edit] Break up and subsequent projects

After two studio albums, Acid Bath's career came to an abrupt close in 1997 when bass guitarist Audie Pitre and his parents were killed by a drunk driver. While rumors of another album circulated after the band's end, nothing new surfaced.

Dax Riggs and Mike Sanchez went on to perform in the psychedelic doom metal 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. Audie formed a unique doom metal band in 1995, blending black metal vocals with the heavy sound of two bassists with no guitars, known as Shrum.

[edit] Musical legacy

Despite only releasing two albums, as well as a number of radio edits and some label-endorsed bootlegs, Acid Bath have gained a strong underground following owing to the unique, experimental nature of their music. Acid Bath are best known for blending extreme, grindcore-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. Dax Rigg's 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"). All Music Guide's William York has stated that the song "Venus Blue" could have been a radio hit "if not for the graphic lyrics"[1]. Another facet of their presentation which may not have endeared them to popular sentiment was the use of art by John Wayne Gacy, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Richard Ramirez, and Kenneth Bianchi for the covers of their releases[2].

[edit] Members

[edit] Final Members

[edit] Earlier members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums & Compilations

[edit] Demos

  • Golgotha (1991)
  • Acid Bath Live (1992)
  • Hymns of the Needle Freak (1993)
  • Radio Edits 1 (1994)
  • Radio Edits 2 (1996)

[edit] Videos

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ allmusic ((( Paegan Terrorism Tactics > Overview )))
  2. ^ allmusic ((( Acid Bath > Biography )))