Louisiana's Best Kept Secret: - The Cult of Acid Bath

 

ACID BATH

(1991-1997)

---

" Across your face

I see what you are.

You want to kill the sun,

Blot out the stars.

I know you, you're nothing, 

You're so small,

You're f*****g nothing,

Nothing at all

The sun burns on,

It reminds me of you, 

The slit wrists of the sky

Bleeding into the blue"

---

Song: - The Blue

Album: - When the Kite String Pops 

Year: - 1994

---

Introduction and Background

Acid Bath is another one of those obscure bands that not many people know about. Over the years since their dissolution in the late 90s, they have gained cult status in the metal community.  In an era where Grunge bands like Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Soundgarden and Metal Veterans like Metallica, and Slayer were releasing multi-platinum records, it became quite difficult to notice bands like Acid Bath as they received almost nil radio attention.

Hailing from the city of Houma, Louisiana, Acid Bath brought their own blend to the Sludge Metal scene which was a big and heavy influence in the regional music scene in Louisiana at that time. While other bands like Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, and DOWN went down to incorporate traditional elements to shape the sludge metal that we listen to and hear today, Acid Bath on the other hand paid much emphasis on progressive elements, musical experimentation, and defying genre conventions.

What made their music unique is the way they blended elements of Doom metal, progressive rock, psychedelic blues, and southern groove flavors into Sludge metal. Much of their work cannot be categorized into a particular genre. 

Over 6-7 years that the band was active, they were only able to produce 2 albums, When the Kite String Pops (1994) and Paegan Terrorism Tactics (1996). Both are considered to be Sludge metal masterpieces even to this day.  Despite their short-lived existence, the band's impact on the metal scene and their loyal fanbase continues to reverberate even today. Let's dive into the cult of Acid Bath and how they influenced the bands of today. 

Members and Musical Characteristics

Acid Bath was a 5-member band consisting of Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez on Guitars, bassist Audie Pitre, vocalist Dax Riggs, and Jimmy Kyle behind the drumkit. 

Most of their music was highly progressive for a sludge metal band. For people who don't understand the term "Sludge Metal", imagine the slow, thick, and heavy sound of a bulldozer pushing through mud or a swamp. That's the kind of sonic experience you can expect from sludge metal. It's like trudging through a swamp of distorted guitars, pounding drums, and deep & growling vocals.

Acid Bath was known for its unorthodox use of different time signatures and abrupt transitions between songs. Vocalist Dax Riggs never shied away from using clean vocals in most of their songs compared to other sludge metal bands that heavily relied on harsh vocals. 

Lyrical Themes & Art Inspiration

Acid Bath never shied away from using disturbing imagery, shock factor, references to gothic literature, real-life horrific incidents, and horror movie references in their lyrical themes and album artworks. 

In fact, both of the albums that they released had artwork by highly controversial people. When the Kite Strings Pops had the album artwork of a portrait of Pogo the Clown painted by an American Serial Killer called John Wayne Gacey when he was in prison. Paegan Terrorism Tactics had the painting made by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who was famously known as Dr. Death, who is claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to death.

Acid Bath's lyricism mostly revolves around darker subject topics. Themes are often about despair, nihilism, death, pain, and suffering. Dax Riggs is known to be a brilliant lyricist. His lyrical prowess paints vivid and often disturbing pictures, intertwining poetic beauty with grotesque imagery and black Comedy.  Songs like "Scream of the Butterfly", "The Blue", "Bones of Baby Dolls", "What Color is Death" and "Paegan Love Song" are some excellent examples of clever lyricism and poetic tragedy. 

Let's talk about Rotten Records

The reason why you don't find Acid Bath in much of the media today, even on YouTube (Which is considered to be the largest music library in the world) is because of Rotten Records. Rotten Records is a record-producing company and Acid Bath signed a record deal with Rotten Records in the 90s after launching their demo album in 1992. Rotten Records, being very stringent with their record circulation, most of Acid Bath's music never even made it to any of the video streaming platforms like YouTube in the early 2000s, not even Radio airplay. If you wanted to listen to Acid Bath, you had to buy their albums from the store, and circulation of their albums was restricted. They are also known for notoriously removing content in the name of copyright claims online. It was only up until recently that Acid Bath's albums were made available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. But sadly, still restricted on YouTube. These led to a backlash and some dedicated Acid Bath fans were literally recording Acid Bath songs using a camcorder and were uploading them on YouTube so that they could make Acid Bath's work accessible to a larger audience.

Death of Bassist Audie Pitre and Aftermath

Bassist Audie Pitre and his parents were tragically killed in a car accident in 1997. Why are bassists killed in tragic accidents, Anyone? (Cliff Burton). Later, the band members were devastated by the news and mourned the loss. They denied making any more albums going forward, claiming that Acid Bath would never be the same without Audie. Vocalist Dax Riggs went on to have a solo career in something completely different from what he was doing with Acid Bath. Other members of the band went on to join other bands in the scene at that time. There were rumors of a third Acid Bath album in the making, but most of the members of the band denied any such claims. 

Conclusion

Acid Bath's cultish legacy as one of the most exceptional and influential bands in the metal scene cannot be undermined. Their dark, haunting, and atmospheric sound, combined with Dax Riggs' poignant vocals and suggestive lyrics, created an ethereal experience for their listeners. While their time as a band was tragically short, Acid Bath's music continues to resonate with their loyal fanbase. Check out Acid Bath on Spotify or Apple Music if interested in their work. Sadly, any Acid Bath music video gets taken down very quickly when uploaded on YouTube. 

Check out these songs by them. 

• The Blue
• The Bones of Baby Dolls
• Scream of the Butterfly
• What Color is Death (Demo version and the Original)
• Bleed Me an Ocean (Demo version and the Original)
• Cassie Eats Cockroaches
• Paegan Love Song
• Dope Fiend
• Tranquilized

Thanks for the Read

---