Dax Riggs

A crucial figure in the Southern branch of the extreme metal community, Dax Riggs first earned his reputation as the frontman for Southern sludge metal kingpins Acid Bath, whose two studio albums, 1994's When the Kite String Pops and 1996's Paegan Terrorism Tactics, attracted a potent cult following. After Acid Bath folded in 1997, Riggs worked with several short-term projects before forming Agents of Oblivion, whose sole album, issued in 2000, revealed a more refined and atmospheric attack. After blending acoustic and electric sounds with the raw and rootsy Deadboy & the Elephantmen, Riggs went solo, and after a 15-year hiatus from the recording studio, he returned with 2025's 7 Songs for Spiders, a moody fusion of metal, blues, and doom flavors. Dax Riggs was born in Evansville, Indiana, on October 15, 1973, where he lived with his mother after the divorce of his parents. As Riggs edged into adolescence, he began to question his mother's devotion to the faith of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and he moved to Houma, Louisiana to live with his father. Initially, Riggs didn't care for life down South, but in his teens he developed a passion for rock & roll, and after singing with a pair of short-lived local bands, Riggs became the lead vocalist with the pioneering sludge metal band Acid Bath, featuring guitarists Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez, bassist Audie Pitre, and drummer Jimmy Kyle. While Acid Bath's punishing but trippy, groove-laden sound would prove to be deeply influential, the group's audience was frustratingly small during its existence, and the band called it quits in 1997 after the death of Audie Pitre in an auto accident. After fronting a short-lived group called Daisyhead & the Mooncrickets, Riggs re-emerged on the music scene with Agents of Oblivion, which also included Acid Bath guitarist Mike Sanchez as well as Alex Bergeron on bass, Jeff McCarty on drums, and Chuck Pitre on keyboards. Agents of Oblivion's sound was as doomstruck as Acid Bath, but the approach was more subdued, showing the influence of traditional hard rock and blues in its slower tempos and smoother melodies. Agents of Oblivion released one album in 2000, but broke up not long after completing a tour to support it. After the collapse of Agents of Oblivion, Riggs formed a new band, Deadboy & the Elephantmen, which sported a stripped-down, blues-based sound and featured Riggs playing guitar as well as singing. The group's first album, 2002's If This Is Hell Then I'm Lucky, was a full-band affair, with Riggs joined by Jason Dupre on guitar, Chris Gautreaux on bass, and Jeff Lecompte on drums, but he pared the group down to a duo for 2005's We Are Night Sky, with Riggs joined by drummer Tess Brunet. In late 2006, Brunet quit the band, and as Riggs was recording Deadboy & the Elephantmen's third album with a rotating crew of musicians, he opted to abandon the group moniker and release the music under the name Dax Riggs. Featuring some of Riggs' most powerful and emotionally incisive music to date, We Sing of Only Blood or Love was released in the summer of 2007; the following year, If This Is Hell Then I'm Lucky was reissued, billed as a Dax Riggs solo effort. Riggs recorded 2010's Say Goodnight to the World, in his home studio with Austin, Texas, locals Charley Siess (drums) and Kevin Fitzsimmons (bass). Riggs played occasional live shows before dropping out of music in 2015, feeling burnt-out and uninspired. In 2024, he revealed on social media he was recording a new solo effort in his home studio, and 7 Songs for Spiders, a downbeat mix of doom metal and blues, was issued in January 2025. Around the same time that album was announced, it was revealed that Acid Bath was re-forming for a series of headlining concerts and festival dates in 2025, with original members Riggs, Sammy Duet, and Mike Sanchez joined by Alex Bergeron (who worked with Riggs in Agents of Oblivion) on bass and Zack Simmons (of Goatwhore) on drums
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