Acid Bath

Despite a short life span and only a pair of releases, now-defunct sludge and doom metal band Acid Bath were nevertheless a major piece of the lauded New Orleans metal puzzle of the mid- to late '90s. With many of the same trappings as their peers (slowly thudding guitar riffs, an almost unmatched reverence for early Black Sabbath), Acid Bath stood apart from the pack thanks to variations employed by singer Daxx Riggs, a wide array of influences in their music and a strong psychedelic bent in their songs. Riggs' singing -- often melodic and given to moments of gothic somberness, but also known to lay out hardcore/death screeches and growls with the best of them -- garnered the band early renown among critics. Their two records, When the Kite String Pops (1994) and Pagan Terrorism Tactics (1996), pointed to serious potential, but the band split following the tragic death of bassist Audie Pitre in a car accident in 1997. Riggs went on to front several psychedelic doom bands, most notably Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy and the Elephant Men, as well as recording and performing as a solo artist.