Dax Riggs

Dax Riggs stands out as a pivotal presence within the Southern wing of the extreme metal scene. Born October 15, 1973, in Evansville, IN, he spent his early years living with his mother following his parents’ divorce. During adolescence Riggs began to doubt his mother’s commitment to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, prompting a relocation to Houma, LA, to join his father. Although he initially felt little affinity for Southern life, a growing enthusiasm for rock & roll took hold in his teenage years. After brief stints singing in two short-lived local outfits, he assumed the role of lead vocalist for the trailblazing sludge metal band Acid Bath, whose lineup featured guitarists Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez, bassist Audie Pitre, and drummer Jimmy Kyle. The band’s punishing yet psychedelic, groove-heavy style exerted considerable influence despite attracting only a modest following while active; the group dissolved in 1997 following Audie Pitre’s death in a car crash.

Riggs next fronted the fleeting project Daisyhead & the Mooncrickets before resurfacing with Agents of Oblivion, which reunited him with Acid Bath guitarist Mike Sanchez and added Alex Bergeron on bass, Jeff McCarty on drums, and Chuck Pitre on keyboards. The new band’s music retained Acid Bath’s doom-laden atmosphere yet adopted a more restrained approach, drawing on traditional hard rock and blues through slower tempos and gentler melodic contours. Agents of Oblivion issued a lone album in 2000 and disbanded shortly after completing its supporting tour.

Riggs subsequently launched Deadboy & the Elephantmen, a stripped-down blues-rooted ensemble in which he handled both vocals and guitar. The 2002 debut If This Is Hell Then I’m Lucky involved a full band—Jason Dupre on guitar, Chris Gautreaux on bass, and Jeff Lecompte on drums—while the 2005 follow-up We Are Night Sky pared the lineup to a duo featuring drummer Tess Brunet. Brunet departed in late 2006; as Riggs tracked what would have been the band’s third album with a changing cast of players, he decided to retire the group name and issue the recordings under his own name. The resulting album, We Sing of Only Blood or Love, arrived in summer 2007 and showcased some of Riggs’ most potent and emotionally incisive work to that point. For Say Goodnight to the World, released in 2010, he tracked the material in his home studio alongside Austin, TX, musicians Charley Siess on drums and Kevin Fitzsimmons on bass.