Acid Bath - New sensations of death

The Acid Bath represent one of the most fascinating, atypical and revered names in the sludge and doom metal scene of the Nineties. Hailing from the swamps of Louisiana, they forged a unique sound: a lethal mix of death metal aggression, hardcore leanings and macabre blues melancholy. After the tragic and untimely death of bassist Audie Pitre in 1997, the band split up, consigning their two albums to legend and gathering, decade after decade, an ever more wide-ranging and devoted following. Now, almost thirty years on, Acid Bath are making a sensational return to the stage for a world tour in 2026, which will also touch down in Italy for an unmissable Milan date (July 6, supporting Queens Of The Stone Age and System Of A Down). In this interview, Dax Riggs and Sammy Duet reflect on their unexpected global success, the band's dark legacy, and the demon (musical and otherwise) that drove them to return.

In my retrospective for OndaRock, I described Acid Bath as a rare anomaly: a band that sat slightly outside the mainstream of its era, yet kept a fiercely loyal following for three decades (myself included). These days your streaming numbers are huge, and you're gearing up for a big tour in 2026. How are you processing all this? Does it feel like the world has finally tuned into your frequency, or do you still feel like those Louisiana "outsiders"?

Dax: Yeah, we were like the outsiders' outsiders. We lived shut away in our own mental journeys. And now it's like our heads have exploded.

Sammy: I mean, there are always misfits around, you know? There's always one more person out there you'd like to reach, but when I look at the scale this thing has taken on... well, it feels amazing.

To me, your sound has always been an unstable mix, able to go from acoustic blues laments to death-metal roars in a matter of seconds. Your bio from the '90s described you as "wild kids with too much blood in their bodies for their own good." How has your relationship with that emotional and physical intensity changed now that you're no longer kids? Is it harder to channel that specific rage today?

Dax: Sure, these days we're full of aches and pains in exactly all the body parts we used to play with. But the rage is real. That mental short circuit is always there, it just takes one dark cloud to set it off.

Sammy: No, it's not hard at all, because I was born pissed off and I'll die pissed off, hahaha! From that point of view we've always been true misfits, no matter what. So I don't think that feeling ever goes away... even as you get older and change, that stuff sticks to you. It never fully leaves you.

For nearly thirty years, the end of Acid Bath was defined by the tragedy of losing Audie Pitre. What clicked in 2025 that made you feel it was finally the right time to pick this legacy back up? Do you feel like you carry a piece of his spirit onstage with you every night?

Dax: Our brother Audie Pitre is with us, always and forever. We carry him with us and he watches over us, he's "our little black angel."

Sammy: Absolutely, I feel Audie is with us at every show, no doubt about it. But if you're asking what set off this whole reunion... you know, I ran into a guy in Mississippi. I was at this T-junction. I think they call it the crossroads. I signed a contract with this gentleman dressed in black, said his name was Lou. And I think his last name was Cifer. I signed in blood, so yeah: basically we're back because I made a pact with Satan and sold him my soul.

Your lyrics are surreal, macabre and often brutal. Looking at the audience today, do you see a generation of fans that includes people who weren't even born when those records came out? What's it like seeing twenty- and thirty-somethings screaming those lyrics back at you? Do you think your dark style resonates differently today than it did in the '90s?

Dax: I feel like today we're literally living inside the reality of my nightmares.

Sammy: In my opinion, not much has changed. Back then, whoever got us had picked up on that "dark" aesthetic and were drawn to it. Today, with the world we find ourselves in, let's just say we're not exactly living in the happiest society ever. So I guess our stuff hits more people now. As they say... a wise man once told me: "Dark times breed great music."

The swamps of Louisiana and that sense of isolation seem like an "invisible member" of the band, essential to your sound. Now that you're taking this music around the world in 2026, do you find that "Cajun Hell" (also made famous by Exodus) is a specific geographic place you've left behind, or is it a mindset you carry with you wherever you go?

Dax: When we started out, down in the bayou we were right in the middle of the "Satanic Panic," that's what "Cajun Hell" is. But it's precisely in the dark, majestic beauty of those merciless swamps that our God lives.

Sammy: I think that stuff is rooted in our soul, and anyone who makes music and truly comes from Louisiana will tell you the same thing. It's not something that fades with time. You can go anywhere, any corner of the planet, but a piece of that darkness will forever be part of you.

Your bio states that your influence on the modern metal scene is undeniable, and we can definitely hear traces of your DNA in a ton of today's sludge and doom bands. Do you keep up with contemporary heavy music? Do you ever listen to a new band and think: "Hey, they sound like what we were doing 30 years ago"?

Dax: Absolutely. All the time.

Sammy: There are new bands I listen to that I really get into. But when it comes to hearing a band and saying "hey, they sound like Acid Bath"… well, my idea of what Acid Bath is, musically and lyrically, is pretty different from other people's idea. Sometimes a friend comes up to me and says: "Listen to this, they sound just like Acid Bath!". I listen to them and think: "That's got nothing to do with us". I think we have our own concept of what our sound is, unless it's a blatant rip-off. People come up to me telling me to listen to song X by band Y because they sound just like us… I listen, and I just don't hear it. I mean, it's cool that they're influenced by us and that they say so, I really appreciate that. But personally, I don't hear the influence, unless they're obviously ripping us off.

On July 6th you'll be playing a huge show in Milan, at the Ippodromo Snai La Maura, alongside giants like System Of A Down and Queens Of The Stone Age. It's an eclectic line-up, one that perfectly mirrors your own style, straddling different musical worlds. What can Italian fans expect from this show? And above all… is this tour a way of closing the circle, or the start of a brand new chapter? Can we hope for a new album?

Dax: We'll give you our souls (seeing as we don't need them anymore anyway), haha.

Sammy: It's going to be an interesting show, for sure. You know, in Italy I've always had a blast every time I've played there in the past with other bands. I'm sure it'll go off without a hitch. But as for new music or opening a new chapter… who knows? We'll see. I honestly can't answer that one!

(June 07, 2026)

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google