Dax Riggs – 7 Songs For Spiders
Release Date: 24th January 2025
Label: Fat Possum Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Alternative, Psychedelic, Folk Rock, Blues Rock, Southern Gothic, Stoner.
FFO: Agents of Oblivion, White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, The Black Keys, Deadboy & the Elephantmen, The Raconteurs.
Review By: Rick Farley
If you’re familiar with Acid Bath, it’s probably safe to say you know who Dax Riggs is. If not, quickly go absorb everything this man has been a part of (Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen just to name a couple more) then come back to this review, you will assuredly thank me later. With the recent announcements of Acid Bath reunion shows, it’s the perfect time for Mr Riggs to release his first solo material in over fourteen years. 7 Songs For Spiders was released on January 24th, 2025, via Fat Possum Records and with incredible anticipation.
Dax Riggs is an exceptionally talented vocalist/songwriter from Houma, Louisiana, often merging multiple genres into a swampy amalgamation of dark, folky, spiritual bluesy rock, and gloomy, proto metal with southern gothic swagger. Haunting themes blended with his hypnotically soulful voice and his unique take on various soundscapes are beyond sonically intriguing, usually leaving the listener in a blissful meditative state. There’s a certain sinister yet soothing charm that’s both unsettling and angelic in his voice, which is hard to shake at times. Lyrically he leans to the side of darker themes (death, otherworldly tropes, the devil, graveyards etc.) while musically, you’re bound to get hazy stoner rock, folky metal balladry, punk, gospel, and everything in between. It works on every level, never sounding unfocused or without direction. His rare eclectic songwriting is a dark mastery that others would sell their soul to the devil for, á la Robert Johnson.
7 Songs For Spiders overall is a little more subdued but sonically thicker compared to previous solo albums. This record is a lot more straightforward with its direction, the brooding intensity is still there, but it’s more controlled. Each of the seven tracks takes a trip down the fuzzy, gutter blues road, with flourishes of gorgeous tones and muted colours that keep this album from being just a wall of psychedelic haze. The muddiness of the guitars as the backdrop enhances Dax’s godly vocals and furthers the melancholic state 7 Songs For Spiders with leave you in.
Standout track Blues For You Know Who is a muted hazy crawl with entrancing mellowly distorted riffs. Slow to mid paced with cosmic, wounded dreamlike vocals lingering into the mysterious otherworldly atmosphere this track slinks in and out of. It drifts and dances with ghostly melodies and gorgeous tones far into the void. There’s an inherent sanguinity to the way the song is sonically structured that compels your soul to fill with elation.
The equally guitar-hazy but much gloomier Ain’t That Darkness slithers around slowly, hidden and waiting to emerge from its tomb but never wanting to reveal its full, true self, its comfortable hypnotizing with its swaying, shadowy movements. The moving bassline and purposeful simple drumbeat enhance the unknown eeriness of what’s emerged in the depths of the dirt.
Closing track Graveyard Soul is more energetic in its intent. Almost with a post-punk rock vibe, the track seems to be the eruption of tension 7 Songs For Spiders has been building up to, resulting in a satisfying end to a noticeably short album.
Recorded in his home studio somewhere in deep Louisiana, I’m assuming, a trim 28 minutes does work in its favour. It still feels fully realized and is highly replayable without ever skipping a track. You would think after 14 years there would be more than a little more to say, but no one was even expecting this, so I’m not complaining. Dax Riggs, it’s great to have you back making music. Highly recommended.
(4.5 / 5)
