Words and Photos by Marilyn Bell

Rising from the swamps of Louisiana as one of the first sludge metal bands, Acid Bath was building a massive following until tragedy hit. The band disbanded when bassist Audie Pitre was killed by a drunk driver in 1997. The band never got their due credit until now. Nearly 30 years later, the first date at the Palladium on this reunion run sold out immediately. Another show was added and also sold out. Unbelievably, the band’s final show before this recent reunion tour was reportedly underpromoted, underattended, and unpaid. 

The first Palladium show featured High on Fire and Windhand as openers. OG Doom metal band The Obsessed from Maryland opened this show. Scott “Wino” Weinrich, also of Saint Vitus, has fronted every iteration of the band since its formation about 40 years ago. Bob Pantella from Monster Magnet is now on drums. 

Pig Destroyer was eager to keep up the momentum, launching their set early after taking the stage with vocalist J.R. Hayes asking if they really had to wait for their set time. Before waiting for an answer, they launched into “Gravedancer” off 2004’s Terrifyer. About half the setlist was made up of songs from that album and 2001’s Prowler in the Yard. If people hadn’t waited so long for the return of Acid Bath, it may have been a tough act to follow. 

Acid Bath kept the setlist the same for the second show starting with “Black Sabbath” playing for the intro music. “Tranquilized” was the first song played by the band, with vocalist Dax Riggs previously telling Revolver after the July NYC show, “We always felt like it was a fun, jammy song, and we don’t have a lot of those. And it was always a popular one with the audience. So, it was an easy starting point for us. We get a little dirge in there, but it’s also got some weird elements.”  

Riggs was joined by original guitarists Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez with Zack Simmons of Goatwhore on drums and bassist Shane Wesley from Goatwhore. After “Tranquilized” there was another fan favorite, “Bleed Me an Ocean.” The setlist was pretty evenly split between When the Kite String Pops and Paegan Terrorism Tactics. It wouldn’t be enough to say the band didn’t miss a beat, or it was like they never left.  It was like they kept growing and getting better this whole time. The return of Acid Bath needs to be more than this small tour and some big festival dates. The crowd still wants more.