Dax Riggs : "7 Songs For Spiders"

Here's my first review of a 2025 release.  It's been 13 years since his last release. This time around  Dax is backed by a three-piece band of grooving Cajuns, they slither with a melancholy pulse, that takes things back to his darker roots. The opening track"deceiver" finds a dream-laden haze hovering over his soulful speculation. It's almost like gospel music for someone whose acid trip has been tempered by opiates. It feels like it picks up closer to what 'We Sing of Only Blood or Love" let off, though more sonically layered. His trademark croon sounds as good as ever. 

The synths going into "sunshine felt the darkness smile" create an almost Beatles-like vibe. Lyrically brilliant, he continues to ponder with his surreal phrasing the duality of Jesus, and Lucifer, amid musing issues of mortality. The fuzzed-out bass line occupies the space guitars normally fill in rock music. This allows the ambiance to breathe. "even the stars fall" is more rock than the previous two songs, as the guitar begins to provide more of a drive, while Riggs throws his croon around.  There is some ebb and flow, where previous releases felt like he was wrestling with depression, this time around you suspect that perhaps marijuana is helping elvate him from the emotional morass, and more hopeful in his esoteric questioning 

'blues for you know who" feels only marginally influenced by the actual blues, though given his cultural background it's enmeshed in his DNA, no matter where he goes sonically, as he continues to give a more soul performance than any of his previous projects. It drones off the bass line and slowly builds rather than winding around a verse-chorus arrangement. "ain't that darkness" is a wandering jam, that is hard to complain about as it flows like syrup. "pagan moon" might have the most blues in its DNA. There is a steamy tension that he makes the most of. He has always been one of the most underrated singers, he knows where to put each note and pours the right amount of emotive despondency behind them. 

The bass lines of this album put more rock into the sound than the guitars, and this is perhaps most displayed in how it drives the last song.It has a surreal grunge feel, with Riggs' emotive croon doing what he does.  Sure it's only seven songs, but he got them pretty perfect for what they are and it's a welcome return for him preceding his reunion with Acid Bath, if you were going into this album expecting metal then you really are familiar with anything he's done since Agents of Oblivion. I'll give it a 10 and see how it grows on me. 

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