Band:	Agents Of Oblivion
Album:	Agents Of Oblivion
Style:	Blues rock, Psychedelic rock
Release date:	January 2000

01. Endsmouth
02. Slave Riot
03. A Song That Crawls
04. Dead Girl [Acid Bath cover]
05. Phantom Green
06. The Hangman's Daughter
07. Ladybug
08. Ash Of The Mind
09. Wither
10. Paroled In '54
11. Anthem (For This Haunted City)
12. Cosmic Dancer [T. Rex cover]
13. Big Black Backwards

Dax Riggs is of course the man that will always be remembered as the genius frontman of the legendary Acid Bath, respected for the co-creation of the Sludge sound. With his utterly psychotic and entrancing lyrics and intensely dark vocal performance he lead the innovative group to a new level of sickness. What most people seem to forget is that after the death of Acid Bath Dax Riggs stayed active in the music business and is, in fact, active to this very day.

Having worked with a plethora of nicknames and different support bands, the most notable of all is probably (besides Acid Bath, obviously) Agents Of Oblivion. Agents Of Oblivion was his first band after the split of Acid Bath and is consequently the most extreme, even though a huge part of the sonic violence is already lost on Agents' self-titled début. What we get in return are elusive and unusual vocal lines, rarely 'by the book' but always with a strong emotional factor. Give opener 'Endsmouth' a try and listen to the repeated lines "It's only the end". That's dark, elevating and twisted at the same time while building up to a monumental 'capture and release'.

What follows are another twelve tracks that are spread out over the spectrum of Rock, ranging from straight-forward Rock tracks to psychedelic pieces to stripped down ballads and everything in between. Dub it Doom Rock if you like; the important thing is that this is some heavy stuff without actually being heavy. My personal highlight is the cover of T. Rex track 'Cosmic Dancer', which is easily the softest and most ballad-esque track on the album but with such an astonishing power that no amount of replays do it justice. But the other tracks, in particular 'Endsmouth', 'Phantom Green' or the carnival bizarre that is 'Big Black Backwards' are great listens too. The strength of this record lies in Riggs' ability to write calm songs without unnecessary testosterone-fuelled violence, yet still achieve an apocalyptic and off-setting atmosphere through carefully picked chords and skillfully created background collage. Not every song is a real killer but that is the danger of musicians that opt for odd creations – and on this release the good definitely outweighs the bad.

You can easily image what "Agents Of Oblivion" sounds like if you've heard the first Acid Bath album "When The Kite String Pops" and of course in particular 'Scream Of The Butterfly' and 'The Bones Of Baby Dolls'. Perhaps most songs off "Agents..." are not up-too par with the two songs by Acid Bath, but that's almost an impossible feat anyway. If you liked those two songs and think you can handle a disc-full of them, you are strongly encouraged to seek out "Agents Of Oblivion" and ride the apocalypse with me.