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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uniquely Beautiful Departure from Acid Bath, June 18, 2005
For those of you familiar with Acid Bath, frontman of Agents of Oblivion, Dax Riggs and Agents guitarist Mike Sanchez are no strangers to you. What might be strange, however, is how different this record is from the Acid Bath days. I happen to be a fan of the angry, brutal, dark Acid Bath AND also this new direction Dax and company have taken with Agents. Dax's voice is, hands down, one of the best voices in rock. Period. He's sort of like the underground Chris Cornell. (I love Chris, but Dax smokes him.) The thing with Dax is that his singing goes beyond just a lovely melody, interesting phrasing, or his seemingly effortless ability to hold a note. He is a legitimate singer with mindboggling range. His vocals drips with mystery, depth and, I don't know how else to say it but some sort of tragic longing... Dax consistently creates the most complex and moving melodies I have EVER heard. His voice is both haunting and beautiful.
The music and musicians here are in perfect harmony with the vocal stylings of Riggs. Mike Sanchez, once again, delivers soulful, passionate guitar playing and the rest of the boys hold their own as well(forgive me for not having names handy).
This is a unique record. It's different, daring and dynamic.
The Agents of Oblivion might not sit well with hard-core Acid Bath fans due to it's less brutal and agressive nature but I'm reminded of a few old Acid Bath songs such as "Bones of Baby Dolls", "New Death Sensation", and "Dead Girl",that seemed to be precursors to this new musical direction Dax and bandmates have taken.
Please listen to this record. Listen to this man sing. Listen to these boys from the bayous of Southern Louisiana break your heart with how brilliant they can be.
*Unfortunately, this lineup is no longer together. However, Dax is fronting yet another band--Deadboy and the Elephantmen...MUST CHECK THAT OUT TOO. Trust me. It's even more beautiful than Agents...but don't get me started. I'll spare all of you another "Ode to Dax" review...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Picks up where PTT left off..., May 31, 2004
This magnificent album picks up right where Paegan Terrorism Tactics left off. Obviously it's not Acid Bath as the songs are somewhat lighter in overall mood, but it is a VERY slow moving, dark themed album. By now (2000) AB has broken up and this is (was) Dax's new band, and you can see how dax has come to embrace darker (than usual, even for him)songs. Phantom Green is a song that is a definite slow rocker with seering guitar solos and Dax's notorious bellowing. As with anything that Dax Riggs is associated with, this album is not for the light-hearted. The music is very moving even though the musical structure is watered down a bit (in comparison to AB.) If you preferred PTT's slower moody rock, then you will mosdef dig this album! Long Live Dax!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the top 5 most underated albums ever, September 26, 2002
To begin, I find it odd that I ever even picked this album up besides the fact that it was an acid bath side project. I am undoubtedly a metalhead although a compramising one at that. However un-metal like this album is, I love it to death. I will forever treasure this cd for giving me not only musical inspiration in a different direction than ever before, but for great insight and the greatest of listening pleasure. It is difficult to slap a label on this work of art, but here goes: I prefer to call it psychedelic-stoner-grunge-rock. But that is no proper description for this album. This album made such an impact on me that I've been burning copies left and right to friends and co-workers like it was my job, and they all have given great responses to it. The songwriting on this cd is impeccable. It is far too creative and complex and altogether different to be standard radio play. You'll find surreal acoustic guitar work, fuzzy distorted guitars to accompany the acoustics, perfect rock n roll beats with a real commanding sound, a truly peaceful deep and mellow bass,synthezizers and piano that are both haunting and ethereal, and the most powerful and strangely beautiful vocals I have ever heard. The vocals, just like any album that Dax has sung in, stand out in such a way that is never odd but incredibly different. The vocals are in one phrase: "from the deepest depths of the human heart". Dax is a music legend in his own right for his extremely different sound and obscure,poetic lyrics. This album should be recommended to any person with good taste in music that seeks out new music that is "real". More than anything, Agents of Oblivion is "real".
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by Agents of Oblivion 
