Acid Bath
Fox Theatre, Oakland
June 14, 2025
Photos by Raymond Ahner
After announcing a handful of hugely anticipated festival dates earlier this year, a reunited Acid Bath steamrolled into the Fox Theater in Oakland recently, playing to a near sold out crowd of rabid fans, many of who were not even born yet when the band was initially active. With original members Dax Riggs (vocals), Sammy Duet (guitar), and Mike Sanchez (guitar), along with bassist Shane Wesley and drummer Zack Simmons, the band tore through their first Bay Area show in over thirty years. Judging from the reaction of the crowd, it was almost like they never left.
Opening their set with “Tranquilized,” the band sounded just as heavy now as they did back then. Guitarists Duet and Sanchez traded riffs effortlessly, while Dax was just as stoic as ever while belting out the lyrics. From there Acid Bath cranked out songs from their only two studio records, 1994’s When the Kite String Pops, and 1996’s Paegan Terrorism Tactics.
Highlights from their 10 song set included “Bleed Me an Ocean,” “Bones of Baby Dolls,” and “Scream of the Butterfly,” which was dedicated to the late Audie Pitre, the bands original bass player.
By the time they wrapped up their set with “Dr. Suess is Dead,” it became quite apparent that Acid Bath still have some unfinished business to take care of.
Supporting Acid Bath on this evening was High on Fire, the mighty three piece wrecking machine whose brief 7 song set was the absolute perfect choice to support the headliners.
Here’s a slideshow with more photos by Raymond Ahner of both bands:
Acid Bath
Acid Bath
Acid Bath
High On Fire
High On Fire
High On Fire
High On Fire
High On Fire
