Deadboy & the Elephantmen: Rikki Rhodes (guitar, piano, bass instrument); Shane Herbert (guitar); Aaron Thomas (euphonium); Bear (tuba); John G. Perry (bass instrument); Lucas Broussard (drums); Rob Cournoyer, Dax Riggs, Tessie Brunet.
Personnel: Dax Riggs (vocals, guitar); Tessie Brunet (vocals, drums); Aaron Thomas (euphonium); Rob Cournoyer (drums).
Recording information: GhostParty, Houma, LA; Palm St. Studios, Houma, LA; The Money Shot, Water Valley, MS.
Louisiana duo Deadboy and the Elephantmen consists of guitarist and vocalist Dax Riggs, a childhood runaway whose previous band, the teen heavy metal combo Acid Bath, won local fame and notoriety, and drummer Tessie Brunet, whose primitive percussive style fits Riggs's garage band-influenced songs like a nicely worn old pair of jeans. Riggs's complex background (he was raised as a Jehovah's Witness before rejecting the religion) is apparent in the nightmare imagery in songs like "Ancient Man" and "Misadventures of Dope." "Stop, I'm Already Dead" has a perfect singalong chorus, while the Cramps-like "Blood Music" and "Kissed By Lightning" add swampy voodoo imagery to Riggs's metal roots. But Deadboy and the Elephantmen's truly individual vision is best displayed in "How Long the Night Was," with its meandering introduction, driving groove, and oddly psychedelic overtones.

Rolling Stone (p.60) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Tessie Brunet, 23, is a powerhouse behind the drums....The addictive punk-blues explosion on 'Blood Music' fairly oozes with raw shimmy and shake."
Magnet (p.97) - "[W]ith such emotional substance informing these songs, it's hard to resist getting inside the head of this very promising talent."