There's bands which we consider too rare, others too under-rated, but concerning GIDEON SMITH and THE DIXIE DAMNED it's immediately both that come in mind, yeah too fuckin' rare and under-rated !!!
Maybe too quickly ranged in the box "Southern Rock", the style of the band is more rich and stripped than one can imagine, especially on this new album "30 weight" where the general mood is darker than usual, for my greatest pleasure !
I read here and there the word GOTHIC regarding this developed aspect on this new album, I would rather say there's new sounds in a music (that remains deeply and simply AMERICAN ROCK'N ROLL) which could remind a bit what we called here "english rock" from the mid 80's with the likes of JOY DIVISION or the darkest early hours of THE STRANGLERS,just simply dark and catchy sounds,without any tendencious and/or reducing GOTHIC image, which in my opinion seem far from the GIDEON's identity and authenticity.
At first, it could seem a bit strange to hear these guys covering "I bleed black" (ST VITUS), but this last just a few seconds and is simply one of the best cover I've ever heard, one of the most personnal in its interpretation but most faithful in the spirit, so haunting, disturbing. All in all, it seems then not so surprising, but nearly logical that they choose this song cause it's pretty much in the vein of the album and the Maryland Doom style presents similarities with the band's main characters : a simple and authentic taste for raw and heavy rock'n roll ! Sure there's differences in the pace of the songs, but where starts doom music exactly ? is it necessary slow and/or epic ?!!! This is more a question of hypnotic heaviness in my opinion and GIDEON knows something about it for sure !!!
His voice is even more beautiful, often described as a cousin of Jim Morisson and Elvis Presley, his performance, here more than ever, leads him right among contemporaries like Peter Steele and Glenn Danzig... This is just my honest opinion, but this guy has really something special in his voice, he's definitely a brilliant modern gloomy crooner !
The bluesy southern feelings are not abandonned at all, just more subtle but still deeply rooted with well balanced rythmic and hot stoner like melodies like on "love of the vampire" and "born to the highway".
I've never been on the road in the States yet, I was yet dreaming of it about fifteen years ago while listening KYUSS or FU MANCHU but (with years passing) things have been a bit eroded with them and for quite some time I was waiting for something new, then "30 weight" came out recently and the dream revived... well , hum, the trip is planed for 2014, so GIDEON, stay wild and free but please come down here before to play this excellent piece of rock'n roll !!!
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