Gideon caught my attention a little over two years ago, prior to the release their full length Costs. The gang from Tuscaloosa, Alabama impressed me with a surprisingly strong debut record, that reminded me of The Ghost Inside and Hatebreed: heavily grooving Melodic Hardcore. A little more than a year later, the band released their second album Milestone, also through Facedown Records. It was clear that the guys matured in their songwriting, exploring the boundries of their genre and throwing in some Nu-Metal. After two years, it’s an honor and priviledge to present Gideon’s very first European tour. Hard work pays off, and these guys are a crystal clear example of that. To get an update on European tour-life, we spoke with guitarist Daniel McCartney:

“The shows have been great, England was cool. The crowd in the UK was really good; I think the best reaction we got was in Kingston. Which makes sense because it’s near London. The first two shows were really small towns, so it was definitely cool to get closer to an A-market. All shows have been good, but that was the best reaction especially with atmosphere and sing-a-longs.”

Besides shows there was also the traveling and sights…

“We saw Bothwell castle in Scotland; it was awesome. It was sick, because it’s a castle that has been around since 1200, so that was really cool. And the cathedral in Eindhoven is really cool. But to be honest we haven’t got to sightsee that much yet, because we just got back in our sleep schedules. Basically we’ve been sleeping a lot, but we’ve seen a few things and it has been awesome.” 

Crazy things have happened yet?

“Nah not yet, haha, we’re too early in the tour, but I’m sure there will be some kind of crazy story to tell after the tour.”

How was the last US tour with For Today?

“It was amazing. On average we played for 900 a night; the biggest shows were 1400, the smallest show 400. Which for us is incredible! We got to play a House of Blues, which we had never been able to do before. In The States that’s a very well known venue, and a lot of the cities have them; they’re very nice and have great hospitality. That tour was something else, a new level.”

How about Japan?

“Japan was awesome. We ended up only playing four shows, because Tokyo got snowed out. But it was really cool; kids knew who we were and were singing along. That was really cool. And I feel that the culture is so much nicer, very generous people. It was incredible, something I’ll never forget for sure.”

Can you give us some insight in a future release?

“Probably early 2014. We’re already writing; we’re not on our computers every day writing, but we keep the ideas flowing. So I expect a new record early next year. We’re gonna tour a lot, because Costs we sort of followed up quick with Milestone; it was a little over a year. We now have our whole year planned out.” 

A tip of the iceberg?

“We listen to Sevendust a lot. Honestly, some Slipknot influences. And more modern bands that our friends probably know: we’re all Bury Your Dead fans. We also have our Hardcore influences, like Comeback Kid. From what we’ve started writing it’s pretty Nu-Metal as off now, but not a drastic change. It’s really cool so far, we like it. 

New themes for lyrics?

“On Milestone the lyrics were basically representing trials in our lives; like ‘Bad Blood’, you can probably guess where that’s about by launching the music video. It’s what we go through in life and how we get through that. That really has a lot to do with it. As far as the new record we haven’t gotten into lyrics yet, we’re just at music right now. We like to switch it up and it will be different than Milestone, but it will be cool. 

So, what were your expectations of this European tour?

“Man, as far as expecting things… I don’t think any of us are expecting huge crowds or anything like that. I’d love to see kids singing along. We’re gonna lose money on the tour, but none of us care. It’s so awesome to be touring another continent. All I really would  love to see is kids sing along. And having new fans is always really cool; kids that say they have never heard of us and buy a CD. I’m pumped on it, it’s cool so far!”

The band played a killer show in Eindhoven and still has a two-week run ahead. Check all dates here and make sure to check out Gideon in a town near you.

Gideon: Facebook / Twitter