Wilkes, frontman of the band Legendary Shack Shakers, described gothic country as "[taking] an angle that there's something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living.
[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The following year, the gothic country group the Handsome Family formed;[11][12][13][14] Andy Fyfe of Mojo called them "Americana's ghostly Sonny & Cher.
Club reviewer Christopher Bahn compared their music to "a collaboration between Hank Williams and Edgar Allan Poe.
"[16] Johnny Cash's American Recordings series, produced by Rick Rubin, a producer best known for working with hip hop and heavy metal artists, was described as having a gothic country sound and image; amidst covers of songs by non-country artists such as Depeche Mode, Danzig and Nine Inch Nails, as well as traditional and World War II-era songs, Cash's album series lyrically derived from haunting, despaired themes such as death, and recurring religious themes in the form of dark gospel recordings.
[17] Pioneered by David Eugene Edwards through his band 16 Horsepower (and later, Wovenhand), a regional gothic country scene developed in Denver.