Gorefest interview

Hi Frank and welcome again to Metalfan! How did today find you?
Frank: I’m fine, thank you. Typing this in a dressing room in Rome. All is well.

In our previous discussion on Metalfan we talked a lot about the early history of Gorefest. It is the time now to kindly ask you to tell us what happened in the last two years since you released La Muerte?
Frank: Not much, actually. A lot of tours got cancelled, some weekenders as well, Turkish dates fell through, a Scandinavian tour, a South-American tour, all in all about 60 shows were cancelled for various reasons. Terrible.

Whose idea was it to reform Gorefest after all those years of pause? Are you planning to stay this time?
Frank: It wasn’t as much an idea, as it just turned out this way. We’re all having a good time doing this, and we’ll keep doing it until we’ve had enough. That just about sums up the other part of your question as well I guess. You can never say how long you’ll be around as a band, but we’ve just released our second album after the split, so I guess there’s still some life left in us.

Gorefest came back with a vengeance by releasing La Muerte, a couple of years ago. This year you’ve just released Rise to Ruin. What are, in your opinion, the main differences between those 2 albums?
Frank: Play them back-to-back, and I think the differences are quite clear. This one’s clearly a lot more focused, and much heavier as well. In fact, I’d say it’s the heaviest album we’ve done so far.

Rise to Ruin shows an overwhelming desire to play music. Where do you get all this energy, al this hate, all this “Revolt”?
Frank: By focusing on what we do best as a band, with the kind of music we started out with. Add a lot of frustrations from all those cancelled tours and shows, and this is what came out. Angry stuff. Which is good for Metal.

What is the story behind the album’s name? Why did you choose it?
Frank: JC came up with that one. I guess it sums up his lyrical stance in a nutshell. It’s catchy as well, which we like.

Once again Tue Madsen mixed your album. Are you satisfied with the final result in terms of sound and production?
Frank: Yes, very much so. He did exactly what we hired him for, and the whole album sounds pretty much how we wanted it to.

I know that Rise to Ruin entered both the Dutch and German charts. Also, the sales seem to work pretty well. Did you expect such a positive feedback when you released the album?
Frank: I never have too many expectations about anything. Most important thing is that we’re satisfied and happy with it ourselves. As soon as you release it, it’s out there for everybody to comment on. If people like it, that’s an added bonus. If people hate it, that’s fine as well, they can listen to something else.

Right now you are preparing yourself for the European Rise to Ruin tour? What are your expectations regarding this tour?
Frank: We’re actually on tour as I’m typing this. Shows are going well, attendances vary. Spain was really nice, and right now we’re in Italy, where tickets don’t seem to be selling that well. But we’ll see what happens. Best thing to do with tours like these is to just jump in, and don’t have too much expectations. You’ll just get disappointed if you expect too much. The bands we’re on tour with – One Man Army and Before The Fall –
are really cool though, so that’s taken care of.

I really hoped that Romania was included on this tour list, but it didn’t happened. Maybe next time?
Frank: Yeah, I sure hope so. We’d love to come over, but it’s always down to local or regional promoters to bring us over. If they don’t want us, then there’s no point in coming over.

Do you enjoy playing live? Where do you feel more comfortable, in studio or on the scene?
Frank: Both have their pro’s and con’s, you just have to learn to deal with long waiting times with both. The trick is to find the balance between focusing on your music, and trying to have a good time together at the same time. If you can accomplish that, you’re basically set.

Could you please describe a normal Gorefest day of work in the recording studio? Are you like really stressed and focused or would you rather prefer doing thing cool and relaxed?
Frank: In the studio, we tend to focus on the job at hand, and try to push each other and ourselves to our best performances. There’s always some amount of stress there, since we don’t have all the time in the world, and studio-time costs a lot of money. Having some experience in these matters helps a lot though.

Almost all the bands have a DVD in their discography nowadays. Do you intend to release such a product in the near future?
Frank: We’re always talking about it, but the fact of the matter is it’s a very time-consuming job, compiling these things. I’m sure we’ll do one or two eventually, but on our own time and conditions. There’s a lot of excellently put together DVD’s out there, you don’t want to make something inferior.

If someone would ask you to tell him the best 3 things and the worst 3 things about your band, what would it be?
Frank: Ha, good question.
3 best:
Creating music with these guys
Traveling
The feeling of a particularly well performed song in a live situation.
3 worst:
Fights
Irritations
Eardamage

There was a time when the bands would have gone for lower conditions (food, hotel, etc.) in order to have access to new places. Would you still accept bad conditions (sound, riders, food) in order to sustain a concert in a place you’ve never been before?
Frank: That depends. There are always the very basics that need to be taken care of. We’re all grown men, and do this because we enjoy doing this, not because we need to. That means I will not be sleeping on anyone’s floor in order to play someplace I’ve never been. There’s no reason cheap food has to be disgusting as well, so I’ll expect a decent culinary treatment. Thirdly, we do this thing accompanied by a professional crew, so that’ll reflect itself in the costs as well. We choose to do this only if there’s a decent sound system, otherwise you’ll just be fucking over the people who pay to see you, by having a crap sound. These are all not unreasonable demands, and we’re certainly not the most expensive band in our league, but a certain amount of professionalism is required if anyone wants us to play.

Two years ago you said that although you don't see that same diversity in the current scene, there's still a really good scene in Holland. Do you think the same know? What is the status of the Holland metal scene?
Frank: Yes, I still think that. I’d say the status of the Dutch Metal scene is the same it was two years ago. If there HAVE been any changes, I certainly haven’t been aware of them.

What do you think about the actual death metal scene both in Europe and States?
Frank: I can’t say I follow either of these scenes very closely; I just don’t have the time for it. I hear new bands ever now and then, but that’s it, really. So I can’t give any fair comment on this.

How are Gorefest members in their ordinary life? Do you all have jobs in the musical field?
Frank: I guess we’re all connected to music in our jobs one way or another. Ed works for a large merchandising company, JC works for Holland’s largest booking agency, Boudewijn is a guitar teacher and I work in a small club in my hometown. I guess these are the kind of jobs you end up in when you’ve been in a band for more than ten years, hahaha
 
What is your biggest accomplishment, from an artist’s/musician’s point of view?
Frank: Being given the chance to record and perform our music all over the world. That’s something you just can’t buy.

It’s time to ask you about your future plans. What are you going to do after this European tour? Maybe some shows in America?
Frank: I very much doubt that, it’s quite a feat we’ve gotten this far as it is. As you’re undoubtedly familiar with daytime jobs, you just can’t take time off work whenever you want to. Multiply that by four, and you might understand touring isn’t as easy for us as it was back in the 90’s, when this band was all we had. A US tour is not something anyone of us could afford at the moment, even though we’d love to go overthere. Maybe, some day…

Thank you very much for this interview. In the end please send a message to all your Romanian fans?
Frank: Yeah, I’m sorry we couldn’t include any Romanian dates on the current tour. Keep on harassing your local promoters, and maybe one day someone will bring us over. In the meantime, I hope you all give our new album a chance, we’re really proud of it!