Haribo: Hi Frank, firstly thanks for the interview and we are sorry for delaying.
Frank: It's my pleasure, and don't worry about it.
What the news in Gorefest, did you start to record your new album?
We're not doing anything at the moment, just some shows here and there, but that's it. Towards the end of the year we'll start gathering riffs, and see if there's enough usable material for a new album.
Erase is the most well known Gorefest album also mentioned in magazines and webzines, which album do you think is the most succesful one?
Erase is definitely our most sold CD. It's also our worst, in my opinion. I don't like the sound, I don't like the logo, I think it's features JC's worst vocals, and I hate that fucking awful poserpicture in the middle. I DO like some of the songs, riffs and ideas on there, but on the whole, it's just not a very good cd. It was written too fast, with the wrong idea, and recorded in the wrong studio, with the wrong people. And forget about the mix, for which we've got ourselves to blame.
It has been 1 year since Rise To Ruin. How did fans react?
Reactions have been excellent. But you know, people only stay with you for so long before jumping to the next band they like that releases a CD. So while all the positive feedback is of course much appreciated, in the end we only make music for ourselves. If WE like it, then that's really all that matters. And we like it. A lot.
After your reunion your brutality increased in the last 2 albums, what do you think about that?
Ehm, yeah, I guess so. It's probably because we realized that this is the kind of sound that suits us best. It's the kind of music we formed this band for in the first place. I've always thought bands should do what they're good at. We've had our experimental phase as well, and while that spawned my third favorite Gorefest album in Chapter13, it's not the kind of music we should be making I think.
Is there any difference do you think between USA and Euro fan?
I have no idea, I haven't been to the US in 15 years. Back then there was no real difference, and I can't imagine that has changed much. Metal fans are pretty much the same all over the world, and that's a good thing.
How was your concert in Turkey? We were very happy to watch you.
And WE were very happy to play the Rock the Nation fest. That was an excellent experience, one of my top 5 Gorefest gigs ever.
Which songs you enjoy most on stage?
At this point, I enjoy all of them equally, though For The Masses, Babylons Whores and War On Stupity do stand out a bit more for me.
In every country, its a usual situation that a few bands get together and have an exclusive right, and sometimes act like a mafia. This can be seen in every music area almost. What do you think about that as a very old band in death metal?
Not THAT old, surely? I mean, bands like Obituary, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death or Entombed are much older than us! But to answer your question, we've never been part of a certain scene, be it topographically, ideologically, demographically or even socially. We've always done our own thing, not really caring what other bands thought of us.
What you describe in your question sounds almost like cartel forming. It would be really stupid, especially in the musicscene, to form some sort of club with your contemporaries and shut out younger bands. Those younger bands are usually the ones that have much better ideas, and will grow much bigger then you and your fellow bands combined. I don't think the World of Metal needs circles of bands that want to have exclusive rights and keep things stale and stagnant. The status quo exists to be broken, not nurtured.
Are you pleased with your record company?
Sure we are.
What do you think about download?
Well, it DOES take away at least half the amount of CD's you would sell before the downloading era, which kind of sucks, because those figures will determine the budget you can spend on your next album. But it also gives you a much bigger audience, in that your music is a mouseclick away for the whole world to hear. So the knife cuts both ways, I guess.
Nowadays listeners can get the new album weeks before from its release. Does it bother you?
Yes, that DOES bother me. As a band, you want control over at least the point in time that people can actually HEAR your new songs. A solution would be to drastically cut down the number of zines (paper & web) that should receive promo's, or just get rid of promo's alltogether. I would be very much in favour of taking some of that power back from whoever is misusing it.
What is your record company’s opinion about this issue?
I think Nuclear Blast's, or ANY label's take on the matter is pretty obvious, don't you think?
What is your favorite bands?
You ready for it? Here goes: Anaal Nathrakh, Autopsy, Bad Religion, Ben Folds, Black Sabbath, Bob Mould, Carcass, Carnivore, Celtic Frost, Coffins, Deathspell Omega, Dresden Dolls, Devin Townsend, Enslaved, Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Free, Hope Sandoval, Jesse Sykes, Jesu, Johnny Cash, Joy Division, Kiss, Lush, Mastodon, Metallica, Motorpsycho, Muse, Necrovation, Neko Case, Nick Cave, Pine Box Boys, Portishead, Richard Hawley, Rollins Band, Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright, The Stranglers, Sugar, Thin Lizzy, Type O Negative, Witchmaster. Along with many, many others.
What is your favorite albums?
At the moment, I listen a lot to The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave, Breed Deadness Blood by Necrovation, all of the Coffins CD's, and Split by Lush.
Finally do you want to say someting to your Turkish fans?
Yeah, and it's what I usually say in interviews with Turkish zines: I hope that when we finally make it back to Turkey, people will still remember to come and see us. We should have been back much sooner, but things never turn out the way you want them to, it seems. All I can do is offer my apologies on behalf of the whole band, and promise you a killer show when we finally get to play for you guys & gals out there!
cheers,
Frank Harthoorn,
Gorefest
belongs to Haribo Extreme Culture
