Interview added by Felix on December 3, 2004.

If we talk about the Dutch metal history we can't forget the biggest band so far - when we
take it to the extremes: Gorefest. A band that grew out of practically nothing with two demos to
one of the biggest bands in the early death metal scene worldwide. Though I pretty much liked
all of Gorefest's works, the metal audience have been divded with Gorefest lovers and haters.
Though, all of them were talking about the news that they reformed around the summer of
2004... So, there was a lot to talk about, I stalked guitarist and founding member Frank for some
time so I figured that he would do me this favour (in order to let him alone afterwards of course)
and answer this interview for me... So, here it is for all of you, the interview that should answer
all your questions! Enjoy ...

Hey Frank, thanks for taking the time to answer a few of my questions concerning the
highly anticipated reunion of Gorefest...
'Highly anticipated' by some, dreaded by others, I guess. But you're welcome.

First of all a question that you answered about a thousand times by now I guess. But, I'm
still wondering - and many readers will be interested in it as well - what made you reunite? I
mean, every time I spoke to you I somewhat begged for a reunion but your answer was always
the same, and negative…
Ed got approached by Hans from Transmission Records about re-issueing some of the old
stuff, and doing a DVD. He took it to the rest of us, and at one point we were quite close to
signing all material over to Hans, and thus, for the last time, making some money off of those
songs. We never even considered reforming until, for the sake of discussing some of the logistics
of all of this, Boudewijn and JC met and patched things up between them. We kind of thought,
hey, if we're all on good terms again, why not try and do something we all enjoyed doing
together, ie. make some music? None of us were very sure if it made any sense until after the
first couple of rehearsals. I mean, a month before all of this, 'reforming Gorefest' was out of the
question, something we all joked about once in a while, but never thought of actually doing.

The news reached my ears rather quick, but I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Though the
information leaked pretty fast on the internet. What was your idea behind trying to keep this
somewhat of a secret?
Pretty much because of above mentioned things. We didn't want the whole 'reunion this,
Gorefest that, bollocks all over the place' thing before we were sure ourselves we wanted to do
this. Initially we just went into rehearsals playing lots of old songs, trying to see if we could get
something out of them. Turned out we all had a great time, but who knows, if one of us would've
had a bad week, we might never have done this interview.

Now that the reunion is a fact, questions arise about the musical path to travel. Gorefest's
career has clearly been divided in two different genres. The brutal death metal (even gore-death
in the very early demo days) in the beginning and the more bluesy way of the later records. What
will the new material sound like?
Only two? You can say a lot of things about us (and some people do), but you can't say
we ever did the same album twice. I don't think we could even if we wanted to. It'll be what it'll
be. There's always been heavy guitars and powerful drums though, so expect a lot of those.
We've got some new songs, and they're pretty loud. No blues in there, I assure you.

Now that you have been active after six years of inactivity, what is the most remarkable
difference with years ago?
Uhm, communication, probably. There's a lot more talk between us, as opposed to talking
to each other through other people. It basically feels like starting over again, no other people than
the four of us, making music in the rehearsal room. No hangers-on, no expensive crewmembers
wandering about the place.
Not yet, anyway.

Vocalist Jan-Chris was pretty much struggling with his voice in the end of the first ten
years of Gorefest, at the end he tried to sing more melodic than the blunt grunts on the first two
albums for instance. What vocals will he be using on the newer materials, and, with an eye on his
gothic/new wave band ColdPop Culture, is he still able to produce this guttural sound?
I really have no idea. I actually quite liked the way he handled himself (oo-eer) on the
Chapter 13 album, but we'll see. He hasn't used grunts in quite a while, obviously, so it'll be, er,
interesting to see if and how he handles those.

Can you already reveal something about your new album that is said to be in the works?
And have you already talked to labels yet, if so, which ones are interested?
As I said, we're kicking around some new material. There's about 5 songs, and a few in
the works. We're taking things pretty easy, no contracts, no deadlines. I don't know about any
labelinterest, I mean they'll have to hear some music first, won't they, and we haven't demoed
anything yet.

And then comes the tricky question. This one came from a colleague actually. When
Gorefest called it a day Jan-Chris said something about his disrespect on the metal scene and its
audience. Something quite alike Pestilence back in the days. Will this be a problem for the
success of the reunion on a personal level for him, or you as a band?
Personally, I don't recall hearing or reading anything JC might have said that would have
'upset the Metalscene' (that whole notion is just too silly for words, anyway), but it's possible.
Like Pat from Pestilence, JC was obviously bitter or disappointed about some things. That
happens after breakups. JC's never been one to mince with words anyway. He'll undoubtedly get
questions regarding that area, which he'll deal with his way. As a band, I don't know. People who
didn't like us then won't like us now, so that won't be a problem. There will also be the usual
indifference, and I'm certain there'll be some people who'll actually like what we're doing. So far,
we're having a good time writing new music, so I guess it's a success already in that regard.
Apart from that, we'll not be worrying too much what the Metalscene will think of us. Life's too
short for that.

Some people are getting their kicks out of bad mouthing you guys on the internet,
especially Jan-Chris is a much seen casualty with his aforementioned gothic/new wave band and
his looks (by the way, will he change this on stage with Gorefest again?). What's your opinion on
these things?
 Well, that's the internet, isn't it. As long as they don't take out a gun or a knife on him - or
any of us, for that matter - I can't see anything wrong with it. He put himself out there, so I guess
he'll be able to deal with that. Don't know if he'll be putting his CPC-outfit on, but if he is, I
won't be standing too close next to him, that's for sure.

Still, the band is pretty popular amongst (death) metal fans - for instance in Germany the
band still carries this big name. Do you think you can still manage to hook on the status that you
left six years ago, or do you think you need to rebuild this status again?
I don't know. We actually thought about changing the name, but, as Ed so eloquently put
it, that's like breaking in without a crowbar. I guess the name might take us a few places, but in
the end it's the music that counts. God, I love spouting those cliches, don't I?

Gorefest is also the first confirmed band on the (once?) prestigious Dutch festival
Dynamo Open Air. Were you still in contact with all the guys from the scene everywhere? And,
is this an important thing for you, for your 1993 appearance on the festival was a really important
point in your career…
Wow, that's been confirmed? Awesome! If you count the camping-gig in 94, then we've
played Dynamo not once, not twice, but thrice (spot the reference…). I have some wonderful
memories from all three of them, so if this show is indeed confirmed, then I'm positively thrilled.
I know there was talk of us playing, of course, but this is great news. Dynamo is obviously not
the same as it was, but that doesn't mean it sucks. Ed & me have been going to Dynamo since it's
inception, and I've seen some great shows there, including last couple of years - Strapping
Young Lad was fantastic - so it's cool to be a part of it. Yeah, I keep in contact with some people
once in a while. Some I see at shows, others I email. Some you don't see for years but run into
unexpectedly. Some you will, sadly, never see again. Such is life.

Now that we're talking about live appearances, you've toured with many huge bands. No
other brutal band from The Netherlands has ever accomplished that so far. How do you look
back at such things?
Well I cherish the memories, of course, and look forward to creating lots of new ones.
But it's not that I consider Gorefest to be the biggest or the best, I mean it's not a competition, is
it? It's just the fruits of a lot of hard work, you reap what you sow, and so on. Besides, I'm sure
there have been many bands that have done quite decent tours in the last ten years!

A little in the line of the previous question. Now a new chapter in the history of Gorefest
begun, its time to look back on the first years: what do you personally see as the highlight of
your career so far, and what was the absolute worst experience?
Touring the US with Death in this big whorehouse on wheels was pretty awesome, I can
tell you. First time Dynamo was great. Some songs we did I'm actually really proud of. Touring
with some of my favorite bands. Many highlights, come to think of it. Quite a few low points as
well. Some absolute shit gigs which are too embarrassing to mention, but if you were there,
you'll know what I'm talking about. Having a rootcanal done in Hamburg. A drunken, stoned
driver racing us past ravines in a rainstorm somewhere in Mexico. Bombs going off. You know,
the usual.
 This all means that you had to leave your other band The Hollow Men too, you will be
replaced by Pascal van Vliet (ex-Shinukara), how do you feel about this?
News sure travels fast. Yeah, we talked about this, and since my priorities and dedication
almost automatically lie with Gorefest, we thought it best I'd quit for the time being. They have
to be able to book a show without constantly asking themselves if I'm available or not. It's too
bad, since I really enjoy making music with those guys, but who knows, maybe they'll have me
back if all this doesn't work out. We'd have three guitarists, and we could do the Iron Maiden
thing. Or Molly Hatchet, for that matter. Or Leatherwolf!

Ok, Frank, that was it for now, I hope to get back to you as soon as there is some more
news to tell… Thanks for your time so far! Feel free to add anything you like…
Well I guess we covered just about everything. Thank you for the interest, and let the
Metal flow!