Pic courtesy of: Guerrillaphotography "It had been, oh, almost ten years since we did a proper tour, so we were kinda anxious if we'd still get along for a longer period of time together on a bus"

CR: Hey man thank you so much for this opportunity, a pleasure and an honor to have you on Leviatan! How you doing?
Frank Harthoorn: Radiant sir, radiant.

CR: Gorefest just got back from a tour through some countries in Europe, how was that experience, how long ago did you guys did something like this?
Frank Harthoorn: We had a really good time. It had been, oh, almost ten years since we did a proper tour, so we were kinda anxious if we'd still get along for a longer period of time together on a bus. But it was all good. We had some trouble with the bus, but once that was fixed, everything went pretty smooth. Most of all thanks to our crew, who made sure we went through this with as little problems as possible.

CR: Do you think the promotion for this new album “Rise to Ruin” has been, bigger, broader than the one done for La Muerte?
Frank Harthoorn: From Nuclear Blast, I think it was about the same, and that's fine with us. As for ourselves, we did a lot more shows for RtR then we did for La muerte, so it'll be interesting to see if that made any difference in sales.

CR: Talking about Rise to Ruin, the lyrics on “Revolt” are quite powerful, full of rage and impotence for everything that’s happening, there is a line in it “And yes, I can understand that it was quite disturbing for the majority of the population when the world leaders, both political and religious, were taken out of their offices and shot on the streets. But, looking back at that day, it was by far the best thing the 21st-century brought us”… let’s say that actually happens, would we be better after that, are we prepare for freedom from religion and political leaders?
Frank Harthoorn: No, I don't think that would help anything. You just get other people taking their place, and they're usually the same or worse then whomever they're replacing. There has to be change from the inside out. And as long as people can't or won't deal with each other, that will never happen.

CR: The cover artwork for La Muerte was very “retro” to put a name to it’s style, definitely very eerie, but now with “Rise to Ruin” you guys went for a more “modern” feel to it, was it because you think this latest album is in a way a progression for Gorefest… that this new album fits this times better than La Muerte?
Frank Harthoorn: It's the same artist, and I don't really see anything that's more 'modern' about it. It's maybe not so much a mess of ideas like La Muerte - cover and musicwise - but it's still no computergraphics. Which is good. I don't think La Muerte is that anachronistic, but Rise To Ruin does show much more focus in the songwriting department, so maybe that's what makes the whole thing sound more contemporary.

CR: Rise to Ruin has that “peculiar” lets better say authentic Gorefest tempo, I mean speed that many have loved for so many years, but this album like I mention before is a leap into the NOW, a more modern, lets say contemporaneous sound is added to the mix, do you think this is due to the nice clean production or you guys just wanted a more up to date sound in Rise?
Frank Harthoorn: There's honestly not that much difference in sound between La Muerte and RtR, maybe in the drums, but guitars are pretty much the same. I think the difference you hear lies in the mix, we took JC's vocals a tad down in the mix, and went for a lot of guitars. I don't hear that many bands with a distinct guitarsound these days, a lot of bands are only interested in sounding like the next big thing. Through the years, we've learned how to get the sound what we want, and every album is a pretty good representation of where we're at in tweaking that sound.

CR: When you guys recorded La Muerte I believe you said in one interview that you still had many songs for a future album, if I’m correct how many songs from that time (when La Muerte was recorded) are included in Rise… and which songs are the “newest” the ones that you guys wrote closer to the time that you recorded this new album?
Frank Harthoorn: No, what I said was we still had a lot of songs 'in us'. Every song we wrote during the La Muerte sessions, we put on there. With this one, Eddie and Mr. B came up with a lot of songs, of which we all picked the ones we thought would suit us best. I think the titletrack was Ed's earliest one, so that one's probably written about half a year after La Muerte.

CR: Would you say this latest album is your most “socially oriented” album yet?
Frank Harthoorn: I have no idea. It's not our main concern to be 'socially oriented'. We've never been into fantasy, and JC writes about what kind of stuff makes him angry. The angrier, the better, I think.

	Pic courtesy of: Gorefest "There's honestly not that much difference in sound between La Muerte and RtR, maybe in the drums, but guitars are pretty much the same. I think the difference you hear lies in the mix"

CR: Now that Gorefest is solid, now that everybody knows you guys are back, do you think the reviews on this Rise album have been more about the music and the “media” is not just focusing in the fact that the band got back together?
Frank Harthoorn: Oh, definitely. There's still people questioning the reunion though, which is fine, it keeps us on our toes.

CR: How big do you think the expectations from the fans were back when La Muerte was released and did you… if you experience any pressure with this second album after the comeback?
Frank Harthoorn: I don't think anyone expected anything worthwhile from us, so a lot of people were pleasantly surprised with La Muerte. With RtR, we just set ourselves one goal, and that was to just do what we're good at, and try to do the best job possible. It worked out really well, but we'll see what happens with the next one.

CR: In your site news, when it was reported that Gorefest was back together, there was this quote "After a few minutes we stood there all with a big smile on our face like "fucking hell we rocked" it felt great playing together again." How long did that feeling last?
Frank Harthoorn: Up until now, more or less. Most of the shows we do turn out to be really cool, and that's mostly down to the pleasure of playing with these guys. When that feeling dies, it will be the end of this band.

CR: Haven’t you notice that the term “heavy” means so many things to so many people, for example for some a “heavy” album is a loud as hell record, for others a fast album, and to some a well placed strong riff here and there… what is your definition of heavy, how do you qualify an album in that department? And how important it is for a metal band to have heavy albums?
Frank Harthoorn: Heaviness is in a riff, in the guitar tone, in the way the drummer hits, and where he hits what. It can be in a certain chord progression combined with a certain sound and a certain groove. More importantly, it's the combination of these things. Most of all, it's a feeling, you'll sense it in your gut, in your brain and in your balls.

CR: Right after your return to the “scene” what aspect of the metal world surprised you the most when you guys started to do shows and going to all the festivals?
Frank Harthoorn: The fact that there were still so many people that actually gave a fuck about us, and would turn up down the front. That was something I'd never expected.

CR: In a couple of interviews made by different bands that I’ve been reading around the web, I have notice that some journalist most of all, are actually saying that there is too much politics in metal these days… why CAN’T I see that? Too me there is not enough politics in metal, we should be louder, the bands should be louder in expressing our mutual discounted for the system, after all (and all of this is just my opinion) metal is supposed to be offensive, aggressive and bold, and lately everybody just wants to write about Satan or decapitated corpses. Do you think metal should get involved in political issues and can this affect the music, the metal movement?
Frank Harthoorn: I think people should shut up about what they think a certain band should play or say. If you don't like it, go and listen to other bands, there's thousands of 'em. Also, there's nothing wrong with Satan and decapitated corpses. If that's what someone wants to write songs about, great, go for it. And do it with all the conviction you can muster. I completely agree with you that Metal is supposed to be offensive, aggressive and bold. Bands just have to make sure they don't go about their Metal half-assed. Whether your thing is politics, satanism, necrophilia or stampcollecting, the only thing that matters is that you do it with heart and soul.

	Pic courtesy of: simonerenouonflickr "Heaviness is in a riff, in the guitar tone, in the way the drummer hits, and where he hits what. It can be in a certain chord progression combined with a certain sound and a certain groove"

CR: My first Gorefest album was The Eindhoven Insanity, I really loved that album, and I don’t really go much for live records but that one has something especial, maybe is the song selection that made it so good, who knows, the thing is that it looks like that record cause a very good impression not only on me but in the entire scene, at least that’s what I can decipher from the many reviews on it, the question is, do you think there is an album in particular that really made a difference to your careers?
Frank Harthoorn: Yeah, it's called False. That one made a really big impression on a lot of people. It opened up so many doors for us, and in one way we've never recovered from it. People tend to compare everything we do to that album. On the other hand, that's probably something most Metal bands have to deal with. Every band has had that one album where everything gelled, where everything was in the exact right measurements for the whole thing to take off. And that wil be your most important album, the one people remember you by. Everything else after it might be equally well done, or in your eyes much better, but it will still be put next to 'that one'. That's just the way it is, I'm afraid.

CR: After so many years playing metal… what aspect of this music hasn’t stop surprising you?
Frank Harthoorn: The heaviness we talked about a couple of questions back. Some harmonies can still surprise me as well, even when I've probably heard it somewhere before. Mr B has a knack of coming up with stuff that surprises me, that's always cool.

CR: Does Gorefest has any DVD of live video out? If not are you guys planning on releasing one now since everybody appears to have one.
Frank Harthoorn: No, still no DVD. We're always thinking about it, but we really need time to sort that stuff out. We release these things mainly to please ourselves, so we really want to come up with something we can be proud of and live with for many years to come.

CR: Well man thank you very much for the opportunity, loved the new album, loved the lyrics on it very powerful stuff, please if you want to add something else, feel free to do so!
Frank Harthoorn: No, nothing to add. Glad to hear you like the album though, we're all really proud and happy with it. Take care!