Gorefest - La Muerte

GOREFEST - La Muerte (NUCLEAR BLAST - CD 2005)

When Gorefest called their comeback, I have to say I was very sceptical. In the 90's they belonged to my favourite death metal bands, all thanks to "False", which to this day is one of my all-time favourite death metal albums. I am also big fan of "Mindless", and in the 90's I also liked "Erase" a lot, even though this album is more melodic, less brutal and just more "listener - friendly". But the biggest problem with Gorefest is what they started to play later on. I just don't like their last two 90's albums; I think they are useless and boring and the style change was dramatic. Why then I should expect anything worthy from their comeback record, especially if the band members declared that they don't even like death metal anymore? If they record death metal album - which they did - does it mean they are posers? Well, why care with all this childish rumbling. What matter is whether "La Muerte" is any good or not. To my BIG surprise, it turned out that Gorefest came up with a great, great album. I really couldn't believe how good it is, when I first heard it. It made a huge impression on me and I was just happy to hear this band back in such a great form, with one of their best records. If they don't like death metal anymore - who cares, they certainly know how to play it! 

I think that the only problem with "La Muerte" is that it's a tiny bit too long. An hour of music can be a bit too much, not whole material is equally great, so maybe it they skipped two or three songs (like “Rogue State”) then "La Murte" would sound better as a whole. On the other hand, it is still way better than such "Soul Survivor"! Damn, I think it's even better than "Erase". Stylistically "La Murte" sounds like a mixture of "False" and "Erase", but closer to the latter. You could basically hear that it is Gorefest from the very first second, so characteristic is the style of their death metal. The production is obviously more modern, but the riffage is unmistakable, so are Jan-Chris de Koeijer's deep vocals. Riffs have a lot of that groove and aggression Gorefest had in the old days, luckily there's not much of that shitty death'n'roll or however you call it that they played at some point. "La Muerte" is less melodic and faster than "Erase", more powerful also. I was really surprised when I heard some blasts - have they ever had any blasts and real fast songs before? Obviously, majority of the album is mid paced or slow, so you could feel that heaviness of the music. Mostly these songs are also insanely memorable, which is always a weird aspect in a death metal music, but quite nice to hear anyway. The production is clear, modern, powerful - play this album loud and you will really feel like it crushes you relentlessly. 

Arrghhh, I could really speak in positive words about "La Muerte" only. There's a fantastic dose of killer death metal here, many great songs... OK, there are some fragments I like a bit less, but overall it is a damn good record. And it's just great to hear Gorefest back in form again. When I listen to songs like "For the Masses", it's just an instant headbanger and great feeling of hearing the right sound of Gorefest. it's memorable song, these riffs stick in your head and you just want more of that. All songs have something great to offer, some riffs or whatever... I love the drumming, Jan-Chris' vocals, guitar solos are amazing (as always in Gorefest)... You know, even slower and more melodic songs like “You Could Make Me Kill” are great, because Gorefest really thrashes here with no mercy and the quality is there also. So, this is a highly recommended album; a great surprise and a worthy addition to the Gorefest catalogue. Even the artwork is in “False” style, what else do you need then haha? 

Standout tracks: "For the Masses", “When the Dead Walk the Earth”, “The Call” 

Verdict: 80/100