Reunion 2018

GORE IV: Frey / Van Reede / Koolen 2018-...

Van Reede / Koolen / Frey

Already in 2016 Johan van Reede had started to re-produce tracks from the Lifelong Deadline CD. The band (and most of their Fans) had always considered the ambitious album an artistic failure, or as Rob Frey put it, "an overproduced, rudderless monstrosity". Van Reede never lost faith in the originality, quality and power of the Songs that suffered heavily from the poor production of Lifelong Deadline. 24 years after the original release of Lifelong Deadline he finally started to reimagine and rework the old material. When he played his first results to Frey and Koolen, what he got was so convincing, that the three of them at some point decided to to give it another shot. On April 20th 2018 GORE was formally revived and the band announced their reunion, upcoming live shows and the re-release of the improved Lifelong Deadline under the title Revanche.

The band could win producer Terry Date to give the final mix to the material that Van Reede had restored, partially re-recorded and reproduced. The recordings were mastered by Howie Weinberg and the german label Exile on Mainstream released Revanche in March 2019. The cover showed a bold comic interpretation of Egon Notermans photo from the original releases cover, drawn by artist Kimberly Geelen. 

(Even though I got permission from GORE and Andreas Kohl, owner of Exile on Mainstream Records, to upload Revanche, YouTube decided to block the file worlwide. Presumably this decision was made due to some irrational copyright laws. Nevertheless the album can be listened to on YouTube here.)

Marij Hel

Revanche is not an entirely new album, yet it's also not simply an re-issue of Lifelong Deadline. In their attempt to rehabilitate Lifelong Deadline, GORE actually managed to add to it's original form, by taking from it. By cutting the meandering boundlessness of the originals twenty songs down to ten tracks, the band ended up with an album that is far more condensed, focused and stringent than the original had been. The samples and sound-bits that had been considered by many fans as annoying and "too much" - just as the 90+ minutes playing time of the double CD - were reduced in number, extent and volume. The effect of which was, that now they actually support the songs instead of overlaying and dominating them, and add athmospherical depth to the album.

Revanche is a fulminant, furious, on-point, in-your-face album, a forty minute outburst of raw energy and technical skill. The Songs are still vital and vibrant after 25 years and the sharp, powerful production brings forth all their timeless quality, that formerly had been clouded by the thin and flat sound of the 1992 release. Revanche is a heavy, manically grooving blow to the head, heart and stomach of the listener, just like the early GORE albums had been. And so Revanche is the worthy successor to Hart Gore or Mean Man's Dream, that Lifelong Deadline had failed to be.

 

"Revanche is a really enjoyable work of coarse guitar music, containing lots of brains while steamrolling head first through the wall!" - Wangerman, Krach und So

"It´s just interesting music, not one part is predictable, at the same time it´s proggy, thrashy, groovy. This music forces you to listen and it gives a new dimension to the term cross-over." - Martin Ripsam, Heavystoned

"The moment-to-moment experience is one of impressive technical skill, strongly emotive playing, and aggressive attitude made cool by its casual delivery. There’s plenty of talent and ideas at work here." - Gabriel Pesek, Metal Blast
 

"To me Gore are the most important instrumental band in the world! Nobody will be able to stop them now." - Morten Gaß, Westzeit

"Revanche simply is the monster after which everything is said. Instant classic." - Kalle Stille, Ox 

Playing a show in Bruxelles on March 29th GORE also started to perform live again. In the following months they played a line of shows in clubs and on festivals across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, all the while they were peparing a tour for winter/spring 2020. The band also started a new homepage and a web shop, marketing their own products.

NOTE: This blog is NOT an official GORE site. It is not affiliated with GORE in any way! 
All text, music, pictures & video is copyright with the respective owners.

Text & Layout by Violess waR / Wahnfried von Mannteufel

wahnfriedvonmannteufel@yahoo.de

 To get in touch with GORE directly please visit the bands homepage or contact
Sam Frijhof for AUC Bookings at www.aucbookings.com

GORE on Bandcamp

Many Thanks to GORE for their kind support and the permission to use their material on this page!
Many Thanks to Andreas Kohl, Exile On Mainstream Records for the permission to use their material on this page!