Gorefest - La Muerte

*=Staff's pick	For The Masses* When The Dead Walk The Earth* You Could Make Me Kill Malicious Intent* Rogue State The Call Of Death And Chaos Man To Fall Exorcism Till Fingers Bleed The New Gods La Muerte

Genre	Death Metal	Jan-Chris de Koejier	Vocals
Tracks	12	Boudewijn Bonebakker	Guitar
Runningtime	64 Min.	Frank Harthoom	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Jan-Chris de Koejier	Bass
Release	28 Oct. 2005	Ed Warby	Drums
Country	Holland	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	Bolt Thrower, Obituary

Gorefest are back after a 7 year long absence and the return has been very well met. After a few successful gigs, for example the show at Wacken Open Air this year, the band is back as a studio quartet and is unleashing the highly anticipated full-length La Muerte upon the world.

It's very clear that the Dutch Death Metal veterans are trying to recreate the sound of their first two albums, but still incorporating some of the ideas they had on Soul Survivor and Chapter 13, as well as trying some new ideas. Worry not, the core of the music is still catchy death metal and the album has a lot more in common with False. The riffs are mixed with melodic leads and pleasant solo guitar work. They don't focus on sheer brutality and speed, La Muerte is more of a mid-tempo and groovy piece. Jan-Chris de Koejier's vocals are well articulated, and differ from most vocals in Death Metal today.

It's hard for a band to renew itself, yet please their old fans and meet the expectations. Gorefest doesn't succeed completely, the album feels too damned long and good tracks are mixed with songs that feel somewhat like fillers. It seems like the band lost their focus half way through, and the great impression of the first five or six songs are drowned by boringness, with a few good ideas that wakes you up occasionally, but it's not enough to keep the interest awake. The vocals are a little boring; Koejier doesn't display much variety in his singing.

La Muerte feels like a typical comeback album, the music is similar to what it used to be, but it doesn't break any new ground whatsoever. The fact that Gorefest are back on the road again, performing old tunes, is the thing to be glad for. The album is a solid release, don't get me wrong, but it's more of an excuse to get hot again and do shows. Hopefully they'll get new ideas for a new studio album, because I both hope and believe that they have a lot more to give.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
8	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Max