Reviews list for Gorefest - False (1992)

I've always shown a keen interest in Dutch death metallers Gorefest, despite the fact that I don't regard any of their proper releases as being particularly essential. Their overall sound has just been something that appealed to me right from the first time I heard their debut album "Mindloss" back in the very early 1990's. That experience would see me following each successive full-length over their two-decade existence, as well as their excellent 1990 "Horrors in a Retarded Mind" demo tape which I really enjoyed. Gorefest's 1992 "False" sophomore album has always been the one that I've regarded as being the peak of their career though so it's strange that I haven't felt like revisiting it since the 1990's, even after finding their mid-to-late 2000's revival to be worth a listen. I've decided to rectify that this week though with Ben's extremely positive review giving me the final encouragement I needed to seek "False" out on Spotify a couple of days ago.

"False" doesn't muck around in placing its cards down on the table with an excellent Colin Richardson production job going a long way to maximizing the album's potential. The heavily down-tuned guitars work really well with the mainly mid-range tempos to create a unified & chunky death metal platform built on riffs that often offer more than a little groove. The occasional use of blast-beats from drummer Ed Warby (Ayreon/Vuur/Demiurg/Elegy/Hail of Bullets/The 11th Hour) is quite welcome but I feel that Gorefest are probably at their best when they slow things down during the doomier parts of the record. The instrumentation combines the up-tempo energy of Entombed & Grave with the more controlled heaviness of Bolt Thrower with bassist Jan-Chris de Koeijer's ultra-deep vocals representing the clear focal point of the Gorefest sound. I'd suggest that de Koeijer's delivery is more of a death bark than it is a death grunt or death growl actually. Strangely, his performance is a little inconsistent though as he seems to struggle to find his signature depth on "Second Face". It's the guitar solos of Boudewijn Bonebakker (Monomyth) & Frank Harthoorn (The 11th Hour) that are the real weakness for Gorefest though as neither are exactly virtuosos. Nor do they seem to have much of an idea of musical theory so often wander out of key, leaving me with more than the odd cringe on my face. I find that I can generally deal with this blemish though due to the solid riff-based platform the band have built around them.

The tracklisting is generally pretty consistent with only the flat "Get-a-Life" failing to hit the mark. The rest of the album varies from pretty decent to very solid with the highlights coming in the form of the pummeling opener "The Glorious Dead", the classy title track & the doom/death number "Infamous Existence". None of these songs reach classic status though & it's this absence of more elite examples of the death metal genre that sees the appeal of an album like "False" being capped a bit for me personally. Don't get me wrong, "False" is definitely worth a listen but it's not a record that I can see too many people placing at the top of their end of year lists, particularly not during the incredible creative peak the genre was experiencing at the time. In saying that, "False" wasn't all that far off being awarded a very solid four-star rating either & perhaps I would have gone that way if not for the lull that "Get-a-Life" brought during the middle of the album. Ben obviously feels that there's more in this record than I do with his 4.5 star rating surprising me a bit so maybe it's best if you give it a try for yourself but I can't see too many members of The Horde not getting something out of "False".

I certainly haven't heard a lot of Gorefest over the years, but this album is by far and away the best thing I have listened to by the band. Compared to albums like Erase, which focuses on groove and accessibility, this Dutch band released an incredibly heavy album with False. All that said, it certainly contains enough groove and melody to implant these tracks into your subconscious for the rest of your life, without wimping out on the brutality. While there's nothing overly technical on False, their crushing death metal is extremely effective and keeps me coming back for more repeatedly.

The band gel together perfectly, but it's the vocalist and drummer that stand out. Jan-Chris De Koeijer's death growl is awesome, yet decipherable and Ed Warby's drumming is filled with variety and precision. Of course, death metal is nothing without riffs and there are some truly cracking examples throughout this album. The production is top notch overall and there really isn't anything to complain about from a technical point of view. If I'm going to be critical, I'd say the last few tracks of False fall away a bit after an amazing first half. The Glorious Dead, State of Mind, Reality When You Die and Get a Life are all brilliant examples of crushing mid paced death metal, while From Ignorance to Oblivion and The Mass Insanity tend to cause the album to lose its strength and fade away towards the end.

All up though this is a highly recommended slab of heavy death metal. If you like bands in the style of Bolt Thrower and Swedish death metal like Entombed and Dismember, then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't find some real enjoyment in this release. Check it out!