GORE Revanche [LP+CD]

Exile On Mainstream presents Revanche, by Dutch instrumental/technical rock/metal outfit, GORE. Imported from Germany, the album is pressed on 180-gram black pure virgin vinyl with the full album included on CD, housed in a 3mm spined sleeve on 300gsm GC1 board with gloss laminate with a black polylined inner sleeve and liner notes, limited to 500 copies. When SPV released GORE’s fifth album Lifelong Deadline in 1992, it marked the third restart in the band’s then six-year-long career. But even though the lineup – consisting of founding member Rob Frey, aka Marij Hel on bass and newcomers Bardo Koolen on drums and Johan van Reede on guitar – could be considered the most organic and competitive lineup, the band failed to revive the hype that started with their 1986-released Hart Gore LP. Despite raving press, Lifelong Deadline failed commercially, even more so because the band itself sees it as a complete failure. What should have become GORE’s magnum opus turns out to be an over-produced, rudderless monstrosity, over the top, out of balance, and with zero impact. Still, GORE remained on the road supporting Lifelong Deadline for over three years, tearing down each and every stage they performed on, which proved to the members how well the album actually could have turned out. This suspicion lingered for quite some time until 2016 when guitarist Johan van Reede finally decided to reconstruct Lifelong Deadline after more than twenty-five years since its original release, and expectedly showcasing how vivid these songs still are. Although dysfunctional the band decides to give the album a complete overhaul, to start from scratch, bringing the album to new life. In order to achieve a truly competitive production the band decides to bring in Terry Date (Slayer, Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot) to handle the final mixes as well Howie Weinberg for the mastering. And so, GORE’s Lifelong Deadline has now been transformed into GORE’s Revanche, or, “break-even.” Revanche is not a 1:1 copy of Lifelong Deadline. It is a complete reworking; a reinterpretation of what it could have ordinally been, concluding twenty-seven years of unfinished business. [Exile On Mainstream]