Chad Bower from About.com: Heavy Metal spoke to GOREFEST guitarist Frank Harthoorn recently about a number of topics including their new album, Rise To Ruin. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Chad Bowar: How has the band’s sound evolved from La Muerte to Rise To Ruin?

Frank Harthoorn: "As much as I love La Muerte, I do think it's a bit all over the place with ideas and directions. Part of that is that it was written by all of us. This time, realizing the other guys were writing better stuff than I was, I took myself out of the equation, and the whole album was written by Ed and Boudewijn, which led to a much more focused, cohesive set of songs."

Chad Bowar: The band was apart for about 6 years. What is different this time as far as member relations, attitude, etc. since you’ve reunited?

Frank Harthoorn: "Being apart from each other for six years gives you a completely different perspective on things. I mean, to the outside world, we're just one of a couple of hundred bands doing their thing. To us, however, this band was our lives, more or less. That has changed. We all have our jobs and our own lives beside the band, so that takes a lot of pressure off. It also helps we all like to write and play the same kind of music with this band again, the kind of stuff we started out with still suits us best, I think. We do still have our disagreements, but that's just part of being in band together. Some friction in a band is a good thing, I think."

Chad Bowar: What do you think is the most underrated/underappreciated Gorefest album?

Frank Harthoorn: "Chapter 13, without a doubt. I've just finished writing the liner notes to the upcoming limited vinyl version of that one, and again it struck me how much I love that album. I think it's a very misunderstood album, which was never really given a chance. But you know, even Soul Survivor, for which we got the most flak when we released it, seems to be turning into something of a cult album among a select audience, so I hope Chapter 13 someday will find the same, or something like that at the very least."

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