Determine failure mode before determining solution. A very close inspection of the old gaskets, as well as the in leaned mating surfaces will give you clues. Why do you think they failed? Are the fire rings deformed? Which way? How did they deform? How were they allowed to deform? Any exhaust soot tracks on the head or block surfaces? All these questions need to answered before determining how to fix it.
On new builds where the surface finishes can be controlled, I'm a big fan of MLS gaskets. On repairs/rebuilds where the surface finish is not perfect, any quality composite gasket will work well, provided the surfaces are true, and critical areas are not pitted. High HP/nitrous/forced induction I would use MLS only and do what it takes to make the surfaces correct for that gasket. Chase (not with a tap) all the headbolts holes and use either new bolts with good threads or ARP studs. Even after things are machined, run a fine stone over the surfaces to remove any burrs. Pretty doesn't make it seal...flat and smooth does.
A lot of shops are using big ass fly cutters with a single cutter because they're too lazy to set the tool height of multiple cutters on the wheel....surface finish will suffer in these cases. Find a good machine shop, few exist any more, and the ones that do aren't cheap, but the difference is night and day. PM me for a recommendation. There is exactly one machine shop within 100 miles that I would trust doing work on my engines (besides me).
