well here it is. a thread for the ever changing band. they started off as death/doom metal with some gothic influences. one of the first gothic acts(in 91). then they changed their style to avant grade/doom metal with their second album. their 3rd and forth were gothic metal/rock. their 5th was trip rock, 6th was the same. 7th was popish rock. and now their new album is yet again, different.

i bout their album 'home' a few weeks ago. only heard it thrice i believe. pretty cool album, but it isnt what i was expecting. befor the album came out, there was a huge hype of how the band is going back to its trip rock roots(how to measure a planet? roots), but it really wasnt. but instead of making th ealbum sound like that, they made soemthing else. their music is different, and so are their lyrics. most of the time i was sort of confused as to what they are talking about, but oh well, over all home is a cool album

what do you guys think of them? favorite album? song? what do you think about their experimental style? should they stick to one genre, or keep jumping back and forth? do you like the older The Gathering, or the Newer, or the one that was in th emiddle? saw them live? how were theyy?

Hail The Gathering!

Souveniers has been one of my favourite albums since I got it. While it's not very metal it has the same INTENSITY as metal. I really enjoy the funky rhythms and, well, everything about it. Now I have Home, is it possibly even better than Souveniers and Mandylion? Maybe, I'll have to listen more, but this makes me so happy. Bands still exsist that get better and better as the years go by; bands that evolve their sound and improve instead of releasing the same album over and over and trying to hang on to their glory days. Hail The Gathering

I have all their albums with Anneke singing. When I had only heard Mandylion I thought this band was just one of those "quite good" bands, but then I explored more and finally bought all their studio albums released after Mandylion. Then they became one of my favorite bands in about a week, and will remain like this for a long time. Mandylion and If Then Else are my favorite albums from them, but I don't like How to Measure a Planet and Home as much as the rest, though they are fine too. Next I am going to get their very first albums that existed before Anneke joined the band, as well as some of their live recordings.

What I like very much about the Gathering is that you don't have to give a damn whether or not they are metal while listening to them. Their "pop drivel" is much better than most metal because they are not chained within the genre's borders. Gorgeous songs like "You'll Learn about It" or "Morphia's Waltz" wouldn't have been born if they were told to stick into metal and continue playing nothing else.

Other favorite songs? Sand & Mercury, the May Song, Analog Park, Travel, Souvenirs... there are too much.

/\ dude, i cant speak on behalf of everyone here, but get always, and then dont even bother with 'almost a dance'. always in an incredible album, and i believe that that was the album that helped me get into growls. it was either them, or Haggard. i cant remember. but yeah, always is just amazing. 'almost a dance'...though i stole that album from the retail stroe, i still regret stealing it coz it really really sucked. although anneke did an awsome cover of one of th esongs from that album on the 'sleepy buildings' album.


i have all their albums except for their first live album, whatever its called. i would have gotten it, but it only has sand and mercury taht is attracting me to it. so yeah..and i dont have any of their eps, or demos either

I haven't yet heard Home. I expect to in a week or so since it's been shipped already. I do hope it's good. Though, 'Souvenirs' took a long time to grow on me. I liked it but it didn't stand out at first. Over the time I've began to like it more and more and more. Just awesome how layered this album is. I haven't explored its lyrics much, I think I still have got pretty much to find out about the music itself. I love this album as much as I do love 'Mandylion' and 'How To Measure A Planet?'.

Soliloquy, you say you don't have EP-s and singles. Have you heard 'Black Light District'? This is on great EP I say. Not only that, 'Debris' has become one of my favourites which doesn't imply that the other two songs are anything less than great.

I.

The Gathering and really fantastic. I don't have their first two albums, but I have all the ones with Anneke. I love her voice. I know the adjective "angelic" is way overused for female singers, but for her it's really true. Her voice is just so beautiful and powerful... *melts* I could listen to her sing anything. And while some bands might just say that they have a good singer and don't need anything else, they're just as focused on making the instruments sound good and have just as much punch as she does. I also love how, as has been mentioned, they're always evolving. From one album to the next they always sound good, but they never sound the same.
It's hard to decide which album is my favorite. Mandylion is really powerful, with great lyrics and a real metal sound, but How to Measure a Planet? is wonderful too, so mellow. If_Then_Else and Sounvenirs are also amazing - Sounvenirs isn't my favorite right now, but it was for a while. And then Home is also wonderful, and I think it really suits them as a band. I like how it has more rock to it than the last few albums have. It's a nice change of pace for the electronic sound they've been doing for a while.

Written by Ivor on 23.05.2006 at 00:13

I haven't yet heard Home. I expect to in a week or so since it's been shipped already. I do hope it's good. Though, 'Souvenirs' took a long time to grow on me. I liked it but it didn't stand out at first. Over the time I've began to like it more and more and more. Just awesome how layered this album is. I haven't explored its lyrics much, I think I still have got pretty much to find out about the music itself. I love this album as much as I do love 'Mandylion' and 'How To Measure A Planet?'.

Soliloquy, you say you don't have EP-s and singles. Have you heard 'Black Light District'? This is on great EP I say. Not only that, 'Debris' has become one of my favourites which doesn't imply that the other two songs are anything less than great.

I.

i know those eps and singles exist..but the black light district costs 25 bucks plus tax. so that would mean almost 30 bucks..for an ep? thats how much a full lenght album costs! so i dont really see th epoint of buying that.

I bet if you searched around you would find it cheaper. I mean, if you don't want to buy it new for the price you mentioned, why not use eBay and get it for a third or quarter of the price, eh? Why be picky. But who am I to say how and what to buy. The point I wanted to make though is that if you get any EP/single get 'Blacklight District'. It's worth to give it a listen in my opinion.

I.

Written by Ivor on 23.05.2006 at 09:30

I bet if you searched around you would find it cheaper. I mean, if you don't want to buy it new for the price you mentioned, why not use eBay and get it for a third or quarter of the price, eh? Why be picky. But who am I to say how and what to buy. The point I wanted to make though is that if you get any EP/single get 'Blacklight District'. It's worth to give it a listen in my opinion.

I.

nah, ebay is being a bitch. i ordered 'Awaking the Centuries' 'Eppur Si Mouve' and 'and thou shalt trust...the seer' all by Haggard some 2 months ago..yup im still waiting on the order. and the person i bought it from said it should be in my hands in2 weeks ago! its been 2 fucking months!

Well it depends. I've gotten plenty of stuff (including rarities) off eBay and haven't had problems. Sometimes you need to urge them a bit but generally everything arrives within two weeks. It's who you order from that matters. A care should be taken.

I.

i got it from this person called 'metal pins' who has over 10000 sales, and has a record of arough 99%. so i would asume he is a safe person. and ive gotten tons of other cds from him...wonder what happend with haggard

I don't know what to say about The gathering, certainly the music has been always goos, but the voice of Anneke is not precisely my favourite, I have to say that Always is the best album that style is what I prefer when I hear them, obviusly "Downfall-the early years" is awesome the demos are great espeacilly the voice...

thats odd. this topic had the highest number of posts among all gothic metal bands in the last metalstorm forum. oh well

and i was listening to their album 'home' last night. i dont know, this band is strange. the music they produced after 'nighttime birds' isnt the type of music that would normally interest me. but give it time, and if i listen to them a few times, they grow onto me. by far, the albums after nighttime birds arent my favorite, but definetly songs that move me for whatever reason.


does The Gathering have the same power over you guys?

Well, it's one of my favorite bands, the album I like the most is How to Measure and the song is Travel. About their style I identify as atmospheric (I'm not an expert of course) I enjoy it a lot because their unique sound that makes a difference between another bands with female vocals, the lyrics are also very impressive, quite originals and so expressive, it transports the feelings very deep like in the song In Motion #2 or My Electricity.
I like the changes, their experimentation with other instruments and how make them to fit into the needs, including the first two albums when they played different genre but maybe with the same idea of try new things (Almost a Dance isn't that bad).

They're a great band. I like their older works better than the new but hey, the new stuff is still pretty decent. I got Home and for some reason I was a little disappointed with it. I haven't heard it since I got it because this disappointment deterred me but I really should listen to it again and remember why I thought it was a bit of a let down. It was listenable, just not as good as I expected.

Anyhow, my all time favourite album from this band is Always. 'Gaya's Dream' is a complete masterpiece.

Written by Daru Jericho on 18.06.2006 at 02:57

They're a great band. I like their older works better than the new but hey, the new stuff is still pretty decent. I got Home and for some reason I was a little disappointed with it. I haven't heard it since I got it because this disappointment deterred me but I really should listen to it again and remember why I thought it was a bit of a let down. It was listenable, just not as good as I expected.

Anyhow, my all time favourite album from this band is Always. 'Gaya's Dream' is a complete masterpiece.

/\ gaya's dream was actually the first The Gathering song i heard. and yeah, i think its awsome

as for their home album...do you like their souveniers album? home isnt really that far off from that. it has some pop like beats. and anneke's voice sounds a bit more emotional. and with every album, the guitar is playing a smaller role. and that role keeps getting smaller and smaller for what ever reason. but meh, its not my favorite album of theirs, but i think its decent enough to listen to it every now and then

Written by Soliloquy on 18.06.2006 at 17:17

Written by Daru Jericho on 18.06.2006 at 02:57

They're a great band. I like their older works better than the new but hey, the new stuff is still pretty decent. I got Home and for some reason I was a little disappointed with it. I haven't heard it since I got it because this disappointment deterred me but I really should listen to it again and remember why I thought it was a bit of a let down. It was listenable, just not as good as I expected.

Anyhow, my all time favourite album from this band is Always. 'Gaya's Dream' is a complete masterpiece.

/\ gaya's dream was actually the first The Gathering song i heard. and yeah, i think its awsome

as for their home album...do you like their souveniers album? home isnt really that far off from that. it has some pop like beats. and anneke's voice sounds a bit more emotional. and with every album, the guitar is playing a smaller role. and that role keeps getting smaller and smaller for what ever reason. but meh, its not my favorite album of theirs, but i think its decent enough to listen to it every now and then

I liked Souveniers. I thought it was more atmospheric than Home, especially with songs like 'We Just Stopped Beathing'. I can't make too many comparisions though until I listen to Home again seeing as I'm far more familiar wiht Souvenirs. The Gathering were good with atmosphere.

You can all hide cause you won't find a bigger The Gathering fan than me

No, seriously, The Gathering have been one of my absolutely faves if not fave for years now. The band that has managed to positively surprise me with each and every of their releases and definately (IMO) a band with the most unique and mesemrising music in the rock scene nowaydays.

I'm sure you all know I am an undisputidle fan of Anneke Van Gierbsergen, whose voice, musical talent and unimaginable charisma has enchanted me since I first heard her. And since I first heard The Gathering. Third Chance from Nighttime Birds was the first song I've heard from them and ever since I find Nighttime Birds to be my favourite album by them.

And where to start... Ok, I must admit, I'm not really keen on their first ''Pre-Anneke'' stage, even though I occasionaly listen to Always and Almost A Dance as well, but it's Mandylion who started the period of The Gathering I love so much. It's actually hard for me to explain and give reasonable and musical arguments why I find their work so special, because it's the atmosphere and the ambient they create that really embarces me. Whole. I mean who can deny that Sand And Mercury doesn't carry a bitter, heart-breaking charge, same Saturnine and the epic Black Light District. No matter if it's an instrumental or lyrical song, even without words they can create something so beautiful, hypnotizing and extremely emotional. And they range from insanity to love, despair, hope, faith, rage, helplessness, daydreaming....

It actually surprises me, that people I tried to get to know with The Gathering's music in majority didn't like it. Their loss I say. I'll keep on listening everything from Mandylion to Home.

/\ i can understand why so many people are turned off by the gathering. metal or not. if you really listen to their albums from mandylion to home in a row-sure that will take you more than 10 hours. but 10 hours well spent - but you just might be able to pick up the similarity between their music. with each passing album, they started using more drums or synths, and less of guitars. and even then, their musicans(not anneke!) tend to use the same things over and over again. i mean, the same notes. in home, they got an extra guitar pedal, and even then, they only used it once on one of the songs. cant remember which one. but thier musicans stick to the same scale, and it doesnt take all that long for someone to get bored of the music. and then anneke comes in.

i was playing thier home album in the car(and this is one of the few albums my family can sort of stand). and i cant remember which song, but i think it was forgotten or soemthing. yeah, so right before anneke started singing, my whole family came to a conclusion that this was one of the most boring music ever. and as i was going to hit that 'off' switch, anneke started singing, and thats when my family was like, 'neh leave it on. its cool'. anneke seriously grips you.

but honestly, i think that anneke could do better than The Gathering. sure, Anneke was a pop singer before she joined The Gathering, and sure one of her favorite albums is 'ok computer' by radio head(thus they keep going towards this never endding path to 'approach' radio head, though i think they surpassed radio head long ago...but still, metal, rock, pop or whatever, i think anneke could do a better job if shes left on her own. or maybe she should release a solo album, like LIV from Theatre Of Tragedy, just to show the difference of what she can do on her own, and waht she can do with the gathering backing her up

@Soliloquy: actually, Anneke is not a pop singer but a jazz singer. I tried to find her work with the blues/jazz/funk duet Bad Breath, but unfortunatenly, no luck there

I think I'm the only person that seems to enjoy the (little) period of the Gathering before Anneke joined better than when she did...

/\ umm, maybe not. i will admit that i absoulutly HATE their 'almost a dance' album. i heard it about 6 ot 7 times, and i just dont like it one bit. but thier album 'always' is still my favorite doom/death metal album. i wont really mind having bart and groot still lurking around in the background, and then anneke as well. i mean, have all 4 vocalists. bart had some amazing lyrics. groot has the insanly high vocals. and anneke..well shes she. and we only had 2 albums from taht era before anneke came into the picture. so there isnt much for us to grow on.

I got their 'If_Then_Else' album the other day. Really liked it, very beautiful vocals and the music creates an atmosphere that complements the vocals so well. Or could be seen the other way with the vocals complementing the music.... either way i enjoy this band, only have the one album but I really like it.

Might check out of the rest of their material. Very worth while band for fans with female vocals.

/\ dude, pick up their mandylion, and nightime birds album

well, the thing The Gathering did at Sleepy Buildings recording was great, I mean with the songs that were from their first albums (Stonegarden, Like Fountains and the Mirror Waters), those songs sound really good. I'd wish they included their first works on the next releases.

Yes, Sleepy Buildings are indeed great. They sound amazing live, just perfect, flawsless. I really wish to see and hear them live for once.

you guys ever felt very emotional after you guys heard some song, any song of any genre? not saying to turn emo, or anything. but just emotionaly moved?

that was the gathering for me. mainly their song 'sand and mercury'. dont really know why, but they band couldnt really create soemthing like this again. was it becuase of Jelmer Wiersma? he was the lead guitarist who did the solos of sand and mercury, nighttime birds, On Most Surfaces, and other stuff. he was the reason why some of their solos were agressive. more so than their work now. not that he was the best guitarists in the world, coz most of his solos consisted of like 4 notes at max, and most of it was done on one string. yet it just 'sounded good'. but the band kicked him out after nighttime birds just becuase jelmer lost all interst in guitar and music....

anywyas, so whats your point on this? is he to blame? and on top of that, whats your favorite song by these guys?

YES! I feel extremely emotional when and after listening The Gathering. Not emo, but something moves inside me... Well, Sand And Mercury is a great example for that, but I believe it's a mixture of music and lyrics that really touches me... Sand And Mercury has great melody before Anneke enters with her voice, but her voice just mesmerizes me.... It's the same with Saturnine and musically Saturnine is not close to Sand And Mercury for example. And all of their songs have this weird influence on me and that is why I like it so much. Nighttime Birds Your Troubles Are Over, Amity, You Learn About It soothen me, Saturnine, Sand And Mercury, Black Light District, Marooned, In Motion #2 make me feel kinda nostalgic and melancholic, whilst Monsters, Debris, Third Chance, Probably Bulit In The Fifties for example fill me with some sort of feeling of power.

And my fave song by them.... Forever Saturnine.

humm...ive been writing this play for almost like 10 months now. and just like all my older work, with each new book, i introduce something new. so with this book, i want to have a sound track to it. but i'm not sure if i am supposed to ask bands for their permission before i do that? coz i decided to put 'forgotten' in and one of the songs from their 'sleepy building's album just to give the sound track an acoustic touch. not not just the gathering, but i have songs by other bands like Aesma Daeva, and tons of others(including a few by me). i wont be selling the sound track, but i would have to sell the play coz it would be over 80 pages, and thats a lot of paper...so should i ask the bands if its ok to use their songs? i mean, they may not be making money, but it would be a free advertiesment you know?

Well as far as I know The Gathering also did (or gave) a song for a dutch/japanese film Tamago so.... It's worth giving it a try imo.