The Gathering
Always... (CD) 1992 Foundation 2000
In the early nineties, a band in the Netherlands started with an experiment which would later on result in an important genre within the doom-metal scene. They tried to mix keyboards and female vocals in doom/death metal. And I think they succeeded very well. The album starts of with a guitar riff that let's no doubt about the rest of it. Heavy as fuck, but with great melodies and supported by nice keyboards in the back. Back in that time, Anneke was no part of the band yet, but there was a male singer called Bart Smits. The guy has a stunning deep grunt, really amazing to hear how low a voice can go, without losing the ability of clearly pronouncing the lyrics. Every song is about 6 to 7 minutes long, taking the listener to the deepest dark pits of the doomsoul. Hypnotic, catchy riffs, heaviness and beauty, this record has all it takes to be labeled as a must. And if you consider the release date, it's even more astonishing. Forget about Theatre of Tragedy and all other male/female vocal mixes. Try this one!	1. The Mirror Waters 2. Subzero 3. In Sickness and Health 4. King for a Day 5. Second Sunrise 6. Stonegarden 7. Always... 8. Gaya's Dream Approx. 48 minutes
Reviewed by Heiko Isselee
Almost a Dance (CD) 1993 Mascot / Metal minds
'Almost a Dance' is probably The Gathering's worst album. After getting a lot of praise for 'Always', the expectations where high for this one. But with grunter Bart Smits no longer a part of the band and his job being taken over by the clean vocals of Niels Duffhues, it wasn't sure how this album would turn out. The new vocalist was the greatest shock back then, as Niels' vocals are anything but good! They generally sound whiney and do not do justice to the music. The music on its own is also not the best The Gathering ever wrote. Most of the interesting elements from 'Always' are gone in favour of a more straightforward approach. This combination of more straightforward music and bad vocals, makes sure that any element of mysticism or emotion is butchered before it can even come to the surface. One of the few bright points on this album, are the occasional female vocals by Martine van Loon (who seems intent on appearing on at least one album of every dutch gothic/doom-metal band around; also see Lords of the Stone or the first album from Orphanage). She however can not save this potentially great album from slipping towards being just another mediocre metal album. The name 'Almost a decent album' would as such have been more fitting.	1. On a Wave 2. The Blue Vessel 3. Her Last Flight 4. The Sky People 5. Nobody Dares 6. Like Fountains 7. Proof 8. Heartbeat Amplifier 9. A Passage to Desire Approx. 54 minutes
Reviewed by Aldo Quispel
Mandylion (CD) 1995 Century Media
Mandylion was the album that introduced Anneke Van Giersbergen, whose outstanding vocals have become the trademark of the band over the years. Her performance on this album is amazing, as she has a certain warmth to her voice which is uplifting. Looking back at the band's earlier work, the doom elements from the debut Always are almost completely gone, except of course for the dark and somewhat gloomy nature of the album. The production is very good, clean and crisp, and the band cleverly added some spoken parts and samples, for instance in 'Strange Machines'. Additional instruments like the flute and the tambourine spice up things nicely as well. The opener, 'Strange Machines', is supposedly the track that brought the band a lot of airplay and the deserved attention. However, for me there's a song that stands out head over heals from the others. Well, two actually, as 'In Motion' is divided into two parts, the tracks three and eight. When Anneke's unquestionably superb voice hits you in the killer chorus, the sensation is fantastic. This atmosphere is present in other songs, but none had this big an impact on me. A nice surprise is 'Mandylion'. This instrumental, which reminds me slightly of the ambient songs of Dead Can Dance, sets the stage for the epic 'Sand and Mercury' and its strong opening guitar riff. Fans of early 3rd and the Mortal or Lacuna Coil should get this one immediately. Not only is this a powerful, passionate and uplifting album, it is also an essential release for anyone into emotionally heavy music.	1. Strange Machines 2. Eléanor 3. In Motion # 1 4. Leaves 5. Fear the Sea 6. Mandylion 7. Sand and Mercury 8. In Motion # 2 Approx. 53 minutes
Reviewed by Bojan Janjanin
How to Measure a Planet? (2CD) 1998 Century Media
All metal has gone on this CD. The Gathering has decided to leave the well-known paths, in order to explore new musical areas. Never has a song of The Gathering sounded so experimentall. The distortion on the guitars has been left away for a great deal, to make place for more acoustically sounding guitar tones. Drums are accompanied by a programmed drum computer, all kinds of noises and samples were added. On one song, Anneke's voice is electronically altered. Emotionally, this album has nothing to do with darkness or sadness. The rather ambient feel of the album in the first place wants to please the listeners and put them at ease. But does that in a great way. 'GREAT ocean road', 'LIBERTY bell' and 'probably built in the FIFTIES' are some of the outstanding songs. The second CD (yes, it is a double CD) ends with a 28 minute long ambient track, filled with samples and undescribable noises. This album deserves a serious chance if you also like some "softer" music and if you don't mind that the guitars are a bit mixed to the back for once.	CD1: 1. Frail {you might as well be me} 2. Great Ocean Road 3. Rescue Me 4. My Electricity 5. Liberty Bell 6. Red is a Slow Colour 7. The Big Sleep 8. Marooned 9. Travel CD2: 1. South American Ghost Ride 2. Illuminating 3. Locked Away 4. Probably Built in the Fifties 5. How to Measure a Planet? Approx. 104 minutes
Reviewed by Heiko Isselee
If_then_else (CD) 2000 Century Media
Having moved away from their doom-metal roots on 'Always' a long, long time ago and also having let their metal sound go after 'Nighttime Birds', The Gathering seem to finally have found themselves a comfortable new musical home. Where they still seemed a bit uneasy and lacking direction on 'How to Measure a planet?', not so on 'If_then_else'. This album is a continuation of 'How the Measure a planet?', but the structures of the songs are a lot better, stronger and not too mention catchy. Also not being afraid anymore of a little distortion, the guitars sound a lot fuller again. Songs like 'Shot to Pieces', 'Saturine' or 'Morphia's Waltz' are highlights in their career. In fact 'Saturine' sounds more depressive then most of their previous work! While I was a bit sceptical about Anneke and co. original decision to make experimental rock, I'm definately looking forward to more of their work in future. I will even go as far as to say that this is my favourite The Gathering album to date. Yes, even surpassing 'Mandylion'. This was one of the highlights of 2000!	1. Rollercoaster 2. Shot To Pieces 3. Amity 4. Bad Movie Scene 5. Colorado Incident 6. Beautiful War 7. Analog Park 8. Herbal Movement 9. Saturnine 10. Morphia's Waltz 11. Pathfinder Approx. 53 minutes
Reviewed by Aldo Quispel
Downfall, the early years (2CD) 2001 Hammerheart
'Downfall' is the ideal album to frighten newer The Gathering fans. This compilation offers some of the earliest material The Gathering ever recorded (pre Always). Songs 1 to 3 come from their first 7" (previously unreleased!), songs 4 to 8 from 'Moonlight Archer' and songs 9 to 13 from 'An Imaginary Symphony'. While some of the songs later resurfaced on the debut full-length 'Always' this album is a great trip down memory lane. As said, for those not familiar with The Gathering's early sound, this might be quite a shock. You will not find gentle female vocals or experimental rock music here. This is typical early nineties death/doom-metal; male grunts, heavy distorted guitars and that loveable early nineties keyboard sound. There is something very nostalgic about slowed down death-metal with very cheesy sounding keyboard all over it. While the sound quality is not always the best, I think this adds to the nostalgic feel of it all. It reminds me a lot of the time when I first discovered Doom-metal and The Gathering. I also think it perfectly shows that The Gathering were always able to write great songs, despite changing styles so drastically later on. All in all, this album is an ideal opportunity to stock up on some rare demo material. As a bonus the first 10.000 copies feature a second CD with an Mpeg file of a gig The Gathering played in 1991! I'm amazed they still had the material from those days. Overall the Mpeg is nice to watch perhaps once or twice but I can't see myself watching it a lot. While different camera angles are used, the generally used one is a slightly annoying camera angle showing the entire band plus audience. About every 5 minutes some other camera angles flash by quickly and then its another 5 minutes of the same boring angle. This could have been balanced much better. It however does give you the opportunity to watch the audience, especially try and spot the two fans dancing hand in hand at the beginning! The use of additional special effects in the movie (and obviously not part of the gig itself) can be distracting, but I guess this was done to make it all slightly less boring to watch. The quality of the recording is extremely poor at the beginning but picks up a lot about halfway through, incl. in volume. Take this recording for what it is, a unique recording of an early The Gathering, but not something to watch every day. All in all I think this was one of the most interesting albums to be released in 2001. This is one of the few compilations that is really worthwhile picking up. Not just for the opportunity to own and hear some of The Gathering's demo work but also because it is very enjoyable music.	CD1: 1. In Sickness and Health 2. Gaya's Dream 3. Always… 4. Subzero 5. Anthology in Black 6. Second Sunrise 7. Downfall 8. In Sickness and Health 9. Second sunrise 10. Six dead, three to go 11. Downfall 12. Another day 13. Share the wisdom CD2: Mpeg file with: The Gathering live in the Willem II, Den Bosch, 1991 Approx. 70 minutes
Reviewed by Aldo Quispel