The Gathering Album: “Home”

I type this review now, two months after i got the album, because I was constantly listening to it for these past two months.

I have been a huge fan of this band ever since I heard if_then_else back in 2004. I have obtained all their albums and enjoy them all quite so very much..

But with every album, there was a playlist I create, of my favourite songs of the album.. But with home, the playlist IS the album..

I cannot begin to describe the beauty that is "Home".. the voice of Anneke, soars higher and is purer and more heart felt than ever before... The music is deep, rich yet so accessible... There is not one song that is not beautiful within itself..

Whether its the upbeat Shortest Day, the melancholic Box, A Noise Severe, Alone, Waking Hour, the beautiful Forgotten, the uplifting Solace, and Your troubles are over or the heavenly In Between, Home and The Quiet One.. this record will truly take you on a journey you will never forget, a journey you will want to take over and over and over again..

Two words, Buy it.. you will not regret it for a second..

The one thing that is sad is that this band has not gained the recognition it deserves..

To the gathering, stay true to yourselves and thank you for heaven..

To the readers, stop reading and start listening..

Reviewgium - Volume I, issue III

Before I was even a fan of The Gathering, Anneke van Giersbergen was one of my favorite female vocalists, and her charms have won me over yet again with this album. It took a few listens before Home really "clicked," but when it did, it did so in a big way. As with their last few albums, Home makes it apparent that The Gathering has mellowed out quite a bit, but they have not lost their edge. Well, perhaps they did lose a little in Souvenirs, but they have gained back whatever little edge they lost in Home. Still, the newer songs are almost mellow enough at times to be considered metal-tinged pop rock, but let's not go overboard with labels.

"Shortest Day" opens the album, the highlight being Anneke's immaculate, wordless chantings during the choral sections. Then a slow, pulse followed by a sinister bass line starts the haunting track "In Between," which I think contains Anneke's best performance on the album, though it is really difficult to rate one song against another in that manner, as she excels consistantly in every song. An eerie combination of chimes and steady pulsating rhythms provdide the setting for "Alone," a song beautiful in its simplicity. The delicate nature of "Waking Hour" sort of trasports you to another realm, and is extended in the intermediate track "Fatigue," and enhanced further with more of Anneke's enchanting vocal lines in "A Noise Severe." "Forgotten" may be considered the weak point of Home, if there must be one, but there is nothing wrong with a simple duet between Anneke and a piano. "Solace" is a mixture of singing and spoken word. Does anyone have a problem with the Dutch language rolling off of Anneke's tongue? I do not know what she is saying, but it does not seem to matter. In fact, now I think I'd pay for a few issues of "Books On Tape: as read in Dutch by the sultry Anneke van Giersbergen." Anyway, the pace picks up a bit with "Your Troubles Are Over," sinking back down for the sad melodies of "Box," another song, like "Alone," that is beautiful in its simplicity, pulling at your heartstrings like a rain shower in the forest on a cool, placcid spring night. "The Quiet One"...short but sweet Anneke ambience, setting you up for the title track. Just sit back, close your eyes for a moment, and let it take you to another plane. She has that power. Frankly, I think the album could have ended perfectly with this song, but the final track is instead a "Forgotten Reprise," odd in that it is longer than the original "Forgotten." Or perhaps I should say "drawn out," as the track is essentially a droning 8-minute fade-out that disappears into the horizon.

I can definitely recommend this album to fans, though if you were expecting a return to the earlier and heavier sound of The Gathering, you obviously will not find it here, and perhaps never again at this rate. Not that that is a bad thing. For new listeners, pick it up if I have sparked your interest, but your best bet would be to acquire the more energetic Nighttime Birds, or alternatively, the classic How To Measure a Planet as your first Gathering album. It worked for me.

"Home" would prove to be the last album for The Gathering with incredible vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen at the helm. Shortly after the US tour in support of the album she announced that she was leaving the band. The album itself is another one that although I like it, does not exactly blow me away. It starts out very promising with the great song "Shortest Day". The next two "In Between" and "Alone" are both solid too, but things start to drag a bit as the album goes on. Anneke's vocals are pristine as ever, although seem somewhat restrained on this disc. The accompanying music is all decent, but again there is nothing here instrumentally that blows me away. The use of modern beats and electronics give the album a contemporary feel, and overall the sound is probably more radio friendly than some of the band's earlier works. How much you like this will depend on your personal taste. After seeing the band live on this tour I though a lot of this material came off a lot better in a live setting. I guess the bottom line is that I think this is a solid 3 star album, but I can't rate it much higher than that.

Based on other reviews I've read, I guess I'm lucky not to have been a long time fan. This album is my introduction to the group. This is truely beautiful, well crafted music. The female vocalist is superb. This is like the progressive rock of old only updated for the 21rst century. You get the etheral feel from the vocals and strings. It is music that will send your mind on an adventure to really serene places. This is inspired music. I don't know about their heavier past, but this album is still definately edgy and way beyond pop sensibilities. It is like Europes Beauty & the Beast music without those dreadful beast grunts to come in and ruin everything. When you hear this singer you'll know you are dealing with a fantastic vocal talent. If uninitiated to this group you should definately add this to your collection. Highly recommended.

I am relatively new as a fan of The Gathering, it was last year that I bought my first album of theirs, following the advice of Amazon Alerts: "How to measure a planet", and I was blown away for the ambitious and experimental effort comprised in two cds full of high quality instrumentation, dense soundscapes that reminded me of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, a long instrumental-experimental suite, and crowning all of this, the superb voice of their female vocalist: Anneke van Giersbergen, with no doubt one of the most powerful and beautiful female voices in the current rock scenario. Then I purchased "Home", their latest work, and definitely this has been enough for me to declare this Dutch band as one of my favorites. "Home" is mature album, it contains a sophisticated sound that the band have been improving since their album "Mandylion", and definetly, it places this band among the finest "progressive-experimental-sublime-atmospheric" bands today. To clasify them with those words is just a necessary action, one has to name things and persons to identifying them, but let me tell you something: The Gathering's music really defies categorization, it is very creative and makes it very difficult to find one precise adjective to qualify it. Having said that, it is sad to know that their vocalist, Anneke, with whom they have rounded up their musical formula, is leaving and will deliver her final concert in Finland, in August. Will this represent a fallout for the band, or a renaissance? Time will tell.