GATHERING, THE BAND PAGE
 GATHERING, THE
|
CURRENT NAME
|
Gathering, The |
|
FORMER NAMES
|
- |
|
ORIGIN
|
Oss, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands, the |
|
STATUS
|
Active |
|
FORMED IN
|
1989 |
|
LABEL
|
Psychonaut Records |
|
GENRE
|
Metal |
|
STYLE
|
Atmospheric |
|
LYRICAL THEME
|
- |
|
BAND ADDED
|
2005-12-16, 00:00 |
|
LAST UPDATE
|
2007-06-06, 03:13 |
Formed in October 1989 by drummer Hans and René Rutten and vocalist Bart Smits, Holland's The Gathering began their career as a Celtic Frost/ Hellhammer-inspired primitive death metal act before adding guitarist Jelmer Wiersma, bassist Hugo Prinsen Geerligs and keyboardist Frank Boeijen and changing their direction towards a more experimental, "atmospheric" approach. After issuing their first demo recording, Moonlight Archer, in 1990, the group landed several gigs with Morbid Angel and Death in their home country, in the process establishing a loyal fan-base and eventually attracting the interest of small Dutch indie label Foundation 2000, who signed the band in late 1991.
Issued in June 1992, The Gathering's debut album, Always..., became a great success on the European continent, where it went on to shift nearly 20,000 units over the next couple of years. Sadly, it would also be the last record to feature the aforementioned line-up, as musical differences led to the departure of Smits and addition of two vocalists, Niels Duffhues and Martine van Loon, who joined the group halfway through the pre-production for the band's second album.
Released in November 1993, The Gathering's sophomore outing, Almost a Dance, featured a less guitar-heavy musical direction, resulting in a mixed response from the record-buying public. Predictably, The Gathering--disillusioned with the group's vocal direction and the relative commercial failure of their second album--parted ways with Niels and Martine and proceeded to seek out a suitable singer with whom they could fully realize their musical goals. As it turned out, this task proved even more difficult than the group initially thought, forcing the band to take a one-year hiatus as they continued writing material that would eventually make it onto their third effort.
At the end of 1994, The Gathering came across a young vocalist by the name of Anneke van Giersbergen, a gifted 21-year-old whose personality and musical vision perfectly complemented that of the rest of the band. Anxious to incorporate new influences from groups as diverse as Dead Can Dance, Slowdive and Pink Floyd into their unique brand of atmospheric metal, The Gathering opted to allow Anneke's emotional delivery to be the main vocal focus in the band, thus ceasing their search for a replacement for Niels. With the line-up finally intact, the sextet inked a brand new record contract with Century Media Records and entered Dortmund's Woodhouse Studios to begin work on their first album for the label.
Produced by Grip, Inc. guitarist Waldemar Sorychta and Siggi Bemm (the team responsible for Grip, Inc.'s debut Power Of Inner Strength and Tiamat's latest record, Wildhoney), Mandylion's eight emotional songs range from somber tranquillity to outright beauty, in the process creating an album that is sure to bring a ray of hope to even the darkest of hearts.
The Gathering's music is a testament to the triumph of perseverance. Most importantly, it will undoubtedly shatter a number of preconceived notions and stereotypes tied not only to the band but their musical style as a whole, as their amazing commercial accomplishements back home clearly exemplify (Mandylion has thus farshifted nearly 10,000 units in Holland alone). Look for the band on their first-ever US tour during the summer of 1996.
| Session musicians Add - Fetch |
| Unknown / none |
|
Buy Gathering, The albums
|
