The Gathering
“If_Then_Else”
2000, Century Media Records
After being disappointed with their last studio album, How to Measure A Planet?, I was curious if they would make up for the boring lack of direction that it had. This album is better, and much more stronger than it’s predacessor(I never count live albums as albums, more like fillers), and Annekke sounds more stronger here than on the last album. “Rollercoaster” kick things off with a heavy riff, great hooks, and a great vocal performance by Annekke. My favorite song though, is the second song on this album called, “Shot To Pieces”, which is probably the heaviest song on this album. The dynamics, and the way this song was composed and played left a big impression on me, that I seem to come back to it the most. I don’t know if the lyrics to the song, “The Colorado Incident” were inspired by the actual event, but to me, it seems like it wasn’t. The song however is not horrible, I just think the lyrics represent something else. But, hey, every song always means something different to everyone. I thought the song, “Bad Movie Scene” was quite good. An excellent sounding song that deals with people trying to shoot down your dreams and hold you back, which is something we all can relate to. While this is no Mandylion or Nighttime Birds, it is however better than than the last album. It’s not the best album in the world, but it’s still worth a listen.
Tracklist:
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. Saturine
10. Morphia’s Waltz
11. Pathfinder
https://www.facebook.com/thegatheringofficial
Members:
Hans Rutten – Drums
Rene Rutten – Guitars
Frank Boeijen – Keyboards/Grand Piano
Hugo Prinsen Geerligs – Bass/Flute/Triangle
Anneke van Giersbergen – Vocals/Guitars
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
~Azazel