the gathering (band)

The Gathering is a Dutch goth metal band which came to fame in the second half of 1990s with its unique blend of atmospheric, almost ambient sound and the compelling vocals of the passionate Anneke van Giersbergen. While their first two albums - Always (1992) and Almost a Dance (1993) were quite typical, although refined death metal albums, which were recorded with two different vocalists, their following Mandylion (1995) on which Anneke van Giersbergen sang for the first time, was a beautifully written, dark, haunting and emotional piece of music. It was also one of the first albums of its kind in respect to female fronted metal bands, and is still considered a standard in the genre. Their following studio albums Nighttime Birds (1997), How to Measure a Planet? (1998), If_Then_Else (2000) and Souvenirs (2003) showed progress and maturation of the band. Sleepy Buildings, released in 2004, is a live semi-acoustic perfomance recorded by the band over a course of two nights.