Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Strange Machines
2. Eleanor
3. In Motion #1
4. Leaves
5. Fear The Sea
6. Mandylion
7. Sand And Mercury
8. In Motion #2

Disc 2:

1. In Motion #2
2. Mandylion
3. Solar Glider
4. Eleanor
5. In Motion #2
6. Third Chance
7. Fear The Sea

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36375 in Music
• Released on: 2005-11-21
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced

Customer Reviews

Absolutely brilliant.
The very first The Gathering song I ever heard was 'Leaves', and from then on I was hooked... I can't be bothered to write a proper review, but believe me this is essential for those who'd like to hear some more interesting, gorgeuous sounding metal. And if Anneke's beautiful vocals (quite rightly the albums centre of attention) don't give you goosebumps at least once, then you must be dead. Oh, and the demo version of 'In Motion #1' (on the second CD) is better than the album version IMO! Do the band a favour, and DON'T download it illegally - BUY IT cos such a talented, thoughtful band don't deserve to have their music 'stolen' from them.

The Gathering's classic album
Most fans of this amazing Dutch band will agree that Mandylion is their most brilliant and classic album. It is sort of a transition between their first 2 albums ("Always" and "Almost a Dance"), both of which were heavy, doom metal albums with growled male vocals, and their newer, accessible yet eccentric trip rock. It is definately quite a heavy album, with heavy, throbbing bass lines and several dramatic riffs ("Eleanor" and the beginning section of "Sand and Mercury" stand out), however the introduction of Anneke's fabulously powerful, intensely beautiful and now rather iconic vocals has changed their style somewhat.

I would be inclined to agree with people who say that these days, the Gathering's music is somewhat defined by Anneke's stunning voice (a huge, huge pity, since she is now leaving the band), however Mandylion fully displays the musical talents of all the band members, with very very well written guitar and keyboard melodies in all the songs as well as a very unique style. The beautiful female vocals and melodic keyboards perfectly complement the heavy riffs and intense bass and drumming. Some songs such as "Eleanor" are really quite epic in scope and sound, and there is an impressive, eastern influenced instumental track ("Mandylion"). The album also features one of their most iconic and memorable songs "Strange Machines" which remains a staple of their live set.

This "enhanced" edition also includes a bonus CD with demo versions of many of the songs from this album plus "Solar Glider"- an instrumental track and "Third Chance"- another song which is not included on the original album. These bonus tracks are worth hearing for fans of the band. It also features some interesting liner notes from the band, explaining the inspiration behind the songs and how they were written as well as a few anecdotes from the recording. It also comes in rather nice, shiny packaging. What more could you want?

Pure Class
It has taken me a while to get round to The Gathering,with Nightwish,Within-Tempatation,Midnattsol and Epica taking up my time and my mp3 player,this is a brillant cd,amazing sound,brillant vocals,great guitar riffs and solos,I wish I got into them much earlier, this cd is 10 years old but is still fresh and modern,there is a bonus cd with demos of some of the songs and cd notes,The Gathering is just pure class!