For the most part, I never really listened to Goth metal music in the past. I had always thought the genre consisted of mostly boring and depressing industial-type rock music. With enough enough exploring on amazon for progressive and melodic heavy metal albums, I was inevitably led to the Dutch band Gathering. I first heard of them through the searching of talented female vocalists, and I'm always looking for a good female vocalist, most notably one who is backed by a band that can truly play. Thankfully, my preconceptions on the genre were all shattered upon first listen, and I was surprised to find out that they're actually pretty good! Anyone who likes heavy melodic metal music will find something to like with Gathering. I'd even say that this particular album classifies under slow, soft progressive metal music. The complexities are all there in the music, though the band never shows off once. Instead, they focus on creating moody melodies with the guitars and keyboards. Of course, let's not forget about miss Anneke van Giersbergen, the main reason this band has as many fans as it does. She sports a very soothing, talented, and beautiful voice which never fails to please, not to mention she's also easy on the eyes. Her range is broad, though she never shrieks or screams at all. Though her voice is what led me to this band, thankfully the rest of the band can also play very well too. Though many bands such as Evanescence feature talented singers fronting a generic, non-talented band, Gathering is one of the exceptions, at least on this album. There is great cohesion between the Anneke and the rest of the band, so the music ends up sounding very balanced.

Mandylion is actually the first album to feature Anneke's beautiful voice, but it's actually not the first Gathering album. The previous albums fell under the lines of death metal, especially with the two previous male vocalists they had. One was boring, and the other was agitatingly annoying, but thankfully the band finally found the right direction on Mandylion with Anneke. One thing to note is that all the songs are fairly slow paced with little tempo variety. Normally, this would bother me, but with this music I didn't seem to care at all. For the most part, Mandylion was sort of a crossover album for the band, as it displayed much of the metal instrumental prowess of the previous releases, but also hinted at the more quiet accoustic nature of the newer albums. Either way, Mandylion (and also maybe the next album, Nighttime Birds(1997)) is their crowning breakthrough achievement.

It starts off with 'Strange Machines', a heavy pounding slow rocker which alternates tempos at various points, and serves as a good introduction to Anneke's vocals, and to the album itself. 'Eleanor' is one of my favorites because it's a very melodic rocker divided between the vocals and the cool long instrumental section. Then there's the waltzy 'In Motion #1' and 'In Motion #2'. I honestly like #1 a lot better because it employs many unique ideas and keyboard effects into the song to give it a "lofty" quality. Plus some of the lyrics are very well penned together in both songs. #2 is okay, but it's just not nearly as memorable as the first part. Next is the euphoric 'Leaves' and the guitar powered 'Fear The Sea'. Both songs work well. 'Sand And Mercury' is a powerful ballad, utilizing a piano structure with the guitars, keyboards, and choir backing it up. The title track, though the most experimental song on the album, is VERY HAUNTING. The band uses tribal drums and other instruments to give it feeling. It's only an instrumental, though at points you can hear Anneke's voice singing in the background. Melancholic and powerful are the two perfect words to describe it.

Overall, Mandylion stands as a good example of slow melodic heavy metal music which anyone with a sense of melody can come to like. It's one of the few cds that can impress me no matter what kind of mood I'm in. Plus, even though it is different than a lot of other bands in the same genre, it opened me up to more areas of rock music. A good band can deliver what the fan wants, but it takes a greater band to be able to open people up to new genres. 5 stars. It's not absolutely perfect, but it shouldn't fail to please anyone that knows good music when they hear it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

On a side note, there have been people comparing Gathering to the popular band Evanescence. It's completely unnecessary since they're in two different categories of music. But if you must compare the two, then all I'll say is this: One is an underappreciated and talented band with an excellent singer and original songwriting capabilities, and the other one is processed, radio-friendly, generic nu-metal junk with a talented singer on the side. You'll _know_ which one is which.

Other recommendations:
-'Comalies' by Lacuna Coil

-'Nighttime Birds' by Gathering
-'Oceanborn' by Nightwish

Not bad, but pales in comparison...
Dull guitar arrangements slathered around vocals by a girl who sounds like she's at an American Idol audition. Not exactly a recipe for success.

This isn't a terrible band, but if you're looking for heavy yet melodic metal with a female singer who can put some emotion into her performance, look in another direction. Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, and yes, EVANESCENCE (being commercially successful doesn't negate talent) are all light years ahead of The Gathering.

You're right they shouldn't be in the same sentence!
Here we go again. COmaprisons of Evanescence to the gathering. Comparison Amy Lee's Vocals(damn near perfect in the technical sense and incredibly beautiful) enter Aneeke(whatever the heck it is) then enter some serious vocals lessons. These two female voices are on different planets. There is only so much electronics can cover(Proof Britney Spears) so let's not go on the whole artificial sound and voice trip. Listening to this gathering chick try to sing is painful. I'm not being bias it's just that she sounds bad. As i played it I kept thinking what the hell is this Shiznit! It's no other way to describe it. The music is nothing to scream out loud about except if you hear the voice of that woman. You'll be screaming oh no just stop. She's waaaaaay off key and off pitch. It's irritating hearing someone reach for notes that they have no chance in hell of catching. Again why is Evanescence well known and popular and this band isn't because they Suck plain and simple. Um pass this one up and save your money.

Please don't.
Please don't put The Gathering and Evanescence in the same sentence. It makes me absolutely ill.

The Gathering have their own unique brand of music that cannot be compared to anything else. The fact that they and that other band have a "heavy" sound and a female vocalist is irrelevant. Listen to the music and you'll know which one is processed, commercial waste.
Though it has since been eclipsed by increasingly superb efforts, the Gathering's Mandylion was considered a ground-breaking achievement upon its release in 1995. 8 tracks. Century Media. 2003.