The Gathering have undergone many transformations during their 15-year career. Brothers Hans and René Rutten and Bart Smits formed the band in 1989. The band’s first album, 1993’s Always, was fairly straightforward death metal, although the group’s extensive use of keyboards made it stand out from other albums of the genre. The real change in direction came when classically trained vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen joined the band. With the 1995 album Mandylion, The Gathering successfully moved away from death metal towards symphonic rock. Van Giersbergen’s poetic lyrics, paired with the band's orchestral ruminations, resulted in haunting songs that seamlessly flowed from one to the next. Their 2003 album, Souvenirs pushes their sound into more experimental territory leaving the more pedestrian sounds of heavy metal, – extended guitar solos and leaden drumming – behind while retaining the genre’s power and dynamism. The Gathering will appeal to more than just heavy metal fans. Anyone who enjoys progressive sounds, excellent songwriting or powerful female vocalists will be fascinated by this group.

Photography: Peter Blok

For more infomation on The Gathering, please refer to the following:

http://www.gathering.nl/

http://www.sandandmercury.com/ - The official Gathering fansite

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