ACCESSORIES

This is a double disc compilation of demos, live songs, previously unreleased tracks and covers. The first disc (The B-Sides) is exactly that, songs that were the b-sides of singles that they have released over the years.They are alternative versions of existing songs, as well as covers, demos and live tracks.The second disc (The Rarities) consists of 8 songs from "Nighttime Birds" that were re-mixed demos. Re-mixed by EROC no less. The final 5 tracks are demos from "How To Measure A Planet ?". So we do get some tracks that are on here more than once, but hey this is for THE GATHERING fans who can't get enough.

The first highlight for me on the first disc is "Leaves" recorded live in 1995, actually this was part of the first live recordings after Anneke joined the group.This is a powerful song with lots of atmosphere and some great guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. "Third Chance" was the first song Anneke sung while she did THE GATHERING audition back in the spring of 1994. The band says "She did an amazing job, and she was in the band 10 seconds after she started singing !" Another highlight is the cover of "When The Sun Hits" a SLOWDRIVE cover,and yes i'm a fan of theirs. Great song with Post-Rock style guitars, riffs, and background synths.This is their best cover in my opinion. By the way the band describes SLOWDRIVE's music as "great psychedelic, trippy rock, to float away with !" "Confusion" is an emotional and fantastic tune ! It's a beautiful dreamy song with a nice lazy guitar solo 2 minutes in. EROC did a beautiful job mixing this one as well. "Life Is What You Make It" is a TALK TALK cover and is a slower version as they purposely tried to play it in a way TALK TALK sounded on their last two albums ("Laughing Stock" and "Spirit Of Eden"). So it became more empty, relaxed and moody. Nice.

The second disc begins with a word in the liner notes from EROC who took on this job without hearing anything the band had recorded. He soon found out that this young band obviously had that "special something". He thoroughly enjoyed working with them and felt "enriched" by the experience. "New Moon, Different Day" sounds better than the studio version. Slower paced as it builds 2 1/2 minutes in to a powerful sound. Yeah, they're kicking it good now ! This contrast continues. "The Earth Is My Witness" features a good contrast as well. Check out Anneke's vocals, and the riffs too. "Nighttime Birds" is another slower but powerful song. I can't get enough of this song. I was singing it in my head even this morning down on the beach. "On Most Surfaces" is probably my favourite on this disc. Heavy riffs start to rise from the depths as the guitar screams and then Anneke's otherwordly vocals make everything seem all right. "Probably Built In The Fifties" does sound cool ! It's a heavy tune with a melody of bass and drums that goes on for some time. Great sound to this one."Travel" is my favourite of the "How To Measure A Planet ?" songs. Some good atmosphere in this one with a great heavy sound. It shifts into a higher gear late with the bass and drums shining brightly.

I really like this compilation but also know that this is something I could live without. I don't think I could live without their amazing studio records though. 3.5 stars as this is non-essential.

It's actually strange that I ended up buying this special Gathering release and the main reason for this strangeness is that I'm generally not a fan of this subgenre. And The Gathering is a clear example of this subgenre. No spectecular riffs but more like laid back metal without significant melody which is a significant feature of experimental/post metal. In the past I also tried Anathema but that didn't work either.

So why buy this superlong double piece by The Gathering ? Maybe out of curiosity or with the thought of: you never know. There are 27 songs on this doubler with a total time of almost 2,5 hours. And also, well, it's a Dutch band and I feel almost obliged to check out my native progbands.

The slightly better B-sides disk starts promising with two very good songs (In Motion and Leaves) with the second as my personal highlight of all songs. The reason: it's the only song with an impressive guitar solo. And it made me think: why don't they make more like this ? Because this is what metal should sound like. But ok, just my opinion. The third very good song is no.8 from this same disc, called Confusion. The other 24 are at best good measured to my personal taste. The real fans of the genre will disagree here no doubt but I really can't figure out what the fun is of a metal song without a compelling guitar riff. So the best I can do is stay away from this kind of music because it only leads to frustration.

If I would be on my most negative it could even have ended up as a two star rating despite the fact there is nothing wrong with the musicianship or production. It's just that the compositions fall short for me. The ultimate reason that I still give this one three stars is the beautiful voice of Anneke van Giersbergen. To me she's right up there with the best in the business. So 3.