Black Light District [Import]

The Gathering | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Psychonaut Holland
• ASIN: B00006WIOD
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,820 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2002 EP for the Dutch symphonic metal act features four tracks, 'Black Light District', 'Debris', 'Broken' Glass' (Piano Version), & a 'Bonus/Multi-media track'. Digipak. Psychonaut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Fantastic, December 31, 2002

By 

R. Schouten "nephilim1999" (Nijkerk, GLD Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Light District (Audio CD)

As with every album this band puts out, it's more experimental than the previous one. Where at first they were a melodic Death Metal band they evolved into something that is really hard to put into any catagory...
And so continuing the wash of electronic ambience that has entered their previous few albums this mini-album pushes that aspect even more into the foreground. In some bands that doesn't work well.. But seeing as the electronics are very well balanced against the electic guitar and classic piano this little disc is a very powerful and fresh sounding piece of music. It justs draws you in to the dreamlike experience that is The Gathering.

When playing this disc the first thing that strikes you is the somber piano intro. This sets the mood for the rest of the album. It is lush but quite dark.. Something that was present in previous albums but takes on a more profound shape here. The band themselves explain this is due to some bad experiences they've had the past year with record companies and the like.
But it actually is a good thing. The dark somber atmosphere of this disc works. It gives it an edge.

On to the songs.

Black Light District: This first song is a long and highly experimental piece. Starting of with a somber slow piano melody I mentioned earlier and working its way up to pretty agressive guitars and electronically distorted vocals. All the way pushing an aggressive yet somehow lonely mood until it erupts in a seeming wall of guitarnoise and erratic piano chords. Then as the energy subsides we're left with a minimal yet lonely wash of electronics eventually evolving into a pretty but again melancholic melody accompannied by Anneke's beautiful voice as she sings the last few lines of the song. And as the end approches we're left with the lonely piano that started the song.

Debris: The most agressive song on the album. A combination of metallic guitar chords and agressive electronics. This song conveyes a lot of anger. Anger of someone who's angry at the world and situations around her. The lyrics enhance this effect.

Broken Glass(piano version): This closes off the album nicely. It's a heartbreaking piano piece with a sense of hope lined into the sadness. Very beautiful. NOTE: this is not the orginal version of the song. I recently saw the band in concert and they played the original version of this song that's going to appear on their upcoming full-length album Souvenirs. That version is much more aggressive.

All in all this is a highly enjoyable mini-album which makes me excited about Souvenirs which will be released early next year.
Plus the fact that they worked together with Ulver on that album should create another masterpiece.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy it!, June 24, 2003

By 

Mr D P Leatherbarrow (Liverpool) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Light District (Audio CD)

I have been a fan of the gathering for many years. This album did dissapoint me when I first listened to it but over a couple of months I really began to like it. When I went to see the band live again the played the first track of this album, yes all 18 or so minutes of it, and live it was an absolutly amazing experience, those poeple who have reviewed it and said it is rubbish must be short sighted pretentious 'its not good if its not heavy' type people, this is quality go buy it now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anneke, you don't have to put on the Black Light..., November 16, 2006

By 

Luke Rounda "ThreeStarSmash.com" (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Light District (Audio CD)

An out-of-tune piano can easily concoct dissonant sounds that many might call "haunting." Doing it with a well-tuned one, well, that requires a bit more skill-- and fans of the beautiful timbre of a well-made, well-tuned acoustic piano cannot afford to miss this succinct little record from Holland's skilled metal quintet The Gathering. The instrument's use here is expert and unpredictable; "Black Light District" sounds like nothing else this group has put out to date, which might explain why it commands a love/hate relationship among fans.

The title track starts off like a typical exercise in the "slowcore" genre. A lonely piano arpeggio incubates and develops for more than two minutes before sparse, tasteful percussion drops in (along with a masterfully-camouflaged clean electric guitar). Spoken word courtesy of Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle of Filth, Angtoria) further sets the mood: "Blaming global infection for the illness in him // Little knowledge of the non-affection between him and his kin // Old, grey, bitter, anxious and collapsed // Like a wallflower once blooming." Shortly thereafter, Anneke van Giersbergen's angelic croon washes over the track, which has somehow become dizzyingly complex. Underneath it all, the original piano line repeats.

Listening to it, the listener must realize that this minor key vamp had the potential to either end abruptly or continue, dirge-like, for much past its welcome; fortunately, by six minutes in, "Black Light District" takes a completely unexpected turn: a fuzzy bass beat takes over the song, joined by a sinister distorted riff. This section continues loudly for several minutes before resuming the softer tone of the opening. As a mood piece, it succeeds admirably, and is perhaps the most interesting song The Gathering have yet written.

This will to experiment continues with the strangely-satisfying "Debris," an equal parts metal and digital romp which, despite queer lyrics ("I twist the truth, I love your youth"?), is a haunting backdrop for van Giersbergen's lovely singing voice. And the notes she chooses to siren over "Debris" will haunt many a dream. The record finishes off with "Broken Glass," which sounds almost jazzy with just van Giersbergen, a piano, and an unshakeable sense of melancholy. An attentive ear can pick out the piano lid closing at the end.

Rounded out at just under 25 minutes, "Black Light District" is a perfectly dolorous little record by which to watch sunsets. Probably good vampire music, too, if that's your bag.