Customer Reviews

If Then Else

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember being not too impressed with If_Then_Else when I first heard it back in 2000. After their wildly successful (both musically and commercially) albums Mandylion and Nighttime Birds, The Gathering certainly hinted that they were on the verge of starting a new chapter in their career, which was signalled with the release of How to Measure a Planet.

If_Then_Else came across as a confusing album at first, but each passing year has attested to the depth and richness it actually has to offer. This might quite possibly be one of their most mature and melodically powerful releases in their history. The songs are captured with deep wall-of-sound production that recalls Radiohead's OK Computer. Anneke van Giersbergen's beautiful and irresistible voice is delicately doubled in some pieces, such as the poignant "Rollercoaster", a song with thick guitar textures and slightly electronic keyboards. Anneke's voice comes at you from all different directions, overlapping and harmonising with itself and creating a dreamy atmosphere. The same technique is utilised on the minimalist "Analog Park"; clever doubling is added to the piano-driven piece to help build sections amidst throbbing bass and guitar feedback. It took me several years to see how complex some of these songs actually are -- far more complex and thought-out than the albums preceding it (speaking of this, you must give Souvenirs another careful listen if you thought it wasn't as strong as their mid-90's stuff). The band explores the parameters of post-rock combined with exceptional vocals and acoustic guitars on "Bad Movie Scene" and the more sampled, somewhat industrial "Herbal Movement", where waves of distorted synth sounds marry soaring vocals and serene atmospheres.

"Shot to Pieces" and "Colorado Incident" are more upbeat tracks with heavier rhythm guitars playing a bigger role. The string arrangements and lush organ sounds serve to thicken the infinitely layered soundscapes, while "Saturnine" is the ear-candy pop lament where Anneke's voice is worth dying for. Actually her control and pitch on this album quite possibly surpass anything she did before, if listened with an open mind. Another incredible tune is "Amity", highlighted by great percussion work, intense synth blanketing, sad violin melodies, and deep, Ulverian guitars. The band's short instrumental piece "Beautiful War" is a hybrid of rocking guitar and bass, cello, trombon, and French horn. How all these instruments come together and form such a cohesive piece in only 2:31 is beyond me.

Zlaya Hadzich deserves a medal for his production on this disc. I've always been fond of the sonic quality of The Gathering's music, but Hadzich truly outdid himself with If_Then_Else reaching his peak with the much overlooked Souvenirs. Not only did he help The Gathering find their new, fresh sound, but he also rendered the songs impeccably transparent and fluid during the recording process.

At any rate, this is very highly recommended and one of their most rewarding albums in the long run.

This record is excellent. I haven't taken it out of my cd player since I bought it over a week ago. It's typical Gathering, so if you're already a fan, you know you'll like it. It continues as they always have to progress into new uncharted territories of musical exploration without actually changing their style much. Anneke's voice is superb as ever, and she still sings the interesting vocal hooks that first drew me to them. Granted it's not Mandylion or Nighttime Birds, but that's okay. Do we really want them (or any band?!) to do the same exact stuff over and over again? No. This album is like all of their previous efforts in the fact that I had to listen to it several times to get to where I really "get into it." Their songs, to me, have never been instantly catchy from the first listening. Rather I have to listen to the album 3 or 4 times before I begin to really enjoy them. But that is to be expected and anticipated with a band that lays out this much complexity in their melodies. The bottom line is that if you already like the band, you'll love this album (unless you prefer their "Always" or "Almost a Dance" era). And if you're new to The Gathering, you should give if_then_else a few spins in the cd player. The more you hear it, the more I guarantee you'll like it.

Still this dutch groundbreaking band takes his own plan and walks their own paths. And that's only one hell of a good sign! At their last effort, How to measure a planet, they brought the influence of music other than metal and some people were not especially fond of that. My personal conclusion is that HTMAP is a terrific album and who isn't aware of the fact that The Gathering has already came up with new ideas, is a dummy. It's just a band that won't sit still, won't stagnate and doesn't fall back to their old formula with every new album. Every new album they go into another adventure and makes somekind of a cosmic journey. On this album they provided us with more down to earth and more compact songs, which stick in your minds for a long time. The Gathering is the band that is an expert in combining heavy rock with experimental popmusic. This time they put in an extra dimension with the use of classical instruments like the violin , the cello and the trombone and of course some electrical soundeffects. In some songs the heavy guitarriffs are on front like in the powerful new single "ROLLERCOASTER" and the tough, but swingy "SHOT TO PIECES". In other songs the (relaxed) popatmosphere are in front like in the songs ANALOG PARK and HERBAL MOVEMENT. The beautiful singer, Anneke van Giersbergen, also has an extraordinary effort on this album. She forfills a real glance-part and gives every song another face with her dynamic voice. I believe the song "AMITY" is so beautiful and so atmospherical (if that's a word) that it makes my flesh creep from the beauty of it. Also the warm production of it all (by the band themselves in co-operation with Zlaya Hadzich) is worth a great compliment. I think that the wisest thing that you can do, is to listen to this magnificent album! This album deserves it to be heard!

After having experienced the band in a live performance, I was convinced that I had to have this CD, too. Their previous ones were great, so I started listening to this with sceptisism (too many good albums in a row is not compliant with statistics...). But on the contrary... The ideal combination of the great, very female and colourful voice of lead singer Anneke combined with the "dark" and from time to time "heavy" guitars of the band result in another extremely interesting piece of work. There were more "softer" songs than I initially hoped for, but that didn't, surprisingly enough, turn out to be a drawback of the album. A "need-to-have" for all people who like alternative sounds and metal-like music combined with a melodic voice.

This is already the sixth album of this most-known Dutch rockband (at least outside the Netherlands). After producing two magnificent albums (Mandylion & Nighttime birds), in which the six youngsters combined heaviness with beautiful, highly atmospherical and emotional music, and with the fantastic voice of singer Anneke,and after a double-album (How to measure a planet?), in which their need to experiment was driven a little bit too far, they now produced an album in which all their previous three albums is to hear. Were the strong hooks of Anneke's voice gone on their last album, they are now full in operation again. This album is maybe not their best album (frankly, after 15 listenings I don't know that yet), it is definitely their most mature and serene album to date. The first two songs remind me the most of the work of Mandylion/ Nighttime birds. But after those two songs the work of their last cd (HTMAP) is brilliantly combined with their earlier work, resulting in songs which are not only emotional, atmospherical and serene, but also experimental and "not down to earth". Here, heaviness is combined with a somewhat Dead Can Dance-like atmosphere. The instrumentarium used also reminds a little bit of that highly appreciated Australian cult-band, of which almost every Gathering-member is a great fan of (they've even covered a DCD-song- "In power we entrust the love advocated" of DCD's first album- on a CD-single, which came out after Nighttime birds). On this album, for example, viola, cello and trombone were used tot strenghten the atmosphere (no keyboard-sounds!). The music on this eleven songs are thus great to here on a big chair or bed, with your headphone on. This album is so fantastic to here, that it brings you to another world for some 55 minutes, leaving you behind with a fealing of serenity and peace with yourself. Try to listen to this album (for at least three times), and you'll like this album- for sure!

The Gathering use to make music that contain so much emotion but strayed away from it on this one and their previous effort. I wish that they went back to the sound that made them unique like on "Mandylion" or "Nighttime Birds". The instruments and songs were so much better. The new album "If_Then_Else" is still wonderful but a simplified form of the music that they use to make.

The Gathering have come a long way. But I think this is their best album to date. In being an artist myself I can see and enjoy the changes they have gone through to reach this point. I like this album very much and I hope they get the distribution and air play that they rightfully deserve.

Oh my God is this a good album, first off id like to say that Anneke's voice is AMAZING.. It is uncomparable to anyone elses, so for all the people comparing Gathering with Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and even nightwish, SHUT UP..

From the very beginning this album shows promise, Rollercoaster with its mellow singing, the faster more upbeat Shot to Pieces, the AMAZING Amity with its ambient mood and amazing singing. I would buy this album for these three only. But there's more.. More ambience with Analog Park and Herbal Movement, and more downright greatness with Saturine. The album closes with two great songs back-to-back Morphias Waltz and Pathfinder (very moody kinda background music).

Favourites off the Album: Rollercoaster, Shot To Pieces, Amity, Analog Park, Saturine, Morphias Waltz and Pathfinder

After this, I'm definately having another Gathering.. maybe ill learn how to measure a planet?

If_Then_Else is widely considered The Gathering's finest work to date, and I'm not in disagreement with that statement either. There's enough semblance to earlier works which keep things from getting dull but there's also huge growth and sure signs of The Gathering spreading their wings musically as well. With three albums under Anneke's belt at the release of this, she's never sounded better or stronger. As for the rest of the guys, if you've heard any previous record you kind of know what to expect. However, If_Then_Else is truly where they really start experimenting and tweaking their sound.

New to The Gathering? You just found your starting place. While Mandylion is by my definition a classic, and Nighttime Birds is an excellent listen as well, nothing will prepare you more for what they sound like nowadays than this CD right here. It's no secret Anneke isn't afraid to let the guys take over a song and I think If_Then_Else is where that really became apparent. How To Measure A Planet? is chock full of songs containing NO vocals and Souvenirs, while being more to the point, is just as adventurous as well.

Looking for that harder-edged version of The Gathering? Songs like Rollercoaster, Shot To Pieces, and Colorado Incident are all right up your alley. On the other side of the coin though, songs like Bad Movie Scene, Analog Park, Herbal Movement, and Saturnine are tell-tale signs of growth on everyone's behalf. Oh, and it happens in every CD they've released with Anneke at the helm, that one part in that one song where her voice just raises every hair on your body because of its beauty. What's the song? Bad Movie Scene.

My favorite songs are Rollercoaster, Bad Movie Scene, Colorado Incident, Saturnine, and Pathfinder. With each further CD The Gathering releases it seems they're competing with no one other than themselves. They're clearly in a league of their own and they have a fanbase that is only growing, knowing that alone should at least pique your interest enough to check them out. Starting here wouldn't be a bad idea either. Happy listening!

We usually buy most of our cds for one or two songs.The rest is very often quite indifferent.This is not the case in this cd. All the songs are good and you can play the cd many times from the first to the last song without feeling the urge to change it.
In my opinion the best song is No.9 "Saturnine" which I rate with a 5, but all the other songs do not fall below 4.
If you are familiar with the music of the Gathering, it is certain that you will enjoy "If_Then_Else". If you are not familiar with their music, this is the best choise to start.