Customer Reviews

Nighttime Birds

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A long time ago this was my first purchase of The Gathering's catalogue because the general consensus seemed to indicate it was their best. I have all of their albums now and often feel torn about which album of theirs I like the most. However, it's easy to make a case for _Nighttime Birds_ as top of the line.

The Gathering left the whole doom metal thing behind before _Mandylion_, and with _Nighttime Birds_ they continue their exploration of beautiful female vocals with the heavier backdrop. _Nighttime Birds_ shows the lighter, more ethereal side of the band taking hold more strongly as well. "On Most Surfaces" opens the album surging through heavy riffs and moody atmospheres, and it has a soaring vocal that would probably be dismissed as bombastic were Anneke van Giersbergen's voice not so incredible. Hers is a voice of diamond and ice, beautiful but chilling. It is not surprising that when she sings, "I am the snow falling down on you," the spine-tingling kiss of her words are as soft and light as falling snowflakes. Songs like "Kevin's Telescope" and the later parts of "Confusion" climb to great heights, heaved up by powerful epic billows of keyboards and electric distortion. Cryptic lyrics go well with the aura of mystery painted by ethereal guitar lines and penetrating vocal melodies of the title track, as well as the inconspicuous layer of stark percussion which hides behind guitar and keys. "The May Song" is interesting, juxtaposing the warmth of a mellow Hammond organ (love that sound) and softly strummed guitars with a confrontational vocal backed by a more aggressive arrangement on the chorus. "Shrink" is a haunting piano ballad with van Giersbergen's voice bleeding onto the floor in the prettiest way. "I shrink and shrink until I'm gone," she sings sadly as an understated eighth-rock beat enters with a vaporous guitar line snaking through the arrangement. Beautiful.

Although I think I prefer the experimentation and atmosphere on _How to Measure a Planet?_, _Nighttime Birds_ is an excellent work. I probably listen to it more anyway since it's not as long, also (it can be hard to squeeze in a double-album sometimes). Really though, you can't go wrong with any album of The Gathering's that involves Anneke van Giersbergen. That voice is the audio equivalent of Tropicana orange juice: pure, rich in vitamins, and tasty.

Anneke and Tarja from Nightwish are my two favorite female lead singers when it comes to this kind of music. While with Nightwish, we have over-the-top sythesizers and powerful operatic voices, The Gathering are more laid-back, delivering a more subtle power through lead-vocalist Anneke.

Anneke is by far superior to the Evanescense singer. It's difficult for me to compare the two, as I see them as from two completely separate genres. The Gathering sounds more gothic and less like Britney Spears trying to be gothic. Evanescense is okay...they're better than Tapping the Vein, but that's not saying a whole lot. This band is miles above the two: they started as a gothic band and slowly became more acceptable to a larger audience. But the fact is that they appeal to BOTH the goth AND the pop crowds, and if that is not signs of a talented band, I don't know what is.

Only reason I rate it four stars is because I don't really like the more pop-sounding melodies they use, but that's more an issue of personal taste than a defect of the band.

Highlights for me include: "Nighttime Birds", "Confusion", and "Kevin's Telescope".

On their second release featuring vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen, the Dutch band The Gathering moves even further away from their death metal roots, though they continue to be inexplicably lumped into that genre. It's unfortunate, because most of the bad reviews you'll read of The Gathering are a result of this confusion. Either way, the band shows a growth in their sound, a continuation of the atmospheric, moody beauty first presented on their previous release "Mandylion." Annke's vocals, while certainly haunting and beautiful, may not be technically perfect, as pointed out by a few narrow-minded reviewers, but there has rarely been a case where a singer's voice was so perfectly suited to the music she's singing. It really is magical at times (right around the 5 minute mark in "On Most Surfaces," for example). "Nighttime Birds" is a solid progression to the sound the band cultivated on "Mandylion," being a little less metal, a little more atmospheric, carrying themselves futher from "death" and closer to "prog."

This was my first taste of The Gathering since their very first album (with death vocals!)and I must say I was very impressed. Vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen completely carries this record by enchanting the listener with her soothing, ethereal vocals. And the band ain't no slouch either, as their musical backdrop complements Anneke's vocals perfectly and makes listening to "Nighttime Birds" an experience unto itself. Tracks like "On Most Surfaces", "May Song", "Nighttime Birds", and "Shrink" were favorites of mine, but it was hard to pick songs of note since most of the tracks are 'compilation worthy.'

If god were a female with a beautiful voice.

I love her vocals, they are absolutely beautiful and divine. I rank her right up there with Tarja of Nightwish as my favorite female vocalist.

They mix rock, prog, and etherial atmosphere with her beautiful (soprano is it called?) singing. The mix is absolutley perfect. The yearning is obvious is Kevin's Telescope as well as wishing to be free as a bird is Nighttime Birds. The Earth is my Witness talks about the rejuvination of life and Shrink tells about inadequacies in like.

Do yourself a favour and buy this album (along with the rest of their albums). You won't look back.

I`ve just been reading through some of the other reviews
and nobody mentioned this CD isn`t the place
to start, MANDYLION or HOW TO MEASURE A PLANET are more consistant.
NIGHT TIME BIRDS has its moments but it does have a few clunkers, and the long term interest isn`t as strong as Mandylion or HTMAP. I would rate Night Time Birds as the third
Best, but still a must have CD for Gathering fans anybody into Floyd through to Lacuna Coil may also be interestd in checking it out.

How do I decsribe this album? Beautiful? Melodic? Powerful? All of the above? I will just say all of the above and then some. I originally thought of the Gathering as another doom/goth band along the lines of Theatre of Tragedy and Lacuna Coil. But I was suprised upon reading the lyrics which, in my mind, are not very doomy at all. They are not uppity either, though, which is a good thing. Rather they all have to do with nature in some way, be it snow, birds ect. From the opening guitar grind of "On Most Surfaces" to the final piano outro of "Shrink" this album carries a power and beauty rarely seen today in the music industry. The entire band plays as one unit while Anneke's vocals soar above them. She easily has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. I say this because it almost brings tears to my eyes everytime I listen to it. Doro is second but that is neither here nor there. Everything about this album rocks. The drumming good, the guitars and bass rock, and I like the grand piano. So don't be afraid to try this album out. It is forty-eight minutes of sheer metallic, melodic beauty.

No music anywhere has been this good since Dark Side of the Moon, and that was quite some time ago. The flow from song to song is amazing. In particular, the fade from "Third Chance" to "Kevin's Telescope" is absolutely the smoothest transition ever. This has got to be the best album of all time. wow.

OK, first off, I'm a metal head. I play shred guitar, and usually listen to fairly heavy and fast stuff. That being said, I have owned this album since its release, and have NOT STOPPED LISTENING TO IT! One of the most beautiful recordings I have ever heard. Get it, you will NOT regret it. "I'd rather soar....."

The previous masterpiece Mandylion was an emotional storm that left you hanging on at times. Here the storm has subsided but the music is still stirring and highly emotional. There is a sweeter quality to this album and the more laid back approach lets Anneke really show of that heavenly voice. All songs are very good and I really like the transition from Third Chance into Kevin's Telescope into the title track. The final track Shrink is one of my favourite Gathering songs.

In short - This album is gorgeous and majestic. Get it and fly away into the night with the "nighttime birds".