The Gathering是荷蘭最成功的歌特金屬樂隊，他們的每一張專輯都給聽眾帶來新的驚喜，這支建隊10余年的樂隊，已經(jīng)能夠非常熟練把握他們在中音樂的情緒，每一張專輯的發(fā)表都給他們的音樂之旅填上燦爛奪目的一筆，帶來了新的元素溶入，在獲得高度贊譽的Nighttime Birds（深夜鳥群）之后，1999年Century Media Records再次為他們發(fā)行了概念專輯How To Measure a Planet?（怎樣測量行星？）這張雙CD專輯在保持樂隊原有風格的基礎(chǔ)上，加入了更多的變化，這支被人期待的樂隊理所當然的再次成為全 世界注目的焦點。 1989年The Gathering成立，開始他們只是想做一支標新立異的死亡金屬樂隊，嘗試一些別人沒有嘗試過的音樂和手法，發(fā)行了兩張小樣，歌特風格已經(jīng)初露倪端。但在他們的內(nèi)心深處永遠不滅的Celtic Frost/Hellhammer（許多部分甚至和Hammerheart有著驚人的相似）給予他們靈感，1992年6月，他們發(fā)行了第一張專輯，這張專輯帶有強烈的歌特風格，雖然比Paradise Lost的首張專輯要晚了一年，但在當時的啟蒙性是不言而喻的，優(yōu)美的鍵盤、浩瀚的和聲運用讓喜愛歌特和死亡金屬的愛好者找到了共同點，這張專輯在歐洲的發(fā)行取得了空前的成功。1993年底樂隊發(fā)行了第二張專輯Almost a Dance（飄飄欲仙），專輯中加重了吉他的成分，變的金屬味更濃些，可這張專輯卻反映平平，甚至有很多聽眾提出了發(fā)隊意見。樂隊經(jīng)過反思，發(fā)覺自己很可能什么地方需要改進，很快一個21歲的天才Anneke van Giersbergen進入了他們的視線，這個美麗的女人的陰冷凄美嗓音與樂隊要表達的意境完美契合，為低谷中的The Gathering重新帶來了勃勃生機，在他們的音樂中能聽到Dead Can Dance、Slow Dive甚至Pink Floyd…但這是一支金屬樂隊，你能想象嗎？ 樂隊獨特的風格被大廠牌Century Media發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨之簽約，他們有機會進入Woodhouse Studios錄制他們的下一張專輯Mandylion（無意義，一種鎮(zhèn)靜劑的名字），得到公司眾多名手的指點，為他們的風格做了更進一步的調(diào)整，Anneke的精神徹底溶入了樂隊的音樂，此時女聲已經(jīng)不是點綴或者象其他一些死亡金屬樂隊干脆把女聲做為一種樂器，而是真正意義上的主唱，一次偶然的靈感，一段對往事的傷感回憶或者一個陰沉的下午都成為Anneke的創(chuàng)作動機，由于她負責了全部歌詞的創(chuàng)作，樂隊的歌詞也轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)樘接懸恍┤诵员举|(zhì)或者對神秘自然憧憬為主題的浪漫主義題材。另外要說的是這張專輯由著名的Waldemar Sorychta監(jiān)制（他曾為Tiamat、Moonspell、Sentenced等著名樂隊錄制專輯），不難想象樂隊的風格會有什么樣的變化。隨后他們在歐洲做了數(shù)以千記的演出，出席了包括1996的“Dynamo Open Air and PinkPop festivals”一系列由影響力的演出活動。 1997 年發(fā)行Nighttime Birds，專輯主題是對久遠古代的追憶和對古代神秘魔法想象，許多片段很簡單質(zhì)樸，但確是The Gathering獨創(chuàng)，每一首歌都包含有自己獨特的思想角度和自己靈感。聽這張專輯專輯的確有些不同的感受，對古老民族樂器的模仿和歐洲古代民族音樂的演化，都有自己的獨到見解，因而這張充滿了神秘的“Nighttime Birds”受到樂隊有史以來最高的評價。 樂隊的最新專輯“How To Measure a Planet?”在荷蘭首都阿姆斯特丹的幾個不同的錄音室分別錄制，錄音和混音由Attie Bauw負責（曾為Fight、The Scorpions錄制專輯），這次樂隊決心突破傳統(tǒng)，加入更多的現(xiàn)代感，為了表達一種自由想象的空間專輯的長度達到2CD長度，這是Century Media歷史上第一張真正意義上的雙專輯。具體到專輯的音樂中，“How To Measure a Planet?”中運用了更多元化的風格，時而輕松而緩慢，時而非常的沉重而強勁，充滿迷幻色彩的吉他和強勁的鍵盤以及機械的采樣效果貫穿全部14首作品。這是一張完美的概念專輯，專輯全部的主題都是圍繞著太空旅行展開的，不但空間從大陸到太空而且涉及人類的意識及靈魂，整張專輯的結(jié)構(gòu)嚴禁，而且內(nèi)頁的插圖盡是火箭的太空艙圖片以及外太空自然景觀，甚至有詳細的火箭設(shè)計圖紙，這不象是在虛構(gòu)而象一份完整的科學論文，聽完這長度大約和一部電影般的專輯，你的意識就仿佛游離到體外經(jīng)歷了一場“意識太空旅行”。 The Gathering is a Dutch band which came to fame in the second half of 1990s with vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. Their first two albums, Always... (1992) and Almost a Dance (1993), which played a part in the formation of gothic metal, were recorded with four different vocalists. Their subsequent release, Mandylion (1995), featured the debut of Anneke van Giersbergen singing with the band for the first time. Their following studio albums Nighttime Birds (1997), How to measure a planet? (1999), if then else (2000) and Souvenirs (2003) showed the progression of the band from gothic-influenced metal to a somber alternative rock. Sleepy Buildings, released in 2004, is a live semi-acoustic performance recorded by the band over a course of two nights. The band's last album with Anneke was Home and was released in Europe and North America in April 2006. On June 5, 2007 it was announced that Anneke is going to leave The Gathering in August 2007 to focus on a new project, Agua de Annique.[1] On March 12, 2009 The Gathering announced that their new vocalist is Silje Wergeland (ex Octavia Sperati). And that their new album The West Pole will be released in May. History In 1989, brothers Hans and René Rutten and Bart Smits got together with the intention of starting a band. Soon after Hugo Prinsen Geerligs, Jelmer Wiersma and Frank Boeijen joined. In those days they rehearsed once a week, near the small Dutch city of Oss. They had a desire to experiment rather than imitate, which would prove to be a fertile musical basis. In 1990 they recorded the rehearsal tape An Imaginary Symphony, which was sent out to all kinds of magazines. At that time, using keyboards in metal-oriented music was rather unusual, but still, most reactions were positive. Their first gig followed in January 1991, in a little town called Heesch, near Oss, opening for Deadhead and Invocator. In April 1991, the demo Moonlight Archer was recorded and picked up by several journalists. At the same time other people and bands started noticing the Gathering. Consequently, they were booked to open for bands like Samael, Morbid Angel and Death. The time was right to release an album. After signing with Foundation 2000, Always... was released in 1992. On this album, Bart's grunts were accompanied by the female vocals of Marike Groot, who also joined the Gathering on stage for most of the gigs. This gothic/doom album was very well received and earned them many more concerts, including a few in Belgium and Israel. Unfortunately, due to a shady contract, the band would never know how many copies of Always... were sold. On top of that, the band parted with Bart and Marike because they weren't satisfied with the result. In 1993, Almost a Dance was recorded, also on Foundation 2000. New vocalist Niels Duffhues and new female counterpart Martine van Loon turned out not to be the right choice for the Gathering. The band felt that both voices didn't really fit the music. During auditions halfway through 1994, vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen was recruited into the band, and German label Century Media was willing to give the band a contract. The Gathering returned strong with Mandylion in 1995. The album was highly successful, especially in the Netherlands, where the single Strange Machines ended up in the Dutch charts, as did the album. Extensive touring brought them to all corners of their home country, as well as to Belgium and Germany. Expectations were high for a new album. Nighttime Birds (1997) came into existence, but not without an effort. Writing new songs in between touring (and studying) wasn't easy, and neither was recording it. Nevertheless, the album, which was musically quite close to Mandylion, turned out to be another success. Reactions were positive and subsequent touring was even more intensive, taking the band to Eastern Europe, France, Italy and several other European countries. At this time they started to long for something new. Jelmer even decided he didn't want to tour and play guitar as much anymore, so he left the band in July 1998. The other members wanted to try out new ideas, other instruments and different recording techniques. The result was How to measure a planet?, a varied and experimental double-album. It was harder to promote and more difficult to understand for some die-hard metal fans. Still, positive reactions came from all over the world, including the United States, where they played 14 shows during the summer of 1999. The Gathering were also fed up with the music industry, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and start their own label, Psychonaut Records. Always... was re-released on this label in 1999, followed by Almost a Dance in 2000, both re-mastered and fitted with new artwork. However, since their contract with Century Media hadn't ended yet, their live album Superheat (2000) was released on Century Media. Most of the songs on this album are from How to measure a planet?, the others from Mandylion and Nighttime Birds and they were recorded in several Dutch venues during 1999. Another successful chapter in the Gathering's career followed with the release of if then else (2000). The album is filled with diverse, intense and emotional rock songs, more compact than its predecessor. Fifteen months of touring ensued, taking them to virtually every nook and cranny of Europe, with a little sidestep to Mexico, and ending with a small Dutch club tour in October 2001. After this, the band members took a break and tended to their private lives. During this period, they ended their contract with Century Media. The Gathering had to run their new born label Psychonaut Records and their 12½-year anniversary was coming up. To celebrate this with their fans, they released the mini-CD Black Light District on their own label. In early 2003, Souvenirs was released. Sleepy Buildings, a semi-acoustic live album, followed in 2004. This album was the last one featuring Hugo Prinsen Geerligs as the bass player. He was later replaced by Marjolein Kooijman.(Source) The band released a DVD in 2005, entitled A Sound Relief. This contained more gentle semi-acoustic songs. But this is not their first DVD. Century Media had released In Motion without band permission at 2001. Nevertheless In Motion had an acceptable success. The next plan is to release in 2007 a second DVD (recognized for the band) A Noise Severe which features the more hard rock sound of The Gathering. This DVD was recorded in Santiago, Chile at March 24, 2007 at the Caupolican Theatre. In April 2006 they released their 8th studio album called Home. They had toured in March in North and South America and, after a brief pause to let van Giersbergen treat a laryngitis problem, they continued their touring schedule with European dates and music festivals throughout 2006. The Gathering toured throughout the U.S. and Canada with Lacuna Coil in the spring of 2007. On June 5, 2007, it was announced that Anneke will be leaving The Gathering to spend more time with her family and her own band, Agua de Annique. The band scheduled a final tour stop on August 4-5, 2007 at the Ankkarock Festival, Finland. The Ankkarock Festival was announced as the final performance with Anneke as vocalist. In February 2008, The Gathering released a boxed set entitled Sand and Mercury - The Complete Century Media Years. This boxed set was limited to 3000 copies worldwide, and contained 10 discs including a selection of studio, live and compilation albums. The set also contained the audio from the In Motion DVD as a new live album, also entitled In Motion. September 2008 The Gathering released a collection of all their old material from 1989 to 1993 on a double CD. The album contains the demos, the never released promo 1992, live tracks and the Celtic Frost cover 'Dethroned Emperor'. The songs were from the period of the first line-up with singer Bart Smits. All songs were restored and mastered by Mike Wead (King Diamond / Mercyful Fate) and was released by small Dutch independent label Vic Records. Recently drummer Hans Rutten posted a statement on their forum giving details of what to expect in 2009. "Yes, we are working on a new album! Or actually, two new albums! Many of our new songs are very rock and guitar orientated and will end up on a heavy rock album for sure. The second album will be filled with more ’shoe gaze’, dreamy tracks." The album is expected in Spring 2009. Hans also mentioned they have been working with three singers, though the gender of these is yet unknown. On December 20, 2008, the title of the Gathering's ninth studio album was announced as The West Pole.[2] “ 12/20/2008 The Gathering strikes back: new album The West Pole The waiting is over. Well ... almost! We are very happy and proud to announce the release of our 9th studio album in April 2009! The album will be called The West Pole. You probably are curious who is singing on our new record. We have found a new [female] vocalist, and we will have two [also female] guest singers on The West Pole. We can imagine people are anxious to hear some of our new music. However, we will not make it to put new songs online this year. The reason is that some of our [many] guest musicians still need to be recorded and we prefer to present only complete version of the songs. As soon as we have mixed and mastered the album we will put some tracks on the web and of course you will be informed with all possible details. We believe, after hearing the new songs, you will agree the waiting was worthwhile! We are very, very proud and we feel we made something really special. The album is produced by René Rutten, it will contain 9 tracks and will be released on our own imprint Psychonaut Records. It will be a very extravert, rock orientated, alive album. Typically the Gathering, but with many new elements. This time it's absolutely guitar driven. For sure. The West Pole will be available via our own webshop one month before the actual release date. Like our DVD A Noise Severe we will make special packages. More news will follow soon. We wish you a very nice Christmas and a superb New Year! Cheers, On behalf of the Gathering Hans Rutten ” —Hans Rutten, gathering.nl Since September 2008 there has been much speculation from fans that Octavia Sperati singer Silje Wergeland would be the new lead singer of the band. This was when a picture was forwarded by the band on their official forum site that looked very much like her. On January 7, 2009, an article in a local Dutch publication stated that new singer would not be Dutch.[3] There was much speculation that the new singer would be Norwegian before this statement after conversations with René Rutten. On March 12, 2009 it was officially announced that the new vocalist is Silje Wergeland, And their new album The West Pole will be released in May. Lineup Current members Silje Wergeland – vocals (2009–) René Rutten – guitars/flute (1989–) Frank Boeijen – keyboards (1990–) Marjolein Kooijman – bass (2004–) Hans Rutten – drums (1989–) Former members Anneke van Giersbergen – lead vocals/guitars (1994–2007) Hugo Prinsen Geerligs – bass (1989–2004) Jelmer Wiersma – guitars (1989–1998) Niels Duffhues – singer/guitars (1993–1994) Martine van Loon – singer/backing vocals (1993–1994) Bart Smits – singer (1989–1993) Marike Groot – singer/backing vocals (1992–1993)