The Gathering - Souvenirs
 

Excellent. Get it now.

np - LoFi Allstars

Alternatively: Not excellent. Avoid.

Heh. Why's that?

I like The Gathering up to Nighttime Birds. The compositional skills shown in their atmospheric metal, fail to translate well into Radiohead-ish alternative.

My bands' singer came over a week ago with the new album, all excited about how good he said he thought it was, and after three straight listens, I couldn't find one song that worked for me. Anneke of course, is phenomenal, but the synchopated Kid A-rip off structures cannot let her voice breathe. There's not a single moment where that epic feeling, so well demonstrated in Mandylion, or Nighttime Birds is present.


But then again, my favourite Anathema record is Serenades. I don't know what that tells you.

Yeah I agree she really hasn't "let loose" since "Nighttime Birds". "Mandylion" has soured a bit on me though -- seems in retrospect that her singing and the band's sound didn't mesh well on that album.

Perhaps that's why I wasn't impressed with them, since the only tracks I've heard of theirs were from more recent albums. :/

Probably, mock. Download "on most surfaces(inuit)" and see what The Gathering are really about. Soaring vocals, powerful guitars. Epic.

Oh, CLAsp: I think 'Leaves' and 'Strange Machines' work very well.