NIGHTTIME BIRDS

Nighttime bird is the logical followup to the landmark album Mandylion. The record is mostly in the same melodic almost-but-not-quite-gothic metal vein, but overall mostly a bit softer. On top of that there are a few more short poppy songs here. That said, Mandylion and Nighttime Birds are still the two subsequent Gathering-records that are closest to each other.

On most surfaces opens the album in a powerful way, with a very attractive guitar solo. Songs like Confusion, The earth is my witness and New moon different day are all low-key. A bit more variation might have made the record even better. More pop-oriented songs like The May song, Third chance and Kevin's telescope apparently divide the fans. I like these all highly. The title track is a class apart.

Less legendary than its predecessor and in time eclipsed by later albums, Nighttime birds is at itself still a very good record from this varied Dutch band.