NIGHTTIME BIRDS

'I am evaporating, a veil of smoke is what I am...'. 'Pale is my face, you might want to colour while I breathe...'.

The best way of expressing my feelings for this piece of art is by quoting a couple of lyrics' lines. This is one of 'those' albums that make you think, trouble your mind, wonder and wander... a great example of how a band matures with time. With Nighttime Birds, the Gathering have reached a state where past meets the future and all elements blend ideally to produce a breath-taking album. Evolving from Mandylion, the band turns to slightly more melodic patterns, keeping its 'metalish' background.

Accompanied with really meaningful lyrics, mainly referring to our 'Mother Earth', the beautiful voice of Anneke van Giersbergen sounds totally captivating. Ethereal melodies and ambient passages mix with heavy guitars, producing a 'charming' sound. The riffs and overall compositions are not sophisticated or complex at any point, but the magic on this record lies within simplicity. Still pretty gothic influenced, the music borrows 70's elements, primarily in the keyboards. Slow and mid-tempo rhythms sometimes give their place to fast guitar breaks, towards a darker and more adventurous result, as in New Moon, Different Day.

Enchanting, haunting, captivating... Warmth is the emotion that you are left with after completing a whole spin. The heaviness of On Most Surfaces and Confusion is counter-balanced with the 'sweetness' of Kevin's Telescope and the memorable harmonies of the title track (one of the best melodies in Gathering's history). Shrink ends the album with a piano tune accompanied with another remarkable performance from Anneke.

Worth-mentioning is also the cover of the record that realistically pictures the content: simple and beautiful. If you are interested in the genre, this is one album that must be present in your collection.

If you could excuse me now, I have to 'shrink and shrink until I'm gone...'

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