The Gathering
„Sleepy Buildings – Live“
Alternative, Prog-Rock. CD, 2004.

Another album was needed to finalize the old contract. A quick "Best Of" compilation? Or demos and remixes? Instead, we get a semi-acoustic live CD from 2004. The actual concert took place in 2003 at Lux in Nijmegen. It features songs from the last six studio albums. But if you're expecting bland, semi-acoustic versions, let me reassure you. Here, we can truly immerse ourselves in Anneke van Giersbergen's voice. The album offers a top-notch melancholic atmosphere, even in the songs from the growling doom-death era.

And the two songs from the band's early doom-death metal album "Always", "The Mirror Waters" and "Stonegarden", were interpreted and sung so beautifully by Anneke that they became my all-time favorite tracks. "Like Fountains" from the album "Almost A Dance" is also a powerful interpretation and performance. "In Motion Part Two" and "Eleanor" are from the album "Mandylion". What can I say? Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere! This woman simply knows how to use her voice, and I get completely lost in it. "Shrink" from "Nighttime Birds" is a beautiful song, even on the original studio album. Five songs come from the brilliant "How To Measure A Planet?". "Red Is A Slow Color," the only song that didn't quite grab me initially, has a completely different impact on me here. I like it. Next up are "Locked Away" and "Travel," which was, is, and always will be a powerful song. I ​​don't need to say anything about "My Electricity," do I? "Marooned" rounds out this selection. "Saturnine" and "Amity" from the album "if_then_else" already have a lot of atmosphere. These songs, including "Sleepy Buildings," were wonderfully performed in a semi-acoustic style.

I really enjoy stripped-down versions of various songs, as The Gathering have presented here in their live performance. "Stripped-down" doesn't mean bland or simplistic, though. Instead, it evokes an atmospheric melancholy, and Anneke's voice effortlessly breathes new life into the songs. She is a truly powerful vocalist. The band clearly knows their craft, and in my opinion, this is their best live album to date.

The Gathering in 2004 are:

Anneke van Giersbergen – Vocals, acoustic guitar
René Rutten - Guitars
Hans Rutten – Drums
Hugo Prinsen Geerlings – Bass
Frank Boeijen – Keyboards, Piano

Fourteen songs, 72:39 minutes.

All the images come from my CD. The copyright for all the designs, logos, text, and fonts shown in the photos belongs to the respective copyright holder.

TheProgThief
©25.09.2025
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