Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

The Gathering > Nighttime Birds > Reviews
The Gathering - Nighttime Birds

Easily Surviving Those Blurry Bloody Winters - 99%

bayern, July 14th, 2022

Especially during the difficult mid-90’s when this great team found this great well of ideas and literally took the scene by (winter) storm… or rather they found Anneke van Giersbergen, one of the finest voices to ever grace the music roster, the diva catapulting them straight to the top with just two albums… birthing a trail of fans clad in mandylions, flocking the forests around the world for their nighttime bird watch sessions, a newly-sprung pastime which swiftly acquired epidemic proportions.

But no, no one touched the owls and the owlets, including the very white, very wise ones. No one played Harry Potter back then, because the major enchantment wasn’t with fantasy fiction, but with these gorgeous atmospheric doom sounds that the guys (and a girl) made their own for a while. They didn’t reside in their snare for very long, but made sure that if one would ever recall this act some 50 years from now, it would be with that glorious 1995/1997 double.

Between the “Mandylion” and the album here I succeeded in getting a hold of the band’s first two outings, both thoroughly enjoyable fares, and I saluted the team for managing to sound different every time, always lurking around the gothic/doom idea, but invariably adding a new nuance/streak to keep the originality and creativity in copious flows. Invariably again, this ascent was going to hit a peak at some stage… and it did, on a dark night, with birds brooding in the trees, with frost hitting the eyes, blurring the vision, but keeping the ears and senses wide open for the acceptance and acquisition of a most delightful musical carnival.

A carnival that wouldn’t have been possible without the participation of Anneke again, who on the album reviewed here produces one of the most spellbinding performances behind the mike in the annals of music. Just listening to her singing about birds, winters, telescopes, moons, shrinks, etc. would suffice for many, the girl pouring her heart and soul, enchanting everything and everyone under the sun, the moon, and the stars.

On the music front we have a heavier, slower, more atmospheric delivery, the doom metal template still standing strong all over, also receiving an impossibly huge boost with the supreme opener “On Most Surfaces”, arguably the finest song the band ever created, a transcending journey through the ice and the snow of the cold North, one of the finest doom metal hymns of the 90’s and beyond, arresting the listener, literally, compelling him to sit and listen to the remainder with the utmost attention. And the latter will be richly rewarded for the time spent on this grand opus, sometimes swaying in a receptive semi-meditative state on the quieter balladic material (“Shrink”), sometimes moving around more rowdily following a more belligerent march (“Third Chance”), sometimes marvelling at the ethereal spacey ambiance (“The May Song”) mirthfully spread around. However, his/her mind will largely remain gripped by the doom metal epics, those pieces that mirror the opener’s magnanimous swagger and place the audience on an entirely different plane, slow-building avalanches of ship-sinking riffs, dramatic accumulations, psychedelic vistas, serene interludes, the heavy guitars tussling with authoritative keyboard sweeps (“The Earth Is My Witness”) here and there, always ready to provide the odd more energetic rush (“New Moon, Different Day”) to keep the setting on the less predictable side. Deceptive balladic lyricism roams around, needless to add, but never becomes a leitmotif, even enhancing the more aggressive doomisms on “Confusion”, also forming a really captivating symbiosis with the violin strokes on “Kevin's Telescope”, a fascinating avant-garde tractate which seamlessly flows into the title-track, a smattering chapter from doom metal lore, dripping with atmosphere and turbulent pensiveness, tearing the night with sharp curt riffage at the least expected moments, disturbing the birds’ peace with swathes of belligerent musicalities, before lulling them back to sleep with one of the finest soothing post-climactic closures to ever grace these ears.

In the end it’s not only Anneke who has to put her chest forward for the medal receipt. Every musician here deserves kudos galore for their involvement in this masterpiece. The guys (and a girl) were virtually unstoppable at this stage of their career, eventually producing an opus to sound close to a preceding one. But that was the only logical step provided that with ”Mandylion” they struck gold, so it only made sense to capitalize on this very winning formula by smacking another richly atmospheric doom opus. They had all the necessary ingredients to take over the scene… the somewhat elusive, missing link behind the mike has been taken care of very nicely; what remained now was to retain the accumulated inertia and to possibly build on it for an even finer sequel. Mission so handsomely accomplished that if I have to give the ultimate example of a follow-up to a music blockbuster, one that has even surpassed it, this effort here would be one of my very first choices. It’s so immaculately stitched, with each song extracting its core from the preceding tunes, with the entire package so craftily interconnected, that even the very idyllic tranquil closer “Shrink” would be acknowledged as way more than a downbeat finale, the fans simply finding the time on that one to bow to the artists’ genius.

Cause the truth is that nothing and no one shrinks here; on the contrary, this is the soundtrack to the Universe’s expansion and evolution, to its strife for perfection and self-expression, to its boundlessness and infinity, to its immortality and infallibility. And that’s why I was hopeful, to an extent, that the band had made a finest illustration of the “third time’s the charm” postulate with the sequel, once I saw the title… only to realize that if you’ve measured and mapped the entire universe with your previous opus, it becomes redundant to try and size up its lesser creations. For the inferior purpose the band didn’t need to parade as militantly metallic heroes and heroines anymore, and they chose the spacey progressive rock path, a familiar derivative territory that strangely sounded like a more or less logical follow-up to the album here; despite its underwhelming, plain lethargic on occasion, approach. Amazingly, it was another big success for the team… strange how the accumulated inertia can keep the fandom captivated even when fed less convincing, genre-stretching fodder…

and fair play for that particular ability, which was the main reason why the band stuck to that formula for the remaining efforts, modifying it here and there to suit the mood at the time, losing Anneke in 2007, the diva branching into other projects, the progressive metal formations The Gentle Storm and Vuur, both on hold at present; also lending her prodigious vocal skills to Devin Townsend for a few live shows. Her former colleagues found a replacement, also female, Silje Wergeland, a cool emotional presence which at least suits the band’s subsequently epitomized psychedelic/electronic rock tactics. A beautiful distortion as well, judging by the latest product, but impossible to match the unmatchable… this soaring angelic voice that helps me wake-up fully revitalized, ready for more exploits of all sorts, even on a most frosty winter morning.

A walk in the snow - 82%

gasmask_colostomy, November 23rd, 2014

When an album has one song that stands out so far from the others that it transforms the feel of the songs that come after it, you know it's a special song. I'm talking about 'Third Chance', from The Gathering's Nighttime Birds. I'm not saying that this is the best song by The Gathering, or even that it's the best song on the record, but it's a dose of pure joy for me and can snap me out of depression in an instant. The fact is, though, that it doesn't really fit on Nighttime Birds - it's an utterly different kind of song.

This album for the most part trades in the sandstone and desert wind doom of Mandylion for a more relaxed, atmospheric adventure. The pace is slow, the heaviness minimal, and most of the emotional intensity comes from Anneke van Giersbergen, not that the instrumentalists are lazy or their performances lacking. The guitars sweep and hang, with a lot of piercing high end that sounds like bird calls coming across the sea; the keyboards build an atmosphere of magic and airy lightness; the bass wanders thoughtfully in the shade of the guitars; the drums are calm and sage-like, never saying more than they need to. If it helps you picture the prevailing sound on this album, it's saved in my Itunes with a genre tag of "progressive rock". It's got that kind of feeling: diverse, explorative, gradual.

The opener 'On Most Surfaces' is probably the best song on here, with its piercing, soaring guitar motif, chugging momentum, and a climactic chorus. It's the sonic equivalent of the cover image, with a single tree in a field of untouched snow, which the band explore with all the spacious wonder of wise children adrift and alone in winter. The other songs tend to follow this pattern, using slow rhythmic footsteps to move through the drifts of snow and dreamy vocals and keyboards to gaze up at the flurries falling from above. The whole mood is one of being set free from the world and seeing everything anew, as if it's covered by the formless envelope of snow. There are some moments that startle the listener into half-consciousness, like the powerful vocal peaks in 'The Earth Is My Witness', but there's always something soothing to follow. It's beautiful music for the most part, and very relaxing too.

Then 'Third Chance' happens. I don't know what it is about this song, but there's suddenly an air of excitement and urgency (even though the band drift through the chords and only have time for 2 choruses) that kicks the album into another gear. Maybe it's the insistent one-two drumbeat that powers the wash of chords and boards along, maybe it's that frantic build-up of Hammond that ushers in the chorus, maybe it's just that Anneke finally lets rip at medium pace with the whole band behind her. It's just sheer release and energy and it feels glorious after the ebb and drift of the first 25 minutes.

The problem is, of course, the last few songs lose out a little bit in comparison. There isn't a drop in quality at all (although 'Shrink' is the least gripping), but having heard the intensity that The Gathering can play at when they want to, the otherwise stately title track doesn't have the impact it should. Really, it's just an issue of balance, because I wouldn't take 'Third Chance' off the album for anything, though it's difficult to know where to put such an upbeat song on such a reflective and dreamy album. In the end, most of the songs here pull their weight and have a lot of musical merit, even if Nighttime Birds does feel like a very short day out and a lot of bedtime stories.

Toe's the line between incarnations - 93%

Liquid_Braino, January 19th, 2013

In a genre as perennially disparaged or, at most, marginally tolerated in most serious metal circles, The Gathering are one of the few and probably the most noteworthy of the slew of metal bands with a gothic undercurrent featuring a female vocalist that have managed to retain not just continued critical acclaim, but a genuine sense of 'coolness'. If one of these newer corset donning acts pumps out quality material, the comparisons to The Gathering are frequent in reviews. Hell, I've done it. If the band in question is some disgraceful by-the-numbers toss-off, Evanescence and poor Lacuna Coil often get dragged out yet again as scapegoats to the demise of the genre and as progenitors to the glut of these terrible bands despite Lacuna Coil once possessing amiable qualities over a decade ago. The thing is though, when I listen to an album like Nighttime Birds, or the majority of The Gathering's releases, I don't see any fit comparisons since hardly any gothic metal band actually sounds remotely like them, then or now.

How they held on to their cred while other acts squandered theirs can be traced to forging their own destiny. From their beginnings as a full-fledged death/doom act back when similar seminal gothic doom acts were just hitting their stride, to the heralded gothic metal classic Mandylion which first featured Anneke's superb pipes, to ditching metal altogether for more alternative and experimental waters with 'How To Measure A Planet?' well before the goth-metal scene became over-saturated with pop leaning imitators of the more successful acts, The Gathering have always capably stood apart from their peers. To this day, Mandylion and 'How To Measure A Planet?' are highly acclaimed albums and usually regarded as the group's most pinnacle and important works. Nighttime Birds perches itself as the in-between 'chirper' sandwiched by these two monolithic creatures, and often gets left out of conversations concerning positive accolades attributed towards the band, not because it isn't good, but it's simply not glorified as crucial. It's a bit of a shame too, since by my own quirky estimation, Nighttime Birds is not only their best album, but their most unusual and fascinating as well.

The album wastes no time in proclaiming to the listener that The Gathering are still playing metal music. The guitar tone is still thick and heavy, and doom riffs are unquestionably present. The drumwork remains organic with emphasis on a good snare sound. It's metal, but the outside influences are already seeping in within the first number and by track three it becomes apparent that The Gathering were on the verge of transmogrifying their sound towards entirely new directions, but somehow managed to reach the outer fringes of what can be construed as metal without losing the necessary qualities which define it. What makes Nighttime Birds special is not entirely the experimentation involved while retaining a metal status, but rather the particular outside influences themselves, entwining throughout this album seamlessly in such a way that The Gathering have practically created a style of their own design here. It's hard to pinpoint the outside elements and inspirations attributed during the songwriting process, and listeners will certainly vary to some degree in their assumptions, but I hear a strong sense of post-punk akin to The Joy Division, The Cure's Seventeen Seconds era and groups like the early Psychedelic Furs, in which album track "The May Song" consistently brings to mind the Furs' best track, and one of the few I actually enjoy, "Sister Europe".

There's another level of distinction to the band's enigmatic presence at this point, which is of course Anneke's singing. Possessing an accomplished flair for capturing dreamy and haunting moods with clarity and a strong but not overstated vibrato, her vocals exude trip-hop characteristics which swoon over the instrumentation. Vacillating between a languid, ethereal vibe and the more forceful though equally bewitching delivery, her voice espouses lyrics that work well enough within the context of the music while remaining unsuitable for a poetry reading class. At least they are a significant improvement over Mandylion's prose.

The pacing throughout this disc flutters between slow and mid-paced tempos, which in fact do not negatively affect the listening experience of the album's full duration thanks to some fantastically written chord progressions and harmonies that remain completely engaging whenever I'm in the mood for this release. Almost akin to very heavy renditions of the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen fronted by a session vocalist from This Mortal Coil, Nighttime Birds to me is their most unique work in that it's metal, but honestly doesn't sound like metal depending on my mood, if that makes any fucking sense. It's a tricky bugger. After this album, they would shoot directly into alternative territory with their outside influences suddenly becoming their main reference points to amalgamate into the band's new creative stew that doesn't exclude metal (if_then_else for example utilizes the genre on some occasions), but regulates it as merely one of the band's numerous properties. They would still be an exceptional act, but I would be hard pressed to tag them as a metal group by the 2000's. Thus, by my reasoning, Nighttime Birds represents the swan-song of the band's metal era, and a hell of a good one at that.

Good but lacking something - 79%

grimdoom, March 20th, 2009

A lot was expected of The Gathering after Anneke took the band to another level with her recording debut 'Mandylion'. And while this album definitely expands on the sound/style created on the aforementioned record, its ultimately lacking in over all quality.

The production is arguably a little better than ‘Mandylion’. Generally this should push the songs to new levels but sadly it doesn't. The guitars sound as if they are still tuned to 'D' but they are treble heavy. There is an equal amount of palm-muted to open chorded playing with perhaps more emphasis on melody. As par for the course there are no solos. There are plenty of leads however and this somewhat makes up for it. The distortion sounds about the same as the last album as well.

The bass is still as good as it was on ‘Mandylion’. It seamlessly plays in and out of each measure while the drums and guitars battle for the foreground. The drums are relatively creative too. The Keyboards are a little more prominent in the mix as well; and while not necessarily dominating the soundscape they make their presence known. They are perhaps the most varied instrument on the album adventuring out just a little more than the others.

Annekes’ Vocals are in fine form on this and easily the best thing about the album. Their haunting, soul saving quality lulls the listener into Anneke's world; effortlessly drifting from the corporeal to the non-corporeal within the space of each song. The lyrics are more or less a carry over from ‘Mandylion’. The music is executed flawlessly adding a slight urgency to the laid back tunes. The atmosphere is very romantic and inviting as opposed to the prior album's darker vibe.

All in all this is a pretty good album but it has a major problem. Its painfully boring just after the midway point. While those in the mood for some mellow Doom Metal will find much here, the songs drag badly and blur together. Other than that this is a pretty decent release and (sadly) the last Metal album, Doom or otherwise from The Gathering.

A slightly heavier Gathering.. - 89%

caspian, December 10th, 2006

The Gathering have always been a kinda guilty pleasure for me. I do love their mid paced, progressive metal, but it's the later albums, where they venture close to pop, where you start listening to it only when no one else is around, lest your metal cred be lowered by a few notches.

Ok, I kind of jest about that. And while the Gathering's newest offerings are pretty damn solid, there's no denying they're real mellow, and lack a bit of punch. Of course, this record isn't the heaviest record ever, but it's a fair bit heavier then say, Home or Souvenirs, which is a very good thing.

The sheer rocking out-ness of the first track caught me by surprise. It's the heaviest thing I've yet heard these guys do (bear in mind, I haven't heard any of their earlier stuff yet). The vocal melody is exceptional, the riffing is quite heavy, and the keys are subtle yet unbelievably effective. Third Chance is relentlessly cheery and pretty up-tempo (a very nice change from the usual mid paced stuff), and builds up to a very dance floor friendly style flavour- and somehow it still manages to sound awesome. The May Song is another great tune, albeit in a very different kind of flavour, with some very effective keys and drums opening the tune, before some rather nice, mellow guitars come in to show you how it's done. It's songs like this that show you just how good The Gathering are. Sure Anneke's got a great voice, but the rest of the band is exceptional too- keys that are always real melodic and pretty with no cheese whatsoever, versatile guitars that are always perfect in their place, and a subtle yet skilled rythym section, unobtrusive, yet always playing whats needed.

Of course, Anneke's vocals need to be mentioned. I'm sure a lot of people upon hearing the Gathering are instantly turned of by the female vocals, and I don't blame them, as I haven't heard of any other bands that do female vocals tastefully. (With the exception of Jucifer, maybe- but that's a completely different style of metal.) Thinking of Female metal vocalists conjures terrible images of the operatic wank in Nightwish, or Lacuna Coil, or even Evanescense. Well, I would like to assure those female vocalist haters out there that this isn't like that at all. First off, the vocals are seamlessly integrated. Some bands will go "Look at us! We've got metal, and then we through some female vocals on top!! YAY!!!11!!!1" But The Gathering have no use for that. There's no deliberate juxtaposition of female vocals and metal riffing- it all fits and flows perfectly. Second, the vocals aren't terrible, opera lite style things- Nightwish being the obvious example. Yeah- Anneke can get her operatic vocals going once in a while, but it's not overdone by any means, which is a very good thing.

This is probably the first Gathering record I've got that could really be defined as metal, and well, that's a really good thing. Heavy enough to keep all you metalheads interested, yet still incredibly melodic and gorgeous. Also recommended for people who thought they'd never hear good female vocals in metal.

Nighttime Birds Re-Review. - 75%

Perplexed_Sjel, July 2nd, 2006

"This is a re-review of The Gathering’s ‘Nighttime Birds’, the Dutch legends fourth studio full-length, and another evolving record. When I initially came across ‘Nighttime Birds’, I was hugely disappointed. I remember the time well. I had heard ‘Mandylion’, my first record from The Gathering, and was impressed with it, therefore I decided to check the rest of the band’s material out, expecting it all to be similar to one another. I was in for a shock. ‘Nighttime Birds’ is extremely different to ‘Mandylion’ and every other record The Gathering have produced. This Dutch band have evolved from a lowly doom metal band, who were given much criticism for their amateurish sound, to this, an atmospheric gothic/rock band. The transformation was sudden, to me, as I didn’t follow the bands transition from doom to gothic rock, or even their career at all to begin with. Having picked up on The Gathering in 2005, or so, I was out of my depth and the impact of ‘Mandylion’ on my life, as well as my journey through metal, was immense.

So, to hear ‘Nighttime Birds’, a far different record to the aforementioned, and the one’s after it that I also loved, I was shocked and disappointed. The more aggressive style didn’t suit my needs, having heard records like ‘How To Measure A Planet?’ before it. I was taken aback and felt as if this record lacked a certain punch, as well as any characteristics that set it apart from other bands of a gothic nature, bands like the lacklustre Lacuna Coil, or the lackadaisical Nightwish, both of which I’m not fond of. ‘Nighttime Birds’ originally struck me as lacking in creative juices but, in actual fact, this is a creative piece and a good one at that. Musically and emotionally I have matured. I have discovered what it is I like and why it is I like it. This very fact has established The Gathering as a sort of coming-of-age band for me. As my tastes evolved, The Gathering evolved with them and kept me satisfied for a number of years, in fact, they still do. It remains to be seen whether the Dutch outfit can maintain it’s fan base due to the departure of Anneke, but regardless of that, this material will always exist, stretching out into history and beyond. Tracks like ‘The Earth Is My Witness’ with it’s fanciful ambitious nature establish the Dutch act as a experimental band without many limitations.

‘Nighttime Birds’ is, as aforementioned, a lot more aggressive than it is progressive in it’s structure. To me, this record represents a new era for The Gathering. ‘Mandylion’ should be viewed as experimental, sure, but also a naïve effort. The band weren’t as established as musicians as they are now, or even when this effort was put out. One can tell that The Gathering have managed to find their sound and are shaping it into a form that suits their needs, as well as the audiences. Again, vocally, this record is strong. Anneke is known as one of the finest female vocalists in the industry, and even outside of it where she is involved in now. Although she may be participating in projects outside of this band, I will always remember her for her performances with The Gathering as they’re so pivotal to the band, and her reputation as a leading artist. ‘Nighttime Birds’, to me, doesn’t represent her best work (that would be on ‘How To Measure A Planet?’) but it does symbolise her own personal transformation as a singer. She has developed her own emotive style which, when situated next to the instrumentation, is neigh on perfection.

Songs like ‘The May Song’ with it’s fantastically bass driven soundscapes and stunning mellifluous leads, conquers over my initial perceptions of this record. From being largely disappointed, songs like this indicate to my fragile sense of knowledge, the inner and outer essences that make The Gathering as good as they most definitely are. The bass, for example. I never really took much notice of their bassist at first, not until recently actually, but now, wow. His performance on this record is top notch. The bass is always audible, due to the crystal clear production, and often leads the soundscapes by the hand on even more evocative emotional journey’s. Whilst it is important to recognise the fact that The Gathering consist of more elements other than the vocals, it is still imperative to recognise the impact of the vocals. Instrumentally, this record is far from perfect, but it encompasses an astral sound, which makes me feel both nostalgic and reflective over my life, that is what makes this record a cut above the rest.

Good Followup - 90%

Uom, March 20th, 2006

Exhilarating, crushing yet beautiful; a lot of words can be associated with the Gathering’s fourth output, Nighttime Birds. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Mandylion, the Gathering retained the approach in its music: weaving a tapestry of dreamy waves, the mesmerizing atmosphere of colliding guitar riffs and thriving drumbeats, coupled with the rich sound of keyboards and the touch of amazing female vocals, unified in unmasking the beautiful secret that is the Gathering. The main difference that this has with its precursors is that it rocks harder on most tracks. Opener ‘On Most Surfaces’ and ‘Third Chance’ display their rock chops, as it clearly shows the band intent on rocking your socks off…
…which leads to the problem of this album. One cannot help to feel that Anneke’s voice is not completely comfortable with some of the hard-edged track on the album. Unlike Mandylion, where even the heavy parts gracefully dance with Anneke’s vocals, the rock-heavy tracks somehow limit the vocals into long howls and oooooh-aaaaahhhhs. Not bad by any means, but the magic found in Mandylion is obviously wearing thin in this album.
With that out of the way, what carries the album are the soft songs, which clearly exhibits the band’s talent of coming up with catchy hooks and memorable passages. Single ‘The May Song’ is a moving, yearning song, a little lovelorn on the verse but eventually releases a surge of energy come chorus time. The title track is a sprawling masterwork, again building with soft, gentle verses, courtesy of Anneke’s searing vocals, but crushes with emotive fury of the rhythm and the drowning effect of the keyboards. Finale ‘Shrink’ emanates a desolate relief that only the Gathering can do, where Anneke’s haunting passages and harmonies are accompanied by doom-like keyboards.
I would oblige you to purchase a copy if you are into brooding, passionate, and stunning music. Recommended.