{"id":12342,"date":"2012-09-12T00:00:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T00:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=12342"},"modified":"2013-06-11T22:16:05","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T22:16:05","slug":"album-review-the-gathering-disclosure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-the-gathering-disclosure\/","title":{"rendered":"THE GATHERING – Disclosure (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE GATHERING
Disclosure<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nPsychonaut (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Netherlands\u2019 The Gathering don\u2019t really hang around with metalheads anymore. While the band was once the best female-fronted doom group on the planet, it\u2019s been a few years since they\u2019ve offered a true metal release.<\/p>\n

Bands change over time, and in the case of the Gathering, only two original members \u2013 brothers Ren\u00e9 and Hans Rutten \u2013 remain in the fold. Iconic vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen left in 2007, leaving a void many wondered if it would be possible to fill. With time comes maturity, and with that maturity The Gathering offer their tenth album, Disclosure<\/em>. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve followed The Gathering in recent years, The Cure meets early U2 sound presented on Disclosure<\/em> will come as no surprise. \u2018Paper Waves\u2019 opens this collection with echo drenched guitars that would bring a smile to Robert Smith\u2019s (The Cure vocalist) pasty, white face. Frontwoman Silje Wergeland, formerly of Octavia Sperati, employs her stunning voice to create textures over atmospheric instrumentation. The odd mix of rock, jazz and ambient sounds on this track combine into a unique piece of music.<\/p>\n

A similar tactic is used on \u2018Meltdown\u2019 with a dark dance groove and alternating male \/ female vocals. The result is a style that is almost impossible to assign to any particular genre, yet has become the standard fare for The Gathering. <\/p>\n

The star of Disclosure<\/em> is Weregeland, who is in fine form. Her voice carries \u2018Paralyzed\u2019. The band is simply a foundation for Weregeland to create harmonies over. The piano-driven \u2018Missing Seasons\u2019 is similarly a spotlight for the breathtaking vocal melodies. This track mixes jazz piano with a Pink Floyd experimental vibe.<\/p>\n

\u2018Gemini II\u2019 has sections that offer little sound at all beyond the stunning vocals of Weregeland, making this collection of songs sound a bit more like a solo album than a band venture. \u2018Gemini I\u2019 highlights more of the entire band, and sounds like something that would have fit well on The Cure\u2019s The Top<\/em> (1984). Bass and guitars are prominent on this song, giving it the most rock feel of any on Disclosure<\/em>. Even so, Silje\u2019s stunning voice shines like the sun. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s apparent The Gathering aren\u2019t the band they were when they released Mandylion<\/em> (1995), but neither have they stopped creating interesting music. With most of the heaviness of the band\u2019s early years stripped away, what remains is angelic and deviant \u2013 very relaxing, yet full of unexpected twists. Silje Wergeland continues to prove that her voice is the right fit for The Gathering, and her creative melodies and harmonies make the album soar.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for another Nighttime Birds<\/em> (1997) you won\u2019t find it here, but taken for what it is Disclosure<\/em> is a worthy release in The Gathering\u2019s catalogue.<\/p>\n

Jim McDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE GATHERINGDisclosure Psychonaut (2012)Rating: 7\/10 The Netherlands\u2019 The Gathering don\u2019t really hang around with metalheads anymore. While the band was once the best female-fronted doom group on the planet, it\u2019s been a few years since they\u2019ve offered a true metal release. Bands change over time, and in the case of the Gathering, only two original […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,595],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-the-gathering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12342"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12345,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12342\/revisions\/12345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}