01	On most surfaces (Inuit)						06:54
	02	Confusion						06:33
	03	The may song						03:44
	04	The earth is my witness						05:31
	05	New moon different day						06:06
	06	Third chance						05:25
	07	Kevin's telescope						03:23
	08	Nighttime birds						07:02
	09	Shrink						04:02

(C) 1997, Magic Arts Publishing
(P) 1997, Century Media Records
Century Media 77168-2
26-05-1997


Nighttime Birds
Date of Release Jun 6, 1997

The most immediately striking aspect of Nighttime Birds is that the Gathering does not have an ordinary singer or death-metal growler; instead, they have metal diva Anneke Van Giersbergen, whose voice often recalls Bjork and may range from a powerful, throaty wail to a sweetly tuneful caress that belies her deliberate, crunching musical accompaniment. As with Mandylion, The Gathering no longer really sounds like a traditional death metal band; the music is mostly melodic (yet tinged with sorrow), slow to midtempo progressive metal, with Van Giersbergen's distinctive voice soaring above the band's nicely varied textures. It's a fine effort, one that marks the Gathering as a band that bears watching, especially if they vary the tempo and mood a bit more. - Steve Huey

1. On Most Surfaces (Gathering) - 6:52
2. Confusion - 6:30
3. The May Song - 3:43
4. The Earth Is My Witness - 5:31
5. New Moon Different Day - 6:06
6. Third Chance - 5:26
7. Kevin's Telescope - 3:22
8. Nighttime Birds (Gathering) - 6:55
9. Shrink - 3:59

The Gathering - Producer
Siggi Bemm - Producer, Engineer
Frank Boeijen - Synthesizer, Piano
Anneke Van Giersbergen - Vocals
Rene Rutten - Guitar
Matthias Klinkmann - Engineer
Jelmer Wiersma - Guitar
Hugo Prinsen Geerligs - Bass

1997 CD Century Media 7868


The Gathering

Group Members Frank Boeijen Anneke Van Giersbergen Hans Rutten Rene Rutten Niels Duffhues Hugo Prinsen Geerligs Martine van Loon Bart Smits

Creative, classy and highly refined "symphonic metal" outfit from Holland. First album (Always, 1993) was a fairly straightforward death metal album, although heavy use of keyboards made it stand out a bit from other such albums at the time. Followed by Almost A Dance (1994), an album which saw the departure of "growling" vocalist Bart Smits. Smits was replaced primarily by Niels Duffhues, a strange choice for the band; Duffhues' punk-ish tone was decidedly out of step with the music, and the album was largely written off as a result. A shame, because many of the songs on Almost A Dance are quite well written. The album also featured occasional vocals by Martine van Loon, a low-key singer with a pretty tone but one that seldom took to the forefront of a composition. It would appear that the seed had been planted in the band's head to try their uniquely compelling songwriting style with a passionate female vocalist; the result was the addition of the incomparable Anneke van Giersbergen, an incredible singer capable of stretching miles of emotion out of each and every syllable. The next album, 1995's Mandylion, remains one of the very best heavy metal albums ever recorded. van Giersbergen's poetic and haunting lyrics, paired with the band's orchestral ruminations, resulted in darkly important songs that seamlessly blend from one to the next. The follow-up, 1997's Nighttime Birds, acts as a companion piece to Mandylion: similar in tone and delivery, Birds is filled with the melodic and adventurous play that has become the trademark of this very important band. Superheat and If-Then-Else followed in early 2000. After a break with Century Media following the release of If_Then_Else, the band took time off before going into the studio to work on the 2003-released followup Souvenirs. The Gathering will be of interest to more than just heavy metal fans: they have the potential to appeal to countless different audiences, from metal to progressive rock to anyone who values excellent songwriting and powerful female vocalists. - James Bickers


1993 Always Pavement Music
1994 Almost a Dance Foundation
1995 Mandylion Century Media
1997 Nighttime Birds Century Media
1999 How to Measure a Planet? Century Media
2000 Superheat [live] Century Media
2000 If_Then_Else Century Media
2001 How to Measure a Planet? [Japan Bonus Tracks] JVC Japan
2002 Black Light District Psychonaut
2003 Souvenirs The End


Frank Boeijen - keyboards & programming (04/12/73)
Anneke van Giersbergen - vocals (08/03/73)
Hugo Prinsen Geerligs - bass (16/12/73)
Hans Rutten - drums & percussion (03/06/69)
Rene Rutten - guitars (02/07/72)

It all began in 1989. Brothers Hans and Rene Rutten and Bart Smits got together with the intention of starting a band. Soon enough Hugo Prinsen Geerligs, Jelmer Wiersma and Frank Boeijen joined them: The Gathering was born.
In those days they rehearsed once a week, somewhere outside of the small Dutch city of Oss. Their love for metal music (though certainly not all metal) was the common denominator, but most band members liked other music as well. This, and their will to experiment rather than imitate, would prove a fertile musical basis. In 1990 they recorded the rehearsal tape An Imaginary Symphony, which was sent out to all kinds of magazines. At that time, using keyboards in metal-oriented music was rather unusual, but still, most reactions were positive. Their first gig followed in January of 1991, in a little town called Heesch, near Oss, opening for Deadhead and Invocator. In April 1991, the demo Moonlight Archer was recorded and picked up by several journalists. At the same time other people and bands started noticing The Gathering. Consequently, they were booked to open for bands like Samael, Morbid Angel and Death. The time was right to release an album.
After signing with Foundation 2000, Always: was released in 1992. On this album, Bart's grunts were accompanied by the female vocals of Marike Groot, who also joined The Gathering on stage for most of the gigs. This gothic/doom album was very well received and earned them many more concerts, including a few in Belgium and Israel. Unfortunately, due to a shady contract, the band would never know how many copies of Always: were sold. On top of that, the band parted with Bart and Marike because they weren't satisfied with the result and dark times were ahead...
In 1993 Almost a Dance was recorded, also on Foundation 2000. Though musically again a strong album, new vocalist Niels Duffhues and new female counterpart Martine van Loon turned out not to be the right choice for The Gathering. Both voices didn't really fit the music. So it was key to find a new vocalist that fitted The Gathering's music and personalities like a glove.

Though enthusiasm was low, anything was possible at that point. They had hit rock bottom and the only way was up. During auditions halfway through 1994, magic came in the form of Anneke van Giersbergen, whose angelic voice fitted the highly atmospheric music perfectly. It also clicked on a personal level and German label Century Media was willing to give the band a contract. The Gathering were back, better than ever before, and proved so with Mandylion (1995). The atmospheric album was highly successful, especially in The Netherlands, where the single "Strange Machines" ended up in the Dutch charts, as did the album. Extensive touring brought them to all corners of their home country, as well as to Belgium and Germany. Expectations were high for a new album.
Nighttime Birds (1997) came into existence, but not without an effort. Writing new songs in between touring (and studying!) wasn't easy, and neither was recording it. Nevertheless, the album, which was musically quite close to Mandylion, turned out to be another success. Reactions were positive and subsequent touring even more intensive, taking the band to Eastern Europe, France, Italy and several other European countries.
At this time they started to long for something new. Jelmer even decided he didn't want to tour and play guitar as much anymore, so he left the band in July 1998. The other members wanted to try out new ideas, other instruments and different recording techniques. The result was How To Measure A Planet?, a varied and experimental double-album. It was harder to promote and more difficult to understand for some die-hard metal fans. Still, positive reactions came from all over the world, including the United States, where they played 14 shows during the summer of 1999.
The Gathering were also fed up with the music industry, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and start their own label, Psychonaut Records. Always... was re-released on this label in 1999, followed by Almost a Dance in 2000, both re-mastered and fitted with new artwork. However, since their contract with Century Media hadn't ended yet, their live album Superheat (2000) was released on this label. Most of the songs on this album are from How To Measure A Planet?, the others from Mandylion and Nighttime Birds and they were recorded in several Dutch venues during 1999.

Another successful chapter in The Gathering's career followed with the release of if_then_else (2000). The album is filled with diverse, intense and emotional rock songs, more compact than its predecessor. Fifteen months of touring ensued, taking them to virtually every nook and cranny of Europe, with a little sidestep to Mexico, and ending with a small Dutch club tour in October 2001.

After this, the band members took a well-deserved break and attended to their private lives. However, there was no time to be lazy, they ended their contract with Century Media, The Gathering had to run their new born label Psychonaut Records and their 12?-year anniversary was coming up. To celebrate this with their dedicated fans, they released the mini-CD Black Light District on their own label. Writing the songs for this CD as well as for the forthcoming full-length that's planned for early 2003, started in 2000. The band went through a rough time and this can be heard in the songs. The latter part of 2002 will be used for touring and finishing the upcoming album. That one too will be released through Psychonaut Records with a license deal at a major label.
So The Gathering are finally free to do what they want and do best: make beautiful atmospheric, experimental and emotional music.