The Gathering
How To Measure A Planet?

THE REVIEW

Shocked, amazed, intrigued, puzzled. These are just some of the adjectives possible to describe the listener the first time they hear "How To Measure A Planet?".

In reality, the artwork of the CD, which abandons the dark images typical of previous albums and features a yellow background with futuristic images, had already hinted at an important change. Moreover, the previous 2 albums already presented psychedelic elements, but no one could have imagined such a turnaround: we're talking about rock: sure, it's a liquid rock contaminated by pop, electronic, and progressive, (references to Pink Floyd and Radiohead are more than evident), dreamy, but it is still rock.

The album aims to celebrate the theme of the Journey with very slow and introspective tracks. We are faced with an album of very difficult assimilation, which includes 14 songs enclosed in 2 CDs. However, if you let yourself be carried away by the music, the tracks gain strength and intensity. Unfortunately, this album was not understood by many, especially by their label, Century Media, which after the success of immortal albums like "Mandylion" and "Nightime Birds" fears losing a golden goose with an album that is absolutely not intended for goths eager for romantic and decadent atmospheres. "Frail (You Might As Well Me)" is tasked with opening the album. It is introduced by particular electronic inserts. It is a cadenced piece but also light like a spring breeze. Anneke sings in a slightly different manner than before, interpreting the songs with unprecedented emphasis and finesse. "Great Ocean Road" is a very experimental piece. Here trip-hop digressions peek through, which will anticipate the path undertaken later with "Souvenirs". Furthermore, there is some metal reminiscence, which belongs to a past never so distant. "Rescue Me" is a very dusky, soft, and dreamlike piece. However, it doesn't represent a feeling like sadness, but something closer to disenchantment.

"My Electricity" is the soundtrack of a dream, an imaginary reality that serves as a bridge between heaven and earth. Excellent Track. "Liberty Bell" is the piece that struck me the most on first listen. In many albums by The Gathering, there is a piece slightly detached from the others on the platter, more dynamic and rhythmic ("Monsters" in Souvenirs, "Third Chance" in Nightime Birds…). "Liberty Bell" is the most electrifying piece of the work, chiseled by Anneke's voice, filtered for the occasion. "Red Is A Slow Color" is a piece that faithfully reflects the title: slow and whispered. The riffs almost seem like those of the Irish band The Cranberries. The final part is interesting, very enigmatic. "The Big Sleep", based entirely on the Dutch Nightingale's singing and breathtaking sound effects, is a very intimate and unpretentious piece. "Maroneed", certainly the least successful piece of the album, represents a soft and atmospheric lullaby. The first CD closes with "Travel", which opens with the typical sounds of an Internet connection. Great performance by the divine. It is the only piece where the atmospheres of “Mandylion” and “Nightime Birds” are revived, dear to many fans.

The second CD opens with the beautiful and hypnotic "South American Ghost Ride", a very experimental, dark, and sidereal track echoing industrial imagery. It is an instrumental piece (aside from a few tiny vocalizations by Anneke). "Illuminating" is an intense semi-ballad, visionary and vibrant, just like the best pieces know how to be. "Locked Away" is a piece full of pathos, conveying sunlight and optimism like never before in the band's history. "Probably Built In The Fifties" is a whimsical piece like an unexpected rainy day, while the monumental "How To Measure A Planet?", an instrumental piece of a full 28 minutes long (what???), is markedly difficult to listen to and closes the CD. A good album, although it leaves a significant feeling of incompleteness: in my opinion, “Souvenirs” (2003) is the ideal continuation of this work after “If-then. else” and is more solid and compact.

But the courage to go against one's label, to surpass the narrow horizons of metal, to open up to new and fascinating horizons, to play the music one loves deserves praise. The courage to be called The Gathering.