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Rating: If we were to rank the most influential bands with a female voice, we would find The Gathering at the top (alongside Theatre of Tragedy and Nightwish). It's easy to understand why: ALL bands in the symphonic scene and beyond (like our very own Lacuna Coil) owe something to the Dutch group.
This is the first CD of the group with Anneke as the vocalist. Before her arrival, the group played music closer to death metal than to the "almost doom" of Mandylion.
In my opinion, the group has two main strengths: the extraordinary voice of Anneke, as soothing as a siren's, celestial and pure like an angel's voice.
The other strength is the tracks, stretched to the brink of incredulity and capable of delivering a vast array of emotions, atmospheres, and sensations.
The CD opens with "Strange machines", the heaviest track (if it can be called that...), although the doom imprint remains at the forefront. Anneke delivers a divine performance.
"Elèanor" is the most beautiful track on the album alongside "Sand and Mercury", boasting numerous tempo changes and dark guitars, enriched by some orchestrations.
"In Motion#1" is another beautiful track, also rather slow.
"Leaves" is the track closest to doom on the entire CD, the perfect meeting point between celestial guitars and slowness.
"Fear the sea" is the only weak point: while the other tracks on the album are intricate, this piece lacks grounding points that allow the listener not to get lost.
"Mandylion" is an almost mystical instrumental track, evoking oriental images in our minds, while "Sand and Mercury" is another stunning track full of different atmospheres: the choirs and keyboards are beautiful, present but never intrusive.
The CD closes with the beautiful "In Motion # 2", which features an absolutely chilling finale.
In my opinion, this is a beautiful CD that magnificently represents musical art.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Strange Machines (06:04)
it has always been in the back of my mind
dreaming about going to the corners of time
i always wanted to fly in strange machines
i wanna do centuries in a lifetime
and feel it with my hands
touch the world war II and Cleopatra
flying...
could it be that my dream would come true
building a machine that would actually do
what i want it to do
russian revolution, let's do that in one day
Beethoven and Gershwin i think that would be o.k.
more than anything i wanna fly in strange machines
i wanna do centuries in a lifetime
and see it with my eyes
watch Jesus rise, if he ever did
flying...
i wanna do centuries in a lifetime
and feel it with my hands
touch renaissance and Chaka Khan
flying...
02 Eléanor (06:41)
underneath the mask you've buried yourself into
it's coal-black
i am tired of the gulping that you do
every day a new face
what if i unscrew
your own identity
wouldn't you guess there's nothing left of you?
the quicksand of life drags us
down into the circle
one day. we might not catch you
i feel sorry for what you try to do
breaking others down. to try and to pursue
your own selfish interests
i am starting to get sick of you
whatever happened ever since you left
you make yourself and me look like fools
03 In Motion #1 (06:56)
Kill me with your thoughts
Use your mind
Hand me over to this world
Into death...
Into death...
Make me cry in vain
Leave one tear
Touch my face with your sigh
Leave me against the stream
One hundred worlds will see me
Passing by...
Kill me with your thoughts
Use your mind
Hand me over to this world
Into death...
Into death...
Make me cry in vain
Leave one tear
Touch my face with your sigh
Leave me against the stream
One hundred worlds will see me
Passing by...
Kill me with your thoughts
Use your mind
Hand me over to this world
Into death...
Into death...
Make me cry in vain
Leave one tear
Touch my face with your sigh
Leave me against the stream
One hundred worlds will see me
Passing by...
04 Leaves (06:01)
i close your eyes with my mouth
now you don't see anything
but you feel my breath all over
i can feel you too
although i don't really know you
i don't really care
cry with me, make my day
tomorrow all will be gone
all the sweetness and all the fun
no, i don't wanna know...
although i don't really know you
i don't really care
now that you're gone i don't know
how to really feel inside
baring the hope to see you again
i guess i never will
now that i do really know you
yes, i really care!
05 Fear the Sea (05:49)
water travels by itself
inspires us to fear the sea
when it affects our state of mind
we drown in our make believe
those little drops that cover two thirds
eventually there will be nothing left
but water, this water
it rules but even so
it tears apart around us
throws itself high up in the sky
never will be able to tame
07 Sand and Mercury (09:57)
My dear, don't leave me now
close at the edge of my end.
All this time you have been my friend.
Don't go, stay for a while.
My dear, you're losing me now;
this will be my last hour.
Hear my voice, see my face
see how sick I am,
how I long for your embrace.
"Nothing that happens to man is ever natural. As his presence calls the whole world into question, all man must die, and for every man whose death is an accident, and even if he knows it he senses an unjustible violation. You may agree with these words or not, those are the...the keystring of the laws of the living"
(spoken words by J.R.R. Tolkien)
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Other reviews
By Fidia
Anneke Giersbergen’s voice is unique and different from many of her colleagues, characterized by sweetness and softness without self-indulgence.
Mandylion is certainly one of the most beautiful albums of the last decade in the genre.
