Artist: THE GATHERING
Album: A SOUND RELIEF (2DVD DIGIBOOK)

Year: 2005
Media type: DVD

The microphone was decorated with flowers.
That isn't a silly, glib comment - that observation defines so much about the band, and this DVD.

In their early days The Gathering was one of the first acts to combine male grunting with ethereal female vocals in what we now call the beauty and the beast format. Over time the band mellowed, dropping the grunts, then toning down the heaviness, and along the way The Gathering became the standard by which other female-fronted metal acts were judged - and it is arguable that their success spawned Evanencence, a commercially successful American look-alike. Over time the music became more refined and complex with a foot in the progressive camp, they acquired a new bassist in Marjolein Kooijman, one of the few woman bassists in the business, they released the all-acoustic Sleepy Buildings, Anneke got pregnant, and the death, goth, and metal labels slowly faded away.

This DVD represents the culmination of 15 years of success - but don't expect any of the earlier heaviness here. This DVD is the recording of a high class, perfectly delivered, low-intensity concert. Most of the songs are from How To Measure a Planet and Souvenirs albums, and the arrangements are melodic and laid back and elegant. The bonus CD contains an interview, a review of the band's history (Dutch with English sub-titles), several songs played over so-so animations, and most important, a 35 minute on-tour piece with vignettes showing the band on the road. There's a lot of fun and light hearted silliness, giving an important insight into the band's collective personality. They come across as the kids next door, and there's no evidence of hard-rockers' drink or drugs, none of the stereotyped 'metal' behaviors.

The main DVD is a concert played at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. The band played the same set twice, wearing the same clothes, in the same day - and selected the best clips from the two shows. There were multiple cameras and the viewing angles are generally good - there's the inevitable focus on Anneke's singing, but there are also a fair number of close-ups on the other band members. Picture quality is good, and most important, the sound quality is particularly good for a live recording.

In summary - A Sound Relief is an excellent illustration of how The Gathering has grown up over 15 years. Despite their history and the now mis-applied 'goth' label, The Gathering is now a sophisticated band of young, mature adults, a pregnant singer, two female band members ... and the microphone was decorated with flowers.

TRACKLISTING:

Disc 1: Live concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL, May 23rd 2005

01. The Big Sleep
02. Broken Glass
03. Rescue Me
04. Alone
05. Travel
06. Red Is A Slow Colour
07. A Life All Mine
08. Golden Grounds
09. Amity
10. In Motion II
11. Marooned
12. Souvenirs
13. Like Fountains
14. Herbal Movement

Disc 2: Bonus:

Tour Impression 2004
Dutch TV special: 15 Years The Gathering
Italian TV Special

Animation Music Clips:
'Marooned'
'The Big Sleep'
'Alone'
'Broken Glass'
'A Life All mine'
'Red Is A Slow Colour'

LINE-UP:

Anneke Van Giersbergen (vocals)
Jelmer Wiersma (guitar)
Rene Rutten (guitar / flute)
Marjolein Kooijman (bass)
Frank Boeijen (keyboards)
Hans Rutten (drums)