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The Gathering | |
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 Budapest concert, 31 January 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Oss, Netherlands |
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| Years active |
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| Members | René Rutten Hans Rutten Frank Boeijen Silje Wergeland Hugo Prinsen Geerligs |
| Past members | Jelmer Wiersma Bart Smits Marike Groot Niels Duffhues Martine van Loon Anneke van Giersbergen Marjolein Kooijman |
| Website | www |
The Gathering are a Dutchrock band formed inOss,North Brabant in 1989. The band's lineup currently consists of founding brothersRené Rutten (guitars) and Hans Rutten (drums),Silje Wergeland (lead vocals),Hugo Prinsen Geerligs (bass) and Frank Boeijen (keyboards).
The band's earliest releases were categorized as atmosphericdoom metal with influences fromextreme metal acts likeCeltic Frost andHellhammer, undergoing numerous vocalist changes before breaking out in 1995 withMandylion. It was The Gathering's first album to feature lead singerAnneke van Giersbergen and the band's first to chart in the Netherlands. With van Giersbergen, the band's sound shifted fromgothic metal to one influenced byshoegaze,post-rock andtrip hop, starting with their fifth studio albumHow to Measure a Planet? in 1998.
In 2007, van Giersbergen left the group to focus on her new bandAgua de Annique.[1] The band replaced her with Wergeland, of the bandOctavia Sperati. The band went on hiatus from 2014 to 2018, and their most recent album,Beautiful Distortion, was released on 29 April 2022.
Founded by brothers Hans and René Rutten and vocalistBart Smits, The Gathering formed in the city ofOss in 1989. Soon after they were joined byHugo Prinsen Geerligs, Jelmer Wiersma and Frank Boeijen to complete their first line-up. The Gathering's earliest recordings were categorized as atmosphericdoom metal with influences fromdeath metal acts likeCeltic Frost andHellhammer.[2]
In 1990 they recorded a demo tape entitledAn Imaginary Symphony which met some positive reactions from the underground metal scene due to their unusual use of keyboards in metal-oriented music. A second demo, "Moonlight Archer" was recorded in April 1991, was picked up by several music journalists. Both demos suffered from poor production; however they did help establish the band's name on the live circuit opening for bands such asDead Head,Invocator,Samael,Morbid Angel andDeath.
After signing with Foundation 2000, the group released their debut albumAlways... in 1992. On this album, Bart Smits was accompanied by Marike Groot on vocals, who also joined the Gathering on stage for most of the gigs. The album sold nearly 20,000 units over the next few years in Europe.[3] In 1992 both Smits and Groot left the group due to musical differences; the other members wanted to change direction towards a lighter, more progressive sound.[4] Smits went on to form his own project, Wish, to explore a darker, heavier sound.
In 1993 the group recruited two new vocalists,Niels Duffhues and female counterpart Martine van Loon. A second album,Almost a Dance, was recorded and released in 1993 by Foundation 2000. The album was met with much criticism aimed at Duffhues' punk-ish tone being decidedly out of step with the music, and the album was largely written off as a result.[5] The group collectively acknowledged their disappointments with the album and started writing new material and looked for a new vocalist.
In 1995, The Gathering releasedMandylion, their third album and first to feature lead vocalistAnneke van Giersbergen, throughCentury Media; proving to be their breakthrough and selling over 130,000 copies in Europe. Two singles were released fromMandylion, "Adrenaline/Leaves" and "Strange Machines", the latter which reached number 37 on the Dutch singles charts and helped raise the group's popularity in Europe and the United States.[6] Tours of Belgium and Germany, as well as appearances at theDynamo Open Air andPinkpop Festivals further established the bands presence in the European metal scene.[7] 1997'sNighttime Birds was stylistically and musically a companion piece toMandylion sold over 90,000 copies and saw the group tour throughout Europe.
In 1998 the group acknowledged their growing influences and their need to experiment with a double album,How to Measure a Planet?. Produced by Attie Bauw, the album is a radical departure from the group's established sound. Upon release, the album received excellent reviews from critics who appreciated the band's absorption of new styles such asshoegaze andtrip hop into its sound.[8] Positive reactions came from all over the world, including the United States, where they played 14 shows during the summer of 1999.
In 1999 the band formed their own record label,Psychonaut Records, with the view of releasing their own music and taking creative control over how their music is marketed and distributed.Always... was re-released in 1999, followed byAlmost a Dance in 2000, both re-mastered and fitted with new artwork. However, the band were still under contract withCentury Media, they released a live albumSuperheat (2000) which was recorded in several Dutch venues during 1999.
Another successful chapter in The Gathering's career followed with the release ofif 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.
In 2002 the band members took a break and tended to their private lives. During this period, they ended their contract withCentury Media. The Gathering had to run their newborn labelPsychonaut Records and their 12½-year anniversary was coming up. To celebrate this with their fans, they released the mini-CDBlack Light District on their own label.
In early 2003,Souvenirs was released.Sleepy Buildings, a semi-acoustic live album, followed in 2004. This album was the last one featuring Hugo Prinsen Geerligs as the bass player. He was later replaced by Marjolein Kooijman.
In 2005, The Gathering provided the music for a CD-ROM titled "Passengers in Time: The Musical History Tour". This CD accompanied a history study book written by Professor Wim Kratsborn and the band did not consider it to be an official release of theirs.
The band released a DVD in 2005, entitledA Sound Relief. This contained more gentle semi-acoustic songs. But this is not their first DVD. Century Media had releasedIn Motion without band permission at 2001. NeverthelessIn Motion had an acceptable success. The next plan was to release in 2007 a second DVD (recognized for the band)A Noise Severe which features the morehard rock sound of The Gathering. This DVD was recorded inSantiago, Chile at 24 March 2007 at the Caupolicán Theatre.
In April 2006 they released their eighth studio album calledHome. They had toured in March in North and South America and, after a brief pause to let van Giersbergen treat alaryngitis problem, they continued their touring schedule with European dates and music festivals throughout 2006.
The Gathering toured throughout the U.S. and Canada withLacuna Coil in early 2007. On 5 June 2007, it was announced that Anneke was leaving The Gathering to spend more time with her family and her own band,Agua de Annique. The band scheduled a final tour stop on 4–5 August 2007 at the Ankkarock Festival, Finland. The Ankkarock Festival was announced as the final performance with Anneke as vocalist.
In February 2008, The Gathering released a boxed set entitledSand and Mercury - The Complete Century Media Years. This boxed set was limited to 3000 copies worldwide, and contained 10 discs including a selection of studio, live and compilation albums. The set also contained the audio from theIn Motion DVD as a new live album, also entitledIn Motion.
In September 2008, The Gathering released a collection of all their old material from 1989 to 1993 on a double CD. The album contains the demos, the never released promo 1992, live tracks and the Celtic Frost cover of "Dethroned Emperor". The songs were from the period of the first line-up with singer Bart Smits. All songs were restored and mastered by Mike Wead (King Diamond / Mercyful Fate) and was released by small Dutch independent label Vic Records.
The Gathering's ninth studio album,The West Pole, was released in May 2009, shortly after they were joined by a new singer,Silje Wergeland.
On 16 May 2011, the band released the single "Heroes for Ghosts" via theirBandcamp page, as well as announcing a South American tour. The song featured on their forthcoming album.[9]
On 12 September 2012, the band released their tenth studio album,Disclosure.
The Gathering celebrated their 25th birthday as a band with two sold-out reunion concerts at Doornroosje inNijmegen on 9 November 2014. It was the first time that four of their singers (Bart Smits, Marike Groot, Anneke van Giersbergen and Silje Wergeland) performed together, and the band's first performance with van Giersbergen since her departure in 2007.
On 8 December 2016, they surprise-released a double-disc of outtakes, demos & unreleased songs from the recordings ofSouvenirs andHome, calledBlueprints.
In June and November 2018, they played several shows in the Netherlands and did a small tour in Greece.[10][better source needed]
On 29 April 2022, the band released their eleventh studio album, and first in nearly 10 years,Beautiful Distortion.[11]
In December 2024, the band announced that, to celebrate the 30th anniversary ofMandylion, they would reunite with van Giersbergen for five sold-out August 2025 shows inNijmegen.[12]
Frank Boeijen on the origins of the name of the band:
"The name the Gathering has been made like eleven years ago when we started this band. We were all between 15 and 17. We were watching a lot of movies those days. One of the movies spoke about immortality and that you could kill the immortals with cutting their head off [it's the firstHighlander Frank is speaking about]. In the first part of the movie, they speak a lot about thegathering. There will be a gathering once with all the immortals. We thought it was a nice name for a band, and that's how we created this name. And you can feel it's a cool name for five people who come together to make fine music."[sic][13]
Current lineup
| Former members
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Timeline
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