AMG Review of Nighttime Birds

Steve Huey
All Music Guide

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 Björk 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 mid-tempo 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.