Since June 5 at 1:16 PM, I have been unhappy. It has nothing to do with an illness. I didn't break my wrist. I got the stress of final exams over with last month. I did not fight with any of my friends and, thankfully, I wasn't in a car crash.

Instead, my sadness can be directly traced to a choice made by The Gathering's vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. She will be leaving the band in August to pursue other musical adventures. I could go on for days explaining in great detail why that breaks my heart, but for now, I will simply say that it depresses me. A lot.

So, to deepen my discontent, I've been listening to Souvenirs. I would call this 2003 release The Gathering's most experimental work to date, but then there's How to Measure a Planet, Home, if_then_else...yeah, let's just say everything this band has done has been pretty trippy. Souvenirs is just so layered, so exotic, and relaxing. A metal album this is not. A complex, haunting album this is.

No song could possibly set the tone better than the opener, the gentle "These Good People". Delicate keyboards outline Anneke's pristine pipes as she unleashes what may be the closest thing to heaven this listener will ever count on. Her voice is so soft and beautiful, but that doesn't stop it from being powerful as hell. Commanding. Commanding to the point of being eerie. The multiple layers of her chants that pop up toward the end of the song are especially effective.

And it gets better. "These Good People" is kind of an appetizer for what is to come, though that concept is initially difficult to fathom. "Broken Glass" calms and captivates with faint, ethereal guitar arrangements, liquidy sound effects that chug along with a steadiness rivaled only by one of Lindsay Lohan's relationships (hah! Just seeing if you were paying attention). Some of Anneke's most inspiring, unique lyrics soon follow:

Place your bet
on the best
The fastest horse
you can find
Drop yourself
in the grass
Breathe the air
at last

As gorgeous as "Broken Glass" is, it may just play second fiddle to the gold of "You Learn About It". Tranquil, slow-moving, and smart, "You Learn About It" is the type of song that creates an atmosphere so strong, it makes you relive experiences of your own through its simple guitar melody and Anneke's always outstanding, jaw-droppingly emotive vocal performance. More aggressive than its Souvenirs siblings but still not daring to inch toward metallic boundaries, the fan favorite "Monsters" pairs eccentric, sandpapery guitar riffs with notably louder drums and a peculiarly catchy, mesmerizing chorus, in which Anneke powerfully wails "If you come clo-o-o-oser / I'll sho-o-o-ow you / how it feels!"

I don't say this much about The Gathering, but I'll admit that there's one song on Souvenirs I can't get into much, and that's the closing track, the mellow "A Life All Mine". I will also say there's a slight catch. The only reason I don't love this song as much as I should is because of the guest vocalist Trickster G (no, not a rapper, heh). His flat voice drowns Anneke out most of the time, so in my book, he's already the definition of uncool. However, I dig the version on A Sound Relief because it's sung solely by Anneke, and it has this spaced out, coffee-shop, jazz vibe that is spruced up by a few sprinklings of Frank Boeijen's crazy keyboard melodies. So even when The Gathering fails, they don't really fail. The guest vocalist fails.

Souvenirs is: Refreshingly original. Almost completely flawless (go away, Trickster G). So peaceful it will make your heart ache, while soothing it at the same time. A lovely hour-long collection of inimitable, beautiful music. A display of some of Anneke's most amazing vocal performances ever (AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ANNEKE, YOU KNOW THAT SAYS A LOT).

Souvenirs is not: Heavy metal, though if you enjoy The Gathering's more meaty-riff-laden stuff, (ala Mandylion and Nighttime Birds), you will still enjoy this album very much. Does that make sense? Yeah, I didn't think so.


Everyone should listen to Souvenirs. I call it alternative rock because, truthfully, I don't know what else to call it. This is nothing more than mind-boggingly beautiful music that can be enjoyed by a number of audiences. Okay, so maybe it will be enjoyed a bit more by those enchanted by the angelic vocals of "those European females." But there's nothing over-the-top, operatic, or extremely inaccessible about Souvenirs. Listen to it. Listen to everything by The Gathering. And, dear Anneke, I know you spend most of your time reading my Epinions reviews religiously, so please reconsider taking your perfect voice away from this perfect band.





Recommended: Yes