Review Summary: A quick fix of melancholy.
At the onset of the 21st century, The Gathering were in a dilemma. Their albums
How to Measure a Planet? and
If_Then_Else had gained critical acclaim from the “radical” wing of both the metal press and the metal fans, because of the success in blending atmospheric rock/metal with electronic sounds. However, the band believed at the time that their work should have been more accessible to a greater, more “mainstream” audience, indirectly blaming Century Media Records for inadequate marketing of their music. The band had two options, either continue its bland collaboration with Century Media or take full control of their music. Bold as they always were, they founded Psychonaut Records.
Black Light District EP was their first release under the new label, celebrating at that time 12.5 years of musical endeavor.
In this EP, The Gathering paint their canvas all perfect pitch black.
Black Light District is an elegy of epic proportions. It literally comes out of the shadows, in shame, to make a furious stand and slowly vanish to where it came from. The melancholic vocals from Anneke and Sara Jezebel Deva, the alt. rock guitars first found in
How to Measure a Planet? and
If_Then_Else, the discrete electronic sounds maneuvering in the background, everything is there, everything is in place. It is hard to believe that the song lasts for 16 minutes, as it feels to be a 5-minute one.
In
Debris, aggressive electronic loops, with the discrete appearance of physical drums, dominate. Here the band incorporates noise in their electronic/post rock songwriting and along with Anneke’s obscure lyrics manages to deliver an angry, dark “underground” hit, fit for every dance/post rock/punk joint in the entire globe.
Broken Glass (later it will be found in
Souvenirs within a whole new orchestration that maintains the basic melody) is a short song played on the piano with Anneke’s vocals taking the lead. Little comment can be made, apart from the fact that this is a decent closure for an excellent EP.
Summing up, The Gathering make another, yet darker, spin around all the elements that made them so special in the past.
