THE GATHERING - Almost A Dance (1994)

Creative, classy and highly refined "symphonic metal" outfit from Holland. First album (Always, 1993) was a fairly straightforward death metal album, although heavy use of keyboards made it stand out a bit from other such albums at the time. Followed by Almost A Dance (1994), an album which saw the departure of "growling" vocalist Bart Smits. Smits was replaced primarily by Niels Duffhues, a strange choice for the band; Duffhues' punk-ish tone was decidedly out of step with the music, and the album was largely written off as a result. A shame, because many of the songs on Almost A Dance are quite well written. The album also featured occasional vocals by Martine van Loon, a low-key singer with a pretty tone but one that seldom took to the forefront of a composition. It would appear that the seed had been planted in the band's head to try their uniquely compelling songwriting style with a passionate female vocalist; the result was the addition of the incomparable Anneke van Giersbergen, an incredible singer capable of stretching miles of emotion out of each and every syllable.

Tracks
1.On A Wave
2.The Blue Vessel
3.Her Last Flight
4.The Sky People
5.Nobody Dares
6.Like Fountains
7.Proof
8.Heartbeat Amplifier
9.A Passage To Desire

Home Page - http://www.gathering.nl/
Link- http://0b7757d3.linkbucks.com
password- hmb
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