The Gathering

Not seeing enough shows! But then maybe I never could. At least I got to see them, they were amazing every time. Possibly the best live band I've seen.

Sure !!!

maybe the fact I'm straight helped me deal with Hugo leaving the band hihihi

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

Bands change, people change, music changes.

I do miss Anneke in some ways; albums like Mandylion stand among the finest I've heard, bar none. But when you look at the "Anneke Era" as a whole, changing the lead singer for The West Pole probably isn't any more of a leap than, say, going from Nighttime Birds to How To Measure A Planet? The music was always evolving, and The West Pole is just the next step.

Burn is right: what I've heard so far of The West Pole is (more!) real spine tingling stuff. I'm an Octavia Sperati fan, so knew and enjoy Silje's singing from there, but she really seems to shine with The Gathering. I'm still looking forward to a third OS album, though.

I was a latecomer to The Gathering, so can't really comment on Hugo leaving, or Jelmer for that matter. I think Marjolein joining TG was great; fresh ideas, and another female member felt like the right gender balance. (Not that I thought there was a gender imbalance; I just find female-influenced "metal" far more interesting than the male dominated stuff - Octavia Sperati being an extreme example.)

I can't wait to hear The West Pole in its entirety when it arrives!

Funniest thing about this TG evolution... even though Anneke is not with the band, she's very much responsible for this evolution that the band has just gone through. This new record is just as much her doing as it is anyone else's in some ways.

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Geezers need excitement.

Drugs are shite, I dont know which one you take but you should stop

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

No drugs, just a different perspective.

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Geezers need excitement.

Not seeing them live is the only thing I regret. I had a couple of chances to do that, but I wasn't that much into them back then. As for the band itself, I don't regret anything because I believe that they're professionals and all of the changes they've made were for the better.

In some ways. Responsible, yes; TG probably wouldn't have looked for - and found - a new singer if Anneke hadn't left.

OTOH, "Home" seemed to be ushering in a(nother) new direction for TG, anyway. I'm not convinced "The West Pole" is a "Home" part 2, nor that TG wouldn't have made the same album if Anneke hadn't left. You never can tell what TG will do next - love it!

The possibilities are endless!

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Geezers need excitement.

Next album will be some emocore poppy songs

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

DREAM COME TRUE.

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Geezers need excitement.

With a major label behind them Monsters could have been a hitsingle.

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Well well, how can I heed you?
I wish you did not exist..

Perhaps if they'd covered "Ironic" ...

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I don't think ADA is going to gain anything from that, if that is what you're implying.

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Geezers need excitement.

Apart from the loss of musical credibility as a band you mean? Don't get me wrong, I admire her enormous talent, but at this pace Anneke should start just creditting the albums to be solo, i know I would enjoy them and respect them more. That's it for AdA, they have their own forum

And hell no, if TG EVER covered Alanis Morisette i'd have to split ways with the band for good hahaha.

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Dunno maybe that'd turnout to be an excellent cover.. Never been disappointed on that side so far

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

In Anneke's defence, Pure Air was released as "Anneke Van Giersbergen with Agua de Annique"...

And Alanis has some really good songs, actually =P Don't judge her by the singles (Ironic is indeed a bad song)... Well, even some of the singles are pretty decent (Especially "Uninvited").

Actually, if you follow the bold type, it's "Pure Anneke". "Ironic" is a fun song, but it's a long way away from, say, "On Most Surfaces". The sea-change in what Anneke's doing now (and I wish her every success) must be part of what lies behind the split.

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Its seems that AdA will finish playing cover songs in a crappy bar... their live shows are almost that

And about Hugo: Well, I like Marjolein, she's a good bass player, but what Hugo did with TG was simply amazing, and thats lost forever

-->G

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A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.