Netherland’s THE GATHERING began life in the early 1990s as death/doom metal act, who treaded the same musical territory as ANATHEMA, MY DYING BRIDE, and THERION. Fans and music critics quickly saw the potential of this young outfit, and big things were predicted for this evolving musical force. Sure enough, the band (consisting of Rene Rutten - guitars, Jelmer Wiersma - guitars, Frank Boijen - keys, Hugo Prinson Geerligs -bass, and Hans Rutten- drums) made a huge progression with their 1994 album, MANDYLION. THE GATHERING took a giant step forward with the addition of female vocalist supreme (and creative genius) Anneke Van Giersbergen. With the angelic vocals of Anneke leading the way, the band went on to define the progressive/gothic doom genre. Though largely unheard off in the mainstream circles (and this is a shame, believe me), the originality of THE GATHERING inspired numerous other metal and gothic acts to incorporate clean female vocals into their doomy compositions. Many bands making a name for themselves in the underground owe their success to THE GATHERING. The band continues to progress both musically and conceptually with each release and none of their albums sound alike. Such an influential act as THE GATHERING deserves their own home video, and Century Media has taken upon themselves to include some of the group’s best material on their first DVD release, THE GATHERING: IN MOTION.

THE GATHERING: IN MOTION contains two strong live sets and two music videos from this influential doom rock group. The DVD kicks off with a trend-busting live performance from the 1996 Dynamo European festival. Here THE GATHERING jam out several of their early gothic-influenced compositions from their MANDYLION album, such as Eleanor, Fear the Sea, Leaves, In Motion # 2, Adrenaline, and Machines. This forty minute set demonstrates how the band pushes the boundaries of heavy music. Then we are treated to two of THE GATHERING’s early promotional videos, Leaves and Liberty Bell. THE GATHERING: IN MOTION climaxes with their classic live performance from Krakow, Poland 1997. In this set, the group performs their best stuff from the NIGHTTIME BIRDS CD, like Confusion, The May Song, New Moon/Different Day, and Mandylion/Sand and Mercury. They close out this concert with Adrenaline and Strange Machines from MANDYLION. One thing to keep in mind however, is that this performance (originally broadcast on Dutch TV) originally ran for an hour. Century Media chopped 4 songs from THE GATHERING’s Krakow 97 live set. The non-flashy musicianship, emotional songwriting, and soaring vocals of this fivesome really come through on this DVD.

Century Media presents THE GATHERING: IN MOTION in the full frame (1.33.1) ratio. The video quality on the disc has its ups and downs. On the bright side, both the 1996 Dynamo set and the 1997 Poland shows are both brilliantly captured on home video with some superb camerawork and editing. Theses two shows are also deeply contrasting, as the outside festival show is au naturelle—no lights, no frills, and in front of an immense crowd. On the other hand, the 1997 Poland show takes place in a smaller (and more intimate) venue, and includes extensive light show, smoke effects, etc. In my opinion, the 1997 live set is more energetic, heavier, and creative than the festival performance. The two music video, Leaves and Liberty Bell are also top quality video promos. Though the source material on THE GATHERING: IN MOTION is professional in every sense of the word, Century Media’s video mastering leaves much to be desired. Their weak efforts render the imagery about in the same ballpark as a VCD. The MPEG encoding is problematic, resulting in a variety of digital anomalies such as aliasing, pixelization, and macroblocking. Thankfully, the sound quality is a huge step up (but still leaves room for improvement too), and both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 offer the same depth, range, and clarity. The DD 5.1 track gets a higher rating in the area of sound placement and deeper (more lifelike) bass. However, the DD 2.0 track benefits from a better definition and more CD-like presentation. Frankly, I prefer the DD 5.1 track, but I’ve heard others profess to liking the stereo mix. Except for the two videos and a Discography, THE GATHERING: IN MOTION lacks any bonus features. And Century Media’s menuing system is atrociously laughable.

THE GATHERING is a truly unique and innovative group of talented individuals. The performances on this DVD are brilliant and must be seen and heard to be appreciated. THE GATHERING: IN MOTION suffers though from their poor DVD authoring efforts of Century Media. The band themselves are perfectionists and into multimedia, and I can’t believe they approved of this release. Nevertheless, if you dig the music of THE GATHERING, then you must experience this DVD for yourself. If you are not familiar with the music of the band, I challenge you to push your musical limits and learn for yourself what the hype is about. Come and fall under the musical spell of vocalist Anneke.

THE GATHERING: IN MOTION is available from DVDEmpire.com