THE GATHERING — Nighttime Birds (review)

THE GATHERING — Nighttime Birds album cover Album · 1997 · Gothic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Time Signature
New sound, different music...

Genre: alternative rock / alternative metal

This is a borderline case for me, as "Nighttime Birds" is almost not metal to me. Trading the waters between alternative metal and alternative rock (with gothic overtones), there still are enough metal features to merit a "metal music" classification, but, it's really a borderline case, so I think (or rather, I know) that a lot of metalheads will not like it.

There are distorted guitars and heavy drumbeats and riffs to be found on it, but a lot of parts of the songs on the album are played with clean guitars, and the keyboards are very prominent, creating an almost athmospheric feel. There is nothing as such wrong with the music on this album, which is generally very melancholic but also very soothing, but, in my book, it is nowhere nears as good as "Mandylion".

I think that fans of melodic rock and alternative rock will like this album, and some more open-minded doomsters might like it too. But, honestly, I think most metalheads will prefer The Gathering's earlier releases to this one.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

A Sonication Technical Death Metal
OBSCURA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us