The Lost the Gathering Album?
Susan Spence | SE USA | 03/19/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First off, if you're thinking about buying this album, you should know that this is the only Gathering album with male vocals. When I first got this CD, i was surprised to hear the male vocals, and frankly they take some getting used to. Other than that, the music is reminiscent of Always, but it's also lighter than that album. The music and the lyrics are well written. This album seems to grow on the person listening. I'd get this album if you were willing to take a risk, or if you just enjoy metal. Don't get this album with the mindset that The Gathering released this, because you might not get what you expect."
Ruined
shadowking | north bondi, nsw Australia | 11/23/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"After their debut album and before the masterpiece that would follow rests The Gathering's most obscure and scorned album. These band is still at their early days and current vocalist Anneke had not joined them yet. The music is still in a keyboard doom-metal style, more refined and pretty good. The main and fatal flaw with this album is the vocals. Their original singers left them and out of desperation, madness or whatever.. They recruited a punk singer that would butcher everything by the name of Neils. His faith no more vocals work totaly against the music and as much as I try to listen to the music , I cannot simply due to to horrid singing. There are occasional female vocals by Martine Van Loon that provide some temporary relief. I often think to myself: "what if Anneke sang on this album ?" - it would have been a great warmup to the Mandylion album, heck even no vocals would have been good enough.I can only recommend this one to die-hard fans of the bands early period."
The "Real" Gathering
Ander Elessedil | Italy | 03/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Almost a Dance" is one of the most underestimated pieces of music of the 90's. Too bad for an album which is one of the best productions of its period. My 5 stars are to be considered as coming from a listener who got to know "The Gathering" back in 1994, a few months after the release date of this work, in the "pre Anneke era". This album can be compared to Tiamat's "Clouds" or Paradise Lost's "Icon", all of them are 90's albums that preceded a deep change in the style of their own creators. As others correcly said the vocals part could be shocking for new fans who got to know The Gathering with Anneke already in the line-up and, on that aspect, that surely could be heavily disappointing, but if you like masterpieces like "Mandylion" and "Nighttime Birds" you will adore the experience that this "Almost a Dance" can give you, as you will find in it the source and inspiration (and self-quoting) of mainly ALL of the best passages, refrains and riffs of the two first "Anneke's presence productions". Throghout the whole "The Gathering"'s discography this album is, in my opinion, the one which provides the best melodies, the best songs and, considering the budget and the production level of the time, even the best "raw", pure metal sound, for every instrument, not to mention that the band is in its top playing form.
My conclusion: The best "The Gathering" album so far. A must have for the fans of the instrumental aspect of "Mandylion"."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1