The Gathering have released their eighth (if I counted it correctly) full length album so far. During the years their sound has changed from hard metal to something they refer to as ‘triprock’. And there is no better way of describing it. (Actually, there is no way of describing it...) Among the keyboards and drums, the guitar still takes an important place in The Gathering’s music. But it is of course Anneke’s angelic voice that draws the most attention. On this album she also sings in a lower pitch sometimes (like in ‘Even the spirits are afraid’), unlike the previous albums, where she always sang in a very high pitch. Which sounded good, but often made it sound all so similar. The songs on ‘Souvenirs’ are often very hypnotising.

I was listening to the CD on the bus and I almost missed my stop thanks to the long guitar solo in the title song ‘Souvenirs’. Also, on the train I got so lost in ‘You learn about it’ that when I did not notice our stop at one station; I was at my destination in no time. Also the last track, ‘Golden Grounds’ seems to go on for a long time, but yet it doesn’t. It is so mesmerizing you lose all track of time. That’s a strange experience, really! The one bad thing about this album is that, when you hear it for the first time, you immediately think it sounds just like ‘How to Measure a Planet’. It takes a few listening sessions to hear the details in the music. But this album is so good, I think that won’t be a problem!