The Gathering har sedan starten 1989 alltid varit ett nyfiket band. De har alltid gjort sin egen grej och utvecklats i takt med varje ny skiva. För egen del så återkommer jag ofta till låtar som Marooned (från How to measure a planet?, 1998) och Sand and mercury (från Mandylion, 1995). Båda tillhör låtar som jag aldrig tröttnar på och för mig så är The Gathering ett av mina viktigaste band, ett band som på många sätt växt ihop med min själ. Senaste albumet, Beautiful distortion, släpptes 2022 och är knappt 50 minuter magi. Det är ingen omedelbar sådan utan snarare en som växer på en. Överlag ett fantastiskt album. I maj i år släpptes även en jubileumsutgåva av bandets klassiska debut Always... (1992). Idag berättar Hans Rutten, bandets trummis, om fem album som inspirerat bandet under karriären. Spotify-länkar till albumen, där det är möjligt, hittar ni genom att klicka på det specifika albumets titel.
Paradise Lost - Gothic (1991)
A very important album before we started the band. It was the combination of
doomy, dark and atmospheric gothic rock/metal combined with grunts and female vocals
that was so refreshing back then. A huge influence for us when we started the band.
Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium (1987)
A bit older than Paradise Lost - Gothic, but the unique experimental character of this album
was an eye opener. Metal music and experiment (cross over metal with choirs, keyboards,
electronics, even dance music) was possible. There were mixed feeling in our little metal
scene in Oss, the place where we grew up, but it's an album I can still listen today.
Dead Can Dance - Spleen and Ideal (1985)
We go a bit more back into time with this monument of an album. Elegance and beauty go
hand in hand with a sort of cold, lonely and desperate feeling which is hard to describe.
The classical arrangements and rhythms are not too difficult but it works so well.
Oh, and the cover is a beauty, one of the best covers ever made.
Rush - Permanent Waves (1980)
As a band musically on top of everything as these are the best musicians in the rock scene ever.
The songs are complex but it never feels forced or unnatural. Soundwise this album still holds nowadays, crisp and alive.
The band always had their music in first place. You can hear craftsmanship in all its facets.
Their musical ethos was second to none. Also a band who listened carefully to what was going on
musically in other genres when they were writing new music and they integrated these new sounds
in their own sound in a terrific way. That was very inspiring for me and our band.
Pink Floyd - Meddle (1971)
Long songs don't have to be boring. Echoes, a song on this album and almost 23 minutes long, is a good example.
It takes you on a long and exciting journey through different landscapes and atmospheres. Personally, my favorite Pink Floyd album. Complex, but naturally and oh so well arranged.
/ Hans Rutten, The Gathering
Lyssna på Beautiful distortion här nedan!