There are metal genres and subgenres, each with their own bands, albums and dedicated fans. There are, however, also bands that know no genres or labels, bands that appeal to all rock and metal fans and bring everyone together. One such band is the Dutch The Gathering, a legendary group that may belong to the atmospheric metal genre, but is truly for all of us. So, there was great joy and excitement among all of us when it was announced that The Gathering, with Anneke Van Giersbergen on vocals, would come to Greece for live shows where they would also perform the classic “Mandylion” album! Myth of Rock, fully aware of the importance of these events and extremely happy that we would finally get to see The Gathering with Anneke, was at Floyd in Athens to capture everything that took place!
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
Before we get into exactly what happened, I think it is worth mentioning that the Athens show was originally scheduled to take place at Lycabettus Theatre. However, due to unfavorable weather forecasts, with thunderstorms expected on the day of the show, it was moved to Floyd, an indoor concert venue. The production team did the right thing by changing the venue, as there was no way we could have enjoyed the concert under bad weather conditions.
The question, however, is whether the right choice was made in terms of capacity, since the new indoor venue should have been able to accommodate a similar number of people as Lycabettus Theatre. Would Floyd be able to fit everyone who had bought tickets for the open-air venue? Or would we end up packed in like sardines, with barely any room to move?
As it turned out, when Floyd was announced as the new venue, the concert was also announced as sold out. Indeed, on the night of September 26, Floyd was packed, but fortunately, there wasn’t the slightest problem with the crowd or with everyone being able to comfortably enjoy their time at the venue.
But let’s cut to the chase!
The program did not include a support band. This meant that we would see The Gathering without any warm-up, but I don’t think anyone needed to warm up in order to watch the headliners – if anything, I would say it was better this way, since we could save our energy for The Gathering, who would have all our attention! That night would be all about the band and their fans!
Exactly at 8:30, as announced, the first notes were heard and The Gathering took the stage to the cheers and warm applause of the crowd. The first song was “Eléanor” and we all started jumping, singing and shouting along. The Dutch atmospheric metallers played some of the best songs of their career, focusing on “Mandylion”, but also going through some choices from “Nighttime Birds”, “How To Measure a Planet?”, “if_then_else” and more, in a set that included fourteen songs.
They were more than enough for us to lose ourselves in The Gathering’s attractive, beautiful universe. They were enough to take us on a journey through time and remind us of old days, of years gone by, from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. The musicians’ performance was amazing and passionate, with Anneke captivating us with the sheer beauty of her voice and her composed stage presence.
My only complaints were that the sound was not very loud, especially the vocals and guitars, which should have been turned up. Still, nothing could stop either the band or the audience from giving it everything they had and having an incredible time! The band was overwhelmed by the Greek audience, while we were living through a delirium, a frenzy – you should have seen what happened during “Strange Machines”!
We truly thank The Gathering for this immersive experience! I would like to end this report with a wish: we dream of a new The Gathering album with Anneke! But let’s not look too far into the future. Let’s live in the present and never forget this great concert!
After “Saturnine”, we left Floyd ecstatic. This is what live music is all about, these are the moments that matter! We have so many memories to hold on to until the next The Gathering experience!
