The most immediately striking aspect of
Nighttime Birds is that
the Gathering does not have an ordinary singer or death metal growler; instead, they have metal diva
Anneke Van Giersbergen, whose voice often recalls
Björk and may range from a powerful, throaty wail to a sweetly tuneful caress that belies her deliberate, crunching musical accompaniment. As with
Mandylion,
the Gathering no longer really sounds like a traditional death metal band; the music is mostly melodic (yet tinged with sorrow), slow to mid-tempo progressive metal, with
Van Giersbergen's distinctive voice soaring above the band's nicely varied textures. It's a fine effort, one that marks
the Gathering as a band that bears watching, especially if they vary the tempo and mood a bit more. ~ Steve Huey