Sit back and enjoy what may be the best vocals in the world! At least if you only compare
female vocals, this might be the best ever. The music and the songs are also great, and
some of the songs are simply heart breaking. 'In Motion 1 & 2' are both exceptional songs,
and here the vocal performance is absolutely wonderful. The melancholy, the atmosphere, and
the setting is the best I have heard of Gathering's productions, and perhaps of all the
Goth Metal scene. Especially those bands using female vocals... Simply stunning...

The line-up:
Anneke van Giersbergen: Vocals
Jelmer Wiersma: Guitar
Frank Boeijen: Keyboards
Hugo Prinsen Geerlings: Bass Guitar
Hans Rutten: Drums
Rene Rutten: Guitars, Flute

Already in the first song, Anneke shows her enormous potential, and there are few who do
not realize her skills and react upon her glorious voice... The song itself is good, more
than good. The guitar in the beginning is a bit disturbing, but it is no real concern, as
the song soon grow into a big one, as the singing starts. The chorus - great! This is where
Anneke first gives a hint to her greatness. This song does not reach the real hights, though,
as it is a bit too plain and simple for that, but it still is a good intro to the album.

The second song, Eléanor, is good and a lot more calm than the first song. Gathering have
many calm songs in their album during this time, unlike the old days, where the Doom Metal
was the label. This song has no clear profile, but shows several skills in the song making
and the performance. In the end, it is Anneke's voice that saves this song, too, despite the
fact that there are many good musicians involved. The drums, the rhythm guitars, the
keyboards, it is all good, solid work, but never quite reaching the peaks without the vocals.
The solemn ending of the song must be the best part of it, and here they show what is about
to come in the next song, when it comes to heart breaking melodies and singing...

And now for the best of the best... In Motion #1 is the third song, (#2 is the eighth song)
and this is completely astonishing. This might be the song with the best vocal performance
ever! The way it tears you apart and really touches the heart of the listener is unique.
I wonder if anyone can ever produce anything even close to this. The Gathering have set the
challenge, but I think that no one can ever match this. In the last song there are similar
heights, but not as good as this. Her voice seems to go on forever, bringing the clearest
sound possible, falling and rising to unbelievable levels of emotions. The dreamy keyboards
and the melody do not exactly make the song worse, either...

After this, it is hard to live up to the expectations. As the listener you get tired, you
get almost exhausted, after In Motion. Therefore, the following songs are more functioning
as building up new feelings and emotions for the next peak, In Motion #2... Nonetheless, they
are all excellent songs, with few exceptions.

The fourth song is not among the best ones, but the rhythm guitars are cool, and even the
lead guitars are good. But it is not a bigger hit. The fifth song is very much the same
style as the previous ones (tr. 2 and 4), meaning that it is a solid song with no real
peaks.

The sixth song, the title song Mandylion, is an instrumental piece,and it is very good, very
interesting, with many fantastic sounds, drums and dreamy atmospheres. It breaks the pattern
from the previous songs, and containing a vocal part of chanting, it is a fantastic piece
of music.

The second last song, Sand and Mercury, is a song containing less singing than most of the
other songs, but I think that this is the song with the best instrumental qualities, apart
from Mandylion. It has more the feeling of a second intro, leading on to the second part of
In Motion, the last song. It gets more and more dreamy, and bell chiming is introduced,
before it gets very peaceful and only has cymbals, slow and quiet guitars, keyboards, and
very soft singing, bringing the shivers back again... And remember, that this is only the
introduction of In Motion #2... But this is a truly excellent song in itself!

Now we are back in the dream world again, with a song that can splinter any iron heart to
pieces... And after Sand and Mercury, the shivers go on to greater heights. The chorus
partly folows In Motion #1, but with some additions and reductions. This is a similar
song, but still awsome on its own, too. The lyrics are also out of this world, and it
is up to the listener to feel sad, heartbroken or totally devastated... No one leaves the
room without being touched by the music, however.

I want to give this album the best rating ever, but some songs are too plain, too boring.
But 'In Motion #1 & 2', the end of 'Sand and Mercury', and 'Strange Machines' give the
album a solid and great base to stand on, and they are all top-rate songs. Therefore, the
rating will be a nine.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10.