Tag Archives: Anneke van Giersbergen

Two Classic Albums by The Gathering to See Vinyl Releases  

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Legendary Dutch metal/rock band The Gathering will release vinyl pressings of Mandylion and Nighttime Birds via Transcending Records, only in North American. Initially released via Century Media Records in 1995, Mandylion is The Gathering’s third studio offering and the first to feature the now-iconic vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen. The album was recorded and mixed at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany under the guidance of Siggi Bemm and Waldemar Sorychta and has since become a cult classic. Continue reading →


INTERVIEW: Part II with Arjen Lucassen on Ayreon, Rock Operas, Vin Diesel, and Star Trek

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Ghost Cult scribe Lorraine Lysen caught up with the great Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon for a wide-ranging interview a few months ago. They chatted about The Electric Castle Live project, the visuals of Ayreon Universe live, working with John de Lancie, rock operas, concept albums, Vin Diesel, Star Trek TNG, upcoming new music, and much more. 
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INTERVIEW: Arjen Lucassen on Ayreon, Past, Present, and Future – Part 1

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Ghost Cult scribe Lorraine Lysen caught up with the great Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon for a wide-ranging interview a few months ago. They chatted about The Electric Castle Live project, his entire career, upcoming new music, and much more. Continue reading →


Within Temptation to Stream Iconic “Black Symphony” Concert This Week

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Within Temptation will stream their first arena show with orchestra on social media: watch Black Symphony live at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena on Thursday, April 30, at 7.30 PM UK time, on the band’s Facebook, YouTube or Twitch channel. For the first time in their career, Within Temptation bundled their strength with the Metropole Orchestra (led by Jules Buckley) and a 20-voice classical choir, lifting the band’s fast-driven and bombastic tracks to an even higher level. Within Temptation performed the spectacular show on February 7 2008 to 10.000 fans, surprising them with appearances by special guests Mina Caputo (Life Of Agony), Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering) and George Oosthoek (Orphanage) while covering every hit from their discography up to 2008, including Mother Earth, Stand My Ground and All I Need. News is expected soon from the WT camp about upcoming activities, hopefully, that will mean new music. Continue reading →


DVD REVIEW: Ayreon – Electric Castle Live and Other Tales

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“Come with me now; be joyful. It is time to enter The Electric Castle!”

After the wild success of the Ayreon Universe shows in 2017, where an audience of international Ayreonauts was treated to a best-of selection of Ayreon’s most popular songs, the Poppodium 013 once again opened its gates to the gentle hordes in September of 2019. 2018 had seen the twenty-year anniversary and the re-mixed and -mastered version of Into The Electric Castle, and thus it was a logical step that this new live show centered around that album, a favourite of many. To the great thrill of not only the fans but the artists as well, Arjen managed to gather most of the cast members of the original album, and the most admirable substitutes for those who couldn’t make it. Continue reading →


Watch Vocal Coach Beth Roars Reviewing “Ayreon – Valley Of The Queens (Live)”

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Vocal teacher and YouTuber Beth Roars is back again with another critique video! Reacting to Ayreon – ‘Valley Of The Queens’ (Live), she breaks down the vocal talents of the three lead singers, Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ReVamp), Anneke Van Giersbergen (Devin Townsend, The Gentle Storm, ex-The Gathering),  and Marcella Bovio (MaYAn). The song and performances are incredible! Check it out! Continue reading →


Anathema’s Daniel Cavanagh Has Released an Extended Version of his “Monochrome” Album

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Anathema songwriter Daniel Cavanagh has released an extended edition of his 2017 solo album Monochrome titled Monochrome / Colour via the Kscope label. The new edition features four additional tracks, including the new single, ‘The Silent Flight of the Raven Winged Hours (Acoustic)’ you can listen to right now. Anathema is currently working on the follow up to their acclaimed album The Optimist. Continue reading →


Devin Townsend – Empath

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Many words have been used to describe Devin Townsend over the years. Oddball. Eccentric. Quirky. Canadian. To name but a few. Since exploding into the confused consciousness of metal fans around the world on Steve Vai‘s ‘Down Deep Into the Pain’ video in 1993, Townsend has gone on to create a musical legacy so uniquely unconventional that his career almost defies description.Continue reading →


Steve Vai, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger And More Guest On Devin Townsend’s New Album

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In a series of tweets, Devin Townsend revealed he is nearing completion of his new album, Empath, due this spring via InsideOut Music. In addition to frequent collaborator Anneke Van Giersbergen (Vuur), Devy is working with Chad Kroger of Nickelback, Che Dorval, Mike Keneally, and others. He discussed the arduous process of making this album and how relieved he is that it is nearing completion. He also commented that the theme of the album is “anti-suicide”. Continue reading →


Ayreon – Into The Electric Castle (2018 re-issue)

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If perchance you have never encountered this album before, here’s the concept: way back before the new millennium, the mad genius space hippie Arjen Lucassen brought together a lot of other exceptional instrumentalists and vocalists and made an album. On this album, some unknown entity has kidnapped a bunch of characters from various points in earth’s timeline and brought them together for what seems like the ultimate psychedelic escape room: the Electric Castle. Here, the characters are confronted with their culture’s beliefs around death, self, and the supernatural, all voiced by a phenomenal international cast, among which Sharon den Adel, Damian Wilson, and Fish.Continue reading →