The Summary Judgment Reviews:

	Title: Souvenirs Artist: The Gathering Label:The End Records Release Date: 5/6/03 Rating: 5 Skulls
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Reviewed by Ember (5/20/03):
Since 1990, The Gathering has made beautiful music. They have ultimately proven that you can evolve as an artist and still maintain a broad fan-base, while making incredibly different and intense music. Usually, when a band/artist tries something new, they are cast aside. This is all but true when it comes to The Gathering. They have fans of all different walks of life and tastes in music. I know that one of the main reasons I love them so much is that they are one of the most diverse and eclectic bands out there today. They aren't afraid to mix and contort different sounds to make them their own, and the songs they manage to compose always blow my mind.
Though it isn't as heavy as some of the albums in the past, Souvenirs is truly one of their best albums so far. Every aspect of this album is perfectly balanced. What makes this album great is the fact that it is so different, and it really can't be classified into any one genre of music. You can hear elements of space-rock, trip-hop, ambient, and straight out rock, but not one particular element ever overpowers the other.
Anneke van Giersbergen has been one of my favorite female vocalists for a while now, and I feel that this album truly showcases her talent as a singer. She has the kind of voice that can give you goose bumps because you can feel whatever she is singing. The music itself strongly communicates pure emotion. It is pretty simplistic sounding, but is composed of layer upon layer of keyboards, percussion, guitar, bass, and samples. As a whole they are very tight and mesh very well with each other, but individually they have something crazy to offer to the whole Gathering sound. One other perk that I didn't realize until just recently, was that Trickster G of Arcturus and Ulver does a duet with Anneke on the last track, "A Life All Mine", which is truly amazing.
In my opinion, this album is one of the best albums of 2003. I recommend it to anyone that is already a fan of The Gathering, and also to anyone looking for an album unlike anything else out there right now. If you get this album you will only be adding another masterpiece to your collection.

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