{"id":39815,"date":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/how-to-measure-a-planet\/"},"modified":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","slug":"how-to-measure-a-planet","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/how-to-measure-a-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Measure A Planet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

This album is The Gathering’s Rust In Peace<\/i> or
\nMellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness<\/i> in that it charts new
\nmusical territories and progressive ideas while expanding on the
\nband’s signature sound. It’s also a double disc, but that’s hardly
\nthe most striking similarity to Megadeth or the Smashing
\nPumpkins.<\/p>\n

How to Measure a Planet?<\/i> is a tour-de-force.
\nIt is the album where The Gathering finds their visions fulfilled,
\nwhere they sounded the way they could and should sound. They did
\naway with the metal and gothic posings they fostered with their
\nprevious albums in order to create music that transcends
\nboundaries. Toning down the guitars and focusing on the dreamy
\natmospherics and beautiful vocals, courtesy of Anneke van
\nGiersbergen, who proves time and time again she is one of the
\nfinest female vocalists of all time. With this album, she
\nsolidifies that claim because her emotive voice fits better with
\nthis kind of music, where she can just focus on channeling emotions
\nthrough her singing without having to coexist with distorted
\nguitars.<\/p>\n

The album deals with distance, where the songs talk
\nabout yearning for someone (“Rescue Me”), the feeling of witnessing
\nthe vastness of an endless horizon (“Great Ocean Road”), or the
\nexhilaration of flight (“Liberty Bell”). Even the sound sympathizes
\nwith the theme of the album, embellished with the verdant and vivid
\ninstrumentations the band is known for.<\/p>\n

“Great Ocean Road” is (IMHO) one of the best songs
\never recorded. The main riff just washes the listener off your feet
\nand engulfs you in the unknown deep, where dreams are forged into
\nreality. The powerful tapestry of sound is realized though the
\naffecting singing of Anneke. This song is just powerful, amazing,
\nsuperb and wonderful.<\/p>\n

“Rescue Me” contains the great love song line “All I
\nwant is to be where you are.” It’s made more powerful by the
\nyearning music and the wall of sound in the middle, creating a
\nfeeling of desire in a lost world. The song could have gone head to
\nhead with “Great Ocean Road” as the best track of the album if not
\nfor it being slightly under-produced, which leaves it a little dry.
\n“My Electricity” is another winner, a lovelorn, sentimental song
\nwith a simple arrangement, carried by the spacious and jangling
\nguitars.<\/p>\n

Also, “Liberty Bell” is an upbeat, ascending pop song
\nthat invokes a feeling of flying with the uplifting, soaring music
\nblasting through the speakers. “Travel” feels like a dream
\nsequence, a collection of riffs from previous songs serving as a
\nculmination of the first disc. “Locked Away” is similar to “My
\nElectricity,” only this time, the guitar blasts in during the
\nchorus.<\/p>\n

There are many other great songs, though they tend to
\ncome in short supply on the second disc, which is more daring but
\ntoo indulgent, especially coming after an amazing first disc. But
\nthat first disc is so strong it makes How To Measure A
\nPlanet?<\/i>, as a whole, a masterpiece.<\/p>\n

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