The Gathering – Mandylion (LP)

Mandylion is the classic third studio album by Dutch band The Gathering. It was released on August 22, 1995 by Century Media Records. The record is their first album to feature vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. Mandylion is The Gathering’s best-selling album to date. Strange Machines, an unexpected hit single in the Netherlands, got a lot of airplay on Dutch radio and can still often be found in several all times lists. The album was recorded and mixed at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany, between June 1st and June 16th 1995 under the guidance of Siggi Bemm and Waldemar Sorychta.

Two of the songs contain quotes from popular culture: Strange Machines contains a passage from George Pal’s film version of H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine, and Sand & Mercury ends with a recording of J.R.R. Tolkien reading a quote from Simone de Beauvoir.

Note: Surprise variations on colors