Even my little death metal friends are in love with the quiet intensity of The Gathering. The last album was more a mix between the Gathering's musical style of old and adding Anneke's soaring vocals in afterwards. That somewhat drastic contrast actually made for great music. Here, the music is being written more for the vocals. Overall the entire disc is much more mellow and floating.
Songs take a little bit longer to absorb than before.
I'm already on my third listen and it becomes more endearing each time I put it in the CD player. Again, Anneke is the highlight here. And the title track is positively haunting. My overall opinion is that this album is very close to being a perfect followup. There are a couple moments that drag on a bit, but the album becomes more entrenched in my soul every time I listen to it.