CD: 77168-2
RELEASED: 1997
LABEL: Century Media
LENGTH: 48:40 min.

01. On Most Surfaces
02. Confusion
03. The May Song
04. Earth Is My Witness
05. New Moon Different Day
06. Third Chance
07. Kevin's Telescope
08. Nighttime Birds
09. Shrink

The opener "On Most Surfaces" immediately aims for atmosphere (the key to this album and The Gathering as a whole) with its' repetitive grinding guitar riff and atmospheric keys, holding up surprisingly for a well over 6 minute song, while "The May Song" has a poppier approach than normal, with a neat use of organ in the background. This time, the standouts would probably be the slow-building "Confusion", with a simple, but moody guitar line that creates a great effect, making it probably the best song on here. Elsewhere, "The Earth Is My Witness" basically gains its' power completely due to the vocals, or at least the vocals combined with the cold, solitary 'can we close our eyes' melody that shows up at the chorus, backed by the usual effective guitar/keyboard background. "Kevin's Telescope" really evokes the expansive mood of actually looking at the distant, unknown universe through said astronomical device. The chorus and its' simultaneously beautiful and mysterious atmosphere, with that sweeping melodic twist in the melody and vocals, is stunning work. However, as much as it's sometimes hard to find differences between the songs, all of them are good, often beautiful, and at this point, the album's not that far off from Mandylion quality.