Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career – captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke’s hypnotic vocal harmonies.
Anneke van Giersbergen announced the release of her new solo album ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ last year. Today sees the release of the second single and video of said album, called “Hurricane”. Anneke comments on the single as follows: “For the new album I wrote a lot of songs filled with messages of love and heartache, but I also went on a more propulsive journey, with darker storytelling. The percussive opening groove of ‘Hurricane’ is maintained until a slightly ominous middle section. The track closes with heavy drums and a glorious trumpet solo.”
You can watch the video here:
‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ is available for pre-order. The album will be available as eco-friendly CD Digipak (plastic-free), as 180g Gatefold LP (incl. the album on CD) & as digital album. It will be released on February 26th, 2021.
Tracklisting: 01. Agape 02. Hurricane 03. My Promise 04. I Saw A Car 05. The Soul Knows 06. The End 07. Keep It Simple 08. Lo And Behold 09. Losing You 10. Survive 11. Love You Like I Love You
The new album’s title, ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’, refers to the idea that, when facing personal challenges, we are forced to find answers to life’s biggest questions. But, at this point in her near-three-decade-long music career, this solo album – and, crucially, the heartbreak that inspired it – was not something Anneke van Giersbergen ever anticipated writing.
In 2018, Anneke began working on new material for her metal band, VUUR. Although their debut album, ‘In This Moment We Are Free – Cities’, was met with a mixed reception, fans were warming up to their heavy, progressive sound. Therefore, a rapid follow-up album would surely establish Anneke’s return to fronting a metal band. However, behind the scenes, these were troubled times.
Anneke shares, ”My belief in VUUR saw me spend all my savings on recording VUUR’s debut album and taking the band on the road. After completing our first touring cycle, I realized that more VUUR would mean yet more, huge financial risks.”
To make matters worse, in 2018, her long-lasting marriage, which had always been wonderful, unexpectedly saw a storm approaching. Anneke adds, “I instantly knew I needed to write music about fixing my life. This creative endeavour would be far too personal for a VUUR album. And it would also require solitude.”
With just her acoustic guitar and basic recording gear, Anneke retreated to a small house near the woods, just outside her hometown of Eindhoven. She let go of the pressures of what VUUR’s future might be, and fell into the meditative process of writing a solo album. In 2019, work continued on the new songs. In 2020, Anneke asked her friend and producer, Gijs Coolen, to help finish the album.
Throughout the completion of the album, Anneke’s fragile, acoustic song-stories were fused together with an alchemy of panoramic strings, horns, and percussion. The resulting 11-track record has all the intimacy of Anneke serenading an audience of one, combined with surprising departures into swampier, foot-stomping grooves.
The Japanese art of kintsugi has inspired Anneke to use a repaired heart as the album’s symbol. Kintsugi teaches that bringing together the pieces of a broken object – with the use of a precious metal – adds value and uniqueness to it. And, instead of giving up on their marriage, Anneke and her husband decided to take the time to mend their bond. They now cherish the repaired heartbreak as something profoundly valuable.
Their journey through this personal storm, and the album that Anneke created in the eye of it, proves that the darkest skies truly are the brightest.
****
‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ is Anneke’s 23rd career album. It proves, once again, that the award-winning Dutch artist defies being pigeonholed by any genre.
After thirteen years as the front woman for melancholic metallers, The Gathering, she struck out on her own in 2007. Since then, her creativity has known no bounds. Anneke quickly solidified a successful solo career (initially under the moniker Agua de Annique), and has recorded and performed with Canadian metal genius Devin Townsend multiple times. She has also lent her serene yet powerful voice to the likes of: Anathema, Icelandic folk group Árstíðir, Within Temptation, Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen, Amorphis, and prog legend John Wetton.
2012’s ‘Everything is Changing’ was something of a milestone in Anneke’s solo career. The album, which was the first to be released under her own name, received two Edison Award nominations – Holland’s most prestigious music prize – in the categories ‘Best Female Artist’ and ‘Best Album’.
In 2015, Anneke van Giersbergen and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) released their collaborative album ‘The Diary’ under the name The Gentle Storm. In October 2017, Anneke’s progressive metal outfit VUUR released their much-anticipated debut album. ‘In This Moment We Are Free – Cities’ entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at number 2, Anneke’s highest-ever chart position.
Forever the unpredictable artist, in late 2018, Anneke released ‘Symphonized’, an 11-track live orchestral album. It was recorded at two career-spanning concerts alongside Residentie Orkest The Hague, and features rearrangements of songs from her entire back catalogue.
2019 saw Dutch music copyright organisation Buma Cultuur honor Anneke with the Buma ROCKS! Export Award. This is their award for the Most Successful Dutch Artist Abroad in Heavy Music.
In 2021, the release of her new solo album ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ will see Anneke surprise her fans all over again
Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career – captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke’s hypnotic vocal harmonies
The new album’s title, ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’, refers to the idea that, when facing personal challenges, we are forced to find answers to life’s biggest questions. But, at this point in her near-three-decade-long music career, this solo album – and, crucially, the heartbreak that inspired it – was not something Anneke van Giersbergen ever anticipated writing.
In 2018, Anneke began working on new material for her metal band, VUUR. Although their debut album, ‘In This Moment We Are Free – Cities’, was met with a mixed reception, fans were warming up to their heavy, progressive sound. Therefore, a rapid follow-up album would surely establish Anneke’s return to fronting a metal band. However, behind the scenes, these were troubled times.
Anneke shares, ”My belief in VUUR saw me spend all my savings on recording VUUR’s debut album and taking the band on the road. After completing our first touring cycle, I realized that more VUUR would mean yet more, huge financial risks.”
To make matters worse, in 2018, her long-lasting marriage, which had always been wonderful, unexpectedly saw a storm approaching. Anneke adds, “I instantly knew I needed to write music about fixing my life. This creative endeavour would be far too personal for a VUUR album. And it would also require solitude.”
With just her acoustic guitar and basic recording gear, Anneke retreated to a small house near the woods, just outside her hometown of Eindhoven. She let go of the pressures of what VUUR’s future might be, and fell into the meditative process of writing a solo album. In 2019, work continued on the new songs. In 2020, Anneke asked her friend and producer, Gijs Coolen, to help finish the album.
Throughout the completion of the album, Anneke’s fragile, acoustic song-stories were fused together with an alchemy of panoramic strings, horns, and percussion. The resulting 11-track record has all the intimacy of Anneke serenading an audience of one, combined with surprising departures into swampier, foot-stomping grooves.
The Japanese art of kintsugi has inspired Anneke to use a repaired heart as the album’s symbol. Kintsugi teaches that bringing together the pieces of a broken object – with the use of a precious metal – adds value and uniqueness to it. And, instead of giving up on their marriage, Anneke and her husband decided to take the time to mend their bond. They now cherish the repaired heartbreak as something profoundly valuable.
Their journey through this personal storm, and the album that Anneke created in the eye of it, proves that the darkest skies truly are the brightest.
The album will be available as CD Digipak, Gatefold LP + CD & as digital album. 01. Agape 02. Hurricane 03. My Promise 04. I Saw A Car 05. The Soul Knows 06. The End 07. Keep It Simple 08. Lo And Behold 09. Losing You 10. Survive 11. Love You Like I Love You
‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ is Anneke’s 23rd career album. It proves, once again, that the award-winning Dutch artist defies being pigeonholed by any genre.
After thirteen years as the front woman for melancholic metallers, The Gathering, she struck out on her own in 2007. Since then, her creativity has known no bounds. Anneke quickly solidified a successful solo career (initially under the moniker Agua de Annique), and has recorded and performed with Canadian metal genius Devin Townsend multiple times. She has also lent her serene yet powerful voice to the likes of: Anathema, Icelandic folk group Árstíðir, Within Temptation, Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen, Amorphis, and prog legend John Wetton.
2012’s ‘Everything is Changing’ was something of a milestone in Anneke’s solo career. The album, which was the first to be released under her own name, received two Edison Award nominations – Holland’s most prestigious music prize – in the categories ‘Best Female Artist’ and ‘Best Album’.
In 2015, Anneke van Giersbergen and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) released their collaborative album ‘The Diary’ under the name The Gentle Storm. In October 2017, Anneke’s progressive metal outfit VUUR released their much-anticipated debut album. ‘In This Moment We Are Free – Cities’ entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at number 2, Anneke’s highest-ever chart position.
Forever the unpredictable artist, in late 2018, Anneke released ‘Symphonized’, an 11-track live orchestral album. It was recorded at two career-spanning concerts alongside Residentie Orkest The Hague, and features rearrangements of songs from her entire back catalogue.
2019 saw Dutch music copyright organization Buma Cultuur honor Anneke with the Buma ROCKS! Export Award. This is their award for the Most Successful Dutch Artist Abroad in Heavy Music. In 2021, the release of her new solo album ‘The Darkest Skies Is The Brightest’ will see Anneke surprise her fans all over again.
After 25 years on the international stages, Anneke van Giersbergen is more active than she has ever been. That’s why her efforts have been recognised with the Buma ROCKS! Export Award, which she will receive on June 1st during metal festival FortaRock in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Buma Cultuur supports and promotes Dutch music copyright in both The Netherlands and key export markets for Dutch music. Each year Buma Cultuur presents a number of special awards to Dutch artists for their achievements. This year, the Buma ROCKS! Export Award for the most successful Dutch artist abroad in heavy music will be awarded to Anneke van Giersbergen.
Frank Helmink, director of Buma Cultuur: “Anneke is a household name in the rock and metal world. With The Gathering she connected metal with melodies from progressive rock. She was one of the founders of the female-fronted metal movement, which is still emulated worldwide to this day. As a solo artist and with her guest appearances she has managed to attract a loyal audience, from the heart of Brabant, the province where she was born, to well into North and South America. Add to that the fact that her voice and performance are instantly recognizable across the globe, and it’s abundantly clear that the Buma ROCKS! Export Award belongs to her.” Anneke: “I am not particularly fond of looking back, but I do think a successful 25-year career is worth celebrating. I have always been driven by my love for singing and music, I don’t care that much about recognition. That is why I was very surprised and honored to receive this award.”
FortaRock takes place in Goffertpark, Nijmegen the Netherlands on June 1st and 2nd. Anyone with a weekend ticket or a ticket for Saturday June 1st can attend the presentation of the Buma ROCKS! Export Award to Van Giersbergen.
On November 19th, 1994 Anneke performed for the first time on stage with The Gathering. It marked the beginning of her professional career. On November 16th and 17th, 2019 Anneke will celebrate this anniversary with two exclusive shows at Effenaar, Eindhoven the Netherlands. She will perform a career-spanning setlist together with musicians from her solo band and VUUR. She will also be joined on stage by Daniel Cavanagh (Anathema), as well as Kamerata Zuid string orchestra.
The show on November 16th has already sold out, there are still some tickets available for November 17th. In late 2018, Anneke released ‘Symphonized’, an 11-track live album record at two career-spanning concerts alongside Residentie Orkest The Hague, which saw solo tracks as well as compositions from VUUR, The Gentle Storm and The Gathering reimagined with the orchestra. Listen to the orchestral version of VUUR’s ‘Your Glorious Light Will Shine – Helsinki’ here: https://youtu.be/LzWAkj0uwfs
In May 2018, Anneke van Giersbergen performed two career-spanning concerts with orchestral arrangements together with Residentie Orkest The Hague. Now those special concerts will be available for all to hear when they are released as ‘Symphonized’, an 11-track live album due out on November 16th, 2018.
Today sees the launch of a brand new promo video for the unreleased track “Zo Lief,” and you can watch that here:
Anneke comments: “The song “Zo Lief” is about hanging on and letting go. I always thought that I would be a pretty relaxed mom, but dealing with transitions turns out to be more challenging than expected. Every time my son Finn enthusiastically welcomes a new stage of his independence, I have to admit that letting go of parental attachment isn’t that easy. An English translation of the song title is ‘So Sweet’ and this is the very first time I release a song in my native language as a solo artist. I wrote and demoed ‘Zo Lief’ a couple of years ago and Gijs Kramers made a subtle arrangement for orchestra. The video was shot at the Dutch North Sea coast by director Mark Uyl.”
You can listen to the previously released orchestral version of “Your Glorious Light Will Shine – Helsinki,” originally from VUUR’s debut album, here: https://youtu.be/LzWAkj0uwfs
Taking in material from across her career, she performs stunning versions of songs by VUUR, The Gentle Storm and The Gathering as well as solo material. Anneke comments: “’Symphonized’ was recorded last May in Dutch venues 013 (Tilburg) and Paard (The Hague), as I performed alongside the wonderful Residentie Orkest The Hague conducted by Arjan Tien. The orchestra is one of the leading Dutch symphony orchestras and regularly initiates cross-over projects. When artistic director Sven Arne Tepl invited me to create new renditions of songs I have previously recorded, I was immediately enthusiastic. I thought it was the perfect prelude to my 25-year anniversary next year, as I made my stage debut with The Gathering in 1994. The compelling arrangements were written by Marijn van Prooijen and Gijs Kramers. Instead of a band with additional symphonic accompaniment, we chose to solely use the instruments of the orchestra and I’m very proud of the result!”
The album will be available as CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as digital audio download.
1. Feel Alive
2. Amity (originally released by The Gathering)
3. Your Glorious Light Will Shine – Helsinki (originally released by VUUR)
4. Two Souls (originally released by Lorrainville)
5. When I Am laid In Earth (aria by Henry Purcell)
6. Travel (originally released by The Gathering)
7. Zo Lief (unreleased song in Dutch)
8. You Will Never Change
9. Freedom – Rio (originally released by VUUR)
10. Forgotten (originally released by The Gathering)
11. Shores Of India (originally released by The Gentle Storm)
Dutch vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen is easily one of the hardest working people in music, and an artist that defies being pigeonholed by genre. She will forever be known as the vocalist for melancholic metallers The Gathering, but since striking out on her own in 2007, she has solidified a solo career, recorded and performed multiple times with Canadian metal genius Devin Townsend, and lent her honey-sweet, yet powerful voice to the likes of Anathema, Icelandic folk group Árstíðir, Within Temptation, Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen, Moonspell, John Wetton and Napalm Death.
Residentie Orkest The Hague was founded by its first principal conductor Henri Viotta in 1904 and quickly attracted composers like Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel. The orchestra’s reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Europe makes it an appropriate figurehead for Dutch city The Hague as a cosmopolitan place of justice, peace, and culture.
Having proven her credentials and immense vocal talent for 13 years as front woman of The Gathering, in 2007 Anneke van Giersbergen felt it was time to begin her own solo career. Along with her new band Agua de Annique the charismatic singer quickly established herself as a solo artist, releasing several albums to critical and popular acclaim.
2012’s ‘Everything is Changing’ was something of a milestone in Anneke’s solo career. The album, which was the first to be released under her own name got her nominated for two Edison awards – Holland’s most prestigious music prize – in the categories ‘Best Female Artist’ and ‘Best Album’.
On March 20 2015, Anneke van Giersbergen and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) released their collaborative album ‘The Diary’ under the name The Gentle Storm.
Anneke’s new progressive metal band VUUR released their much-anticipated debut album ‘In This Moment We Are Free – Cities’ on October 20 2017. The album entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at number 2, Van Giersbergen’s highest-ever chart position. Watch the bands video for ‘My Champion – Berlin’ here: https://youtu.be/gAwDw5zXtLI
Just two years after the Critically acclaimed release of “Death is Just A Feeling” A Limited Edition Vinyl Version becomes available for pre-order via Melodic Revolution Records
Amadeus Awad “Death Is Just A Feeling”
Double Heavy Weight 45 RPM Vinyl for Quality Sound
Housed In Gatefold Jacket
Death Is Just A Feeling – Line-Up
Amadeus Awad: Acoustic, Electric & Bass Guitars, Keyboards, and Orchestration. Anneke Van Giersbergen: Vocals. Arjen Lucassen: Vocals. Elia Monsef: Vocals. Marco Minnemann: Drums on Tracks 2, 3, 5 & 6. James Keegan: Drums on Track 4. Nareg Nashanikian: Cello. Rafi Nashanikian: Clarinet. Dan Harper: Narration. All music and lyrics by Amadeus Awad Mixed and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima at Tower Studios.
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