A little time after the advent of 2010 and after a secure time span for the first conclusions about “The West Pole”, Hans Rutten talks to Rockpages for this last album as well as for the new The Gathering’s singer, the early days, material of which has been released recently and many  more interesting things.

Interview: Dimitris Kazantzis

Rockpages.gr: What’s the feedback on “The West Pole” so far?

Hans Rutten: So far the reviews that I have read on the net and the magazines have been really positive. In the past there have been some negative comments -which is natural- but so far with “West Pole” things look really good. But, I must say that I am surprised that everybody seems to like the new album.

Rockpages.gr: The latest album points to a new direction for the band?

Hans Rutten: Not really. We always write songs that are indicative of the specific period for the band. As for the new vocalist...well, that’s another story and people may think that we are changing our style. That’s not gonna happen.

Rockpages.gr: Would you like to elaborate about the amazing yet unusual cover of “The West Pole”?

Hans Rutten: Well, we were searching on the internet and checking out images and works from various artists. One of them was Adam Abernethy, he is an artist from New Zealand. We immediately liked his work and so we got in touch with him and decided to collaborate on the cover of the album. I hope that we will continue with Adam because he is such an amazing artist.

Rockpages.gr: After Αnneke’s leaving the band in 2007, were you at all scared about the future of The Gathering?

Hans Rutten: Of course. Not that we wanted to stop…that was never an issue, but we didn’t know what would happen. All possibilities were open…positive and negative for The Gathering. At a certain point we started writing new material and felt really strong about them. With the new singer, Silje, we discovered that not only did we have good chemistry but also we had fun being together in the studio but also as friends. We were once again a band, a unity!

Rockpages.gr: Many fans, the ones that haven’t seen the band play live with the new singer yet, are wondering if Silje has adjusted to the needs of the band...

Hans Rutten: Oh...she is definitely there! I mean, she has fitted perfectly in this new position and this is quite evident to the shows that we have done so far. Even the old songs, the ones that Anneke had sung in the past, are turning out really good in the concerts and people seem to like this new version of The Gathering. Don’t forget that we have a big back catalogue as a band and we want to play the old songs. It was actually a big relief for me personally when I saw that Silje was capable of doing such an amazing job with the old songs. The overall feeling is very positive and we couldn’t have found a better replacement for Anneke. We are very happy about it.  

Rockpages.gr: The Gathering has a very close relationship with their Greek fans for a long time now. Some Greek fans travelled to Chile, in March 2007, for the concert leading to “A Noise Severe”. Where do you think this attraction is located?

Hans Rutten: I think that from a very early point in our career, Greece really believed in us and showed its support. We have a big and steady fan base in your country and we are always doing our best to visit Greece in every tour that we do.

Rockpages.gr: You released “Downfall” last year, a collection from the first era of The Gathering. What was the purpose of that release, due to the fact that your music is quite different all these years?

Hans Rutten: I agree that the music is quite different these days but we wanted to give our fans something extra from that first period...there are some demos from a period that I think it is very important for The Gathering. It was the beginning of the band...

Rockpages.gr: How do you feel, listening to that material today?

Hans Rutten: Strange! I smile a lot (laughs) but at the same time it is odd. We were young and naive...we cannot replace that era but we cannot play like that anymore. Of course, we were not so good musicians back then but we were certainly trying to give our best. We were a very happy bunch of people...young people! 

Rockpages.gr: The Gathering is a band consisting of superb musicians, who have given so much to music and are about to give even more. When, do you think, will The Gathering surpass themselves?

Hans Rutten: Maybe it’s going to happen, maybe not...who can really tell? I am pretty confident that we won’t make a bad album; at least we won’t record something that we are not comfortable with.

Rockpages.gr: What is the next move for the band, after the tour?