ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN On Positive Response To THE GATHERING's 'Mandylion' 30th-Anniversary Tour: 'We Hoped It, But We Didn't Expect It'

In a recent interview with Michał Choiński of Poland's Mystic Festival, Anneke Van Giersbergen spoke about the ongoing reunion shows from her former band THE GATHERING to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dutch rockers' "Mandylion" album. Asked what she had to "unlearn" in order to pursue a solo career following her exit from THE GATHERING back in 2007, Anneke said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think I had to unlearn anything, but I had to start again at a certain level, because a lot of people thought that I would then just go on the same level and I would go do the same thing. But I didn't, of course. There was a lot of people who, they weren't happy that I left, but I wanted to do so much more creatively and make a solo album. I had a family, a young family. My kid was two years old then. I wanted to have more integrated music, family and our life together. So all these things led up to this point that I thought, like, 'Maybe it's nice. Maybe it's good for me to, to step out, to spread my wings, and to go out on my own.' And then, yeah, I had this total creative freedom, so I did a lot of different things immediately. But I had to start somewhere. There was less people coming to the shows, less people buying my albums, so I had to really work hard to get to a certain level again, which was fine. I like working hard."

Asked if the "nostalgic" feeling surrounding the "Mandylion" anniversary shows is positive or negative, Anneke said: "Oh, it's very positive. And I think the nostalgia comes from it being 30 years old. So anything 30 years old which you locked in your heart in those days is... I see people, 'Yes, yes.' I have it, too. I grew up in the '80s. I was born in '73. So growing up in the '80s and then being a young adult in the '90s, whatever you hear and whatever you go through, and then the music that you listen to is locked in your heart forever. So I listen to those records also — records of PINK FLOYD or, yeah, lots of music. And it takes me back to those days. And that's another thing — the fact that 'Mandylion' made such an impact in those days, and that people still listen to it, and still listen to metal music and metal from nowadays as well is amazing, amazing. So it's super positive. And we feel it, too, we, with the band.

"I sang with THE GATHERING 10 years ago for this one reunion, then 10 years before that. So it was kind of 20 years ago that we really, really played a lot together, and it feels so good," she explained. "And the thing is there's no pressure anymore because there's no record company saying you have to make another album, blah, blah, blah. So this is only celebrating the songs of 'Mandylion', and everything else is the same. The jokes are the same in the dressing room, and the way the guys play their instruments, the same. It's the same vibe, and it's so nice. It's so nice."

Regarding the fact that THE GATHERING's "Mandylion" lineup originally played half a dozen shows last year to celebrate the classic album's 30th anniversary, leading to further live appearances in 2026, Anneke said: "Well, actually, and it's not a humble brag, not at all, but we didn't expect this to happen because when we were going out for coffee and we said, 'Okay.' So, it was just nice to have coffee, to be together and to say hi. And so we said, 'Okay, so 'Mandylion' is 30 years old, and we got a gold album.' And we thought maybe it's nice to celebrate. And we knew that people were listening still to 'Mandylion' and to THE GATHERING. And then we said, 'Okay, so when we do it, we have to do it right. We're going for, like, maybe two shows in Holland.' Two shows. Like, we do one big show and maybe two. And it's not bragging at all because we were so surprised that when those two shows came into pre-sales, they were gone within one minute. We got super-angry texts and mails by everybody, like, 'It's already sold out.' So the guy from the venue, he said... And the server went out, the whole thing. And then the guy said, 'Okay. Well, we also have the Wednesday.' Okay, so we do the Wednesday. Gone. 'Okay. We also have the Sunday.' So, gone. So in, like, 20 minutes, five sold-out shows. And we were, like, 'Fucking hell.' And then we said, 'Okay, well, we keep it like this because now it's really special.' And then Wacken Open Air and everybody jumped on it [with offers of more gigs]. And then we said, 'Okay.' So after these shows we said, 'Okay, we do one year of cool festivals and nice club shows. And then we end it. And we celebrate for a year.' And honestly, it was such a beautiful thing that everybody was jumping on it and celebrating with us. Yeah, it's great. We didn't expect it. We hoped it, but we didn't expect it."

As for her future plans with THE GATHERING beyond the "Mandylion" 30th-anniversary tour, Anneke said: "With THE GATHERING, we don't have plans. So we really, really… unlike the promise, we do only two shows. This is a promise. We do this one year of 'Mandylion' shows. We end it in a wonderful way. And for the rest, we have no plans together. And THE GATHERING, you should ask them. I don't know their future. But for this, the 'Mandylion' shows, this is one year of celebration, and then it stops. Because then also it remains special. So that's the plan."

Asked if there was ever any "bad blood" between her and the guys from THE GATHERING at any stage after her exit from the band nearly two decades ago, Anneke said: "When I left the band, they weren't happy. That's for sure. Of course. And I knew — I thought about it for a long time — because I knew when I would do this, I would put everybody on his head, and that would change a lot. And I know that they didn't want that. So, obviously, yeah, they weren't happy. And so we lost contact for a little while, for sure. But, luckily, time passes and they found their way. I found my way. And we have so much mutual respect for each other and for each other's music and for each other's path. So, luckily, time heals a lot of wounds.

"In those days, we were always together," Anneke explained. "It's the only thing that we ever did in our lives was THE GATHERING. We were five, six, seven days a week, we were together. There was nothing else. We didn't have kids, a mortgage. We didn't have anything else than this band. So to quit that, to stop it and to put everybody in a weird position and in uncertainty, that was a big step to take. I think it's the hardest thing I've ever done, because I knew I would lose my friends as well, at least for a while. So I'm super happy that we can do this. I mean, who would have thought 20 years ago [that this would happen]?"

The "Mandylion" lineup of THE GATHERING kicked off its spring/summer 2026 European tour on May 19 at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London, United Kingdom.

The band is continuing the "Mandylion" celebrations in 2026 with around 30 more shows in Europe, North America and South America, concluding with a headlining appearance on October 17 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.

Due to "personal circumstances", THE GATHERING keyboard player Frank Boeijen has been taking a temporary break from touring with the band and is being replaced by Remco Van Zandvoort, who previously filled in for Frank in 2022.

THE GATHERING's third studio album, "Mandylion" was released in August 1995 via Century Media Records. It was the band's first LP to feature Van Giersbergen.

In November 2014, THE GATHERING celebrated its 25th anniversary with a one-time special show at Doornroosje in Nijmegen. All past and present members of THE GATHERING — from 1989 until 2014 — appeared on stage and performed in this unique show together.

Van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released several albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project.

In December 2025, Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland, who had been fronting THE GATHERING since early 2009, announced her departure from the band. She explained in a statement that "after 16 years of creating and playing great music with THE GATHERING" it was "time to move on to new ventures."

Prior to joining THE GATHERING, Silje sang for the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI.