Most people hate it when a song gets stuck in their head. You walk into the pharmacy and some Wilson Phillips song is playing and you hear it and GAHHH! it revolves over and over again in your brain for eternity. So it’s something we generally try to avoid.

So then try to explain this Gathering EP, Monsters. Five tracks, *all* of the same song, "Monsters," which you may or may not remember was on the previous Gathering album, Souvenirs. No, it’s not *exactly* the same song five times, but rather different mixes: the "Gallion Mix," the "Gauzy Mix," the "Dance Mix"...

Does anybody else wish all this fixation with mixes would just end?

Now, "Monsters" is a fine song, and any of these versions would be perfect on a proper album. But really, now, is there any reason for us to pay any money to hear it five times? No, there is not. Maybe this is missing the point of EPs, but wouldn’t you think an EP that came a year *after* a full length album would contain original material, or at least some diversity? Stick some live tracks in there or something. Anything but "Monsters" times five.

So it seems like a cruel joke. "Monsters" gets stuck in your head through rote repetition. The Gathering is such a great band, and anything they’ve done (with Anneke Van Giersbergen on vocals, anyway) is worth having. But skip all their EPs, and this one in particular. My great antidote for any unwanted music stuck in my head is Immortal. What’s yours? (3/10)

P.S. Inge from Psychonaut points out that there *is* 30 minutes of live footage to be found on this EP. Whoops. But if you're like me, you only put your audio CDs in your stereo or your walkman. And 30 minutes of live footage is cool, but it only makes this EP marginally more attractive. Figure out how much you dig your CDs on your PC and adjust accordingly....

P.P.S. Our girlfriend, the brilliant bio-chemist Hanna Cho, and the proud recipient of our copy of the Monsters E.P., would like to add that she LOVES listening to "Monsters" five times in a row. It takes all kinds...