According to Blabbermouth.net, in an interview with Paolo Phoenix of Magenta TV conducted at this month’s Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, 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. Regarding what it is like for her to  be back in the band that she played with for so many years, Anneke said: “It’s quite special, because when we were young, we were young adults, and whatever you do then, you pick up like a sponge, and you take with you for the rest of your life. And we were always together in the studio, rehearsal room, on tour — day and night, we were together for so many years.

The artist adds: “So, obviously, then we were apart for 20 years, but when we got back together in a rehearsal room for this, it felt like yesterday. So it’s so weird that you can feel the same feeling, and the jokes are the same… So we feel the same way. They feel like brothers to me. So it was very nice. On the other hand, you’re more adult. Most of us have a family, and we lived life, and we’re a little bit wiser, a little bit older. And so we also take that feeling into the rehearsal room and on stage with us, and it’s quite special. But we didn’t know. We didn’t know how it would feel. But [it] could [have been] awkward as well. So you have this idea, ‘Let’s do this reunion,’ but then you come together, and it’s awkward. I mean, that was a possibility. But it wasn’t. So it’s quite nice.”

While on the topic of whether there are any aspects of Mandylion that she perceives differently now after more than three decades, Anneke said: “I guess, yeah. I don’t know. When you’re young, you have different emotions about subjects like love, and so when we play these songs now, sometimes you get thrown back into the same emotions that you had 20, 30 years ago. But they’re not the same. You have different view of life — a little bit — when you’re older. So I guess it’s a two-part [thing]. You feel these same feelings and emotion when you sing these lyrics. On the other hand, you’re kind of an adult and look at some things differently, which is nice, ’cause you can revisit these days.”