The Gathering/YMMV

Jerkass Woobie - Danny turns out to be this, anger aside he's actually pretty harmless if he likes you. Seems that his current cynical and angry attitude is a reaction against the police brutality he experienced when he was younger: the event that set him off on his current path.
Paranoia Fuel - The whole damn town has this effect on people. Nathaniel at one point wonders if he's "beginning to see something dark and terrible in everything", and when in the end even his mother is sucked into the darkness ruling Cheshunt...
- The whole possibility that evil, actual unadulererated evil exists to call upon the darkness within us is pretty creepy. Nathaniel's sudden burst of joy at all the things he imagines could be true if their magic is true turns to fear when he realsies that what is true for good magic is also true for bad.
High Octane Nightmare Fuel - The ending scene in the abbatoir with pretty much the whole school ready to tear the protagonists to shreds.
- Also the Tod's death.
Tear Jerker. The group hug after the Chain saves Seth from his attempted suicide.

Face of the Band: Anneke van Giersbergen when she was in the band, despite joining on the third album. More involved fans might be able to identify the Rutten brothers, too, or even the bass player. Poor Frank.
Genre Turning Point: Even if their status as a goth metal band is arguable, there's no denying Mandylion was when the genre started to shift. Prior to that album, goth metal was normally associated with bands such as Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Type O Negative. Afterwards, female fronted goth metal bands started to come out of the woodwork.
Growing the Beard: At Mandylion, and then perhaps again at How to measure a planet?
The Scrappy: Every era has its fans, though the period with second singer Niels Duffhues is much, much less popular than with any other singer.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks: As expected for any band that changes style and singers over the years. No matter how good Silje might be, hardcore Anneke fans are always going to object to the band continuing on without her. There are also still fans who don't like anything after Always...