The Gentle Storm is a Dutch musical project by singer and lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen and composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, founder and leader of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon, Guilt Machine and Ambeon. The duo has previously collaborated in Ayreon albums Into the Electric Castle and 01011001. The project's debut release, The Diary, was released on March 23, 2015 in Europe, and the following day in the US and consists of a double album, with the first part being a metal work and the second one bringing a lighter, folk approach.