I won’t lie. I was completely obsessed with Evanescence when I was in middle school. My walls were lined with pictures of the band; I even had a door poster of Amy Lee. To me she was perfect, and the band produced music that was everything my depressed 13 year old self could relate to. Fallen, Evanescence’s debut album released in 2003, was the backbone to my solitude throughout middle school, and even through the beginning of high school with their sophomore release The Open Door. I was in wannabe “goth girl” heaven whenever I listened to the albums, shunning girls and boys who enjoyed calling me a freak. I partially grew up with the band, but like most things, the band was ruined for me by a terrible ex-girlfriend who wouldn’t shut up about them. I stopped listening to them and deleted all the music from my iPod completely, like a stubborn little child. I forgot about Evanescence from avoiding them, but when I found out they were releasing a new album after 5 years, I grew curious. I decided to “man” up against my feelings and give the new album, and the band, a try..
When I first listened to the album, I will say I wasn›t too impressed. I found myself skipping through songs halfway through and not really enjoying them. The churning guitars and thunderous drums overpowered Amy Lee, who sounded like a drowned out angel in the back of a church. Lee›s vocals are beautiful, but were hidden underneath heavy music, stronger than the past two albums. I figured I was still being judged by my biases so I decided to start from scratch as if I hadn’t heard of Evanescence before. Besides, the album isn’t Fallen, as most fans were expecting it to be. Amy Lee is the only original band member from when Fallen was released, and it’s been eight years since then. How could the music and roots NOT change? I started over and began listening to the album from the beginning.
The album starts out with the song “What You Want”, probably one of the heaviest Evanescence songs to date. The song starts with strong drums, followed by Lee’s voice, backtracking, and a hard rock guitar, all with the incorporation of synthesizers. Tinkling piano keys can also be heard throughout the song, as well as catchy, chant-inducing chorus singing “Hello, hello, remember me? I’m everything you can’t control”. The song is likable, but I wouldn’t say it’s the strongest on the album. Following “What You Want”, which is also the album’s first single, is a collection of equally haunting, heavy, and some mediocre songs. Keeping with light gothic elements, Amy Lee strokes her piano keys persistently on the album. In “My Heart Is Broken”, the piano lends a head bopping melody, while in “Erase This” the piano comes fast and heavy, inducing adrenaline throughout the body. The most personal use of the piano keys, though, is in the song “Lost In Paradise”. Lee’s voice echoes beautifully with the keys, creating a very personal and emotional song from the beginning. Followed by strings, the song builds up tension until finally being released through drums and guitar. Originally written by Lee just for her own personal use, she decided to bring the song to the band and was met with great enthusiasm to record it. The song offers a great contender to “My Immortal”, Evanescence’s most popular song. Unlike “My Immortal,” though, “Lost In Paradise” is written completely by Lee, making it that much more intimate.
The Album continues on with strong songs, such as “Made of Stone”, which offers the idea of numbing the pain until turning into stone and “The Other Side”, where Lee is “counting the days to meet you on the other side”. The album also has some songs that aren’t so strong. One being “Ocean”, a song that starts with heavy synth and is followed by a strong musical chorus that makes it hard to understand what Lee is singing. Despite being her favorite song on the album, it seems to fall flat.
Overall, I think that listening to this album from a clean “slate” of mind definitely gave me a different impression. Instead of comparing it to the former albums, I listened to it as if it were completely new and found myself disagreeing with what I originally thought of it. This new album isn’t one that should be compared to the Evanescence that came out with Fallen in 2003. The band has grown, and despite having a few flukes, have definitely produced a heavier and successful album.