(Amy Lee & Co)
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| Evanescence (Amy Lee & Co) |
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 "... 'We're definitely a rock
band,' says the 20-year-old Lee. 'But the twist is that the band's music
is epic, dramatic, dark rock'.Evanescence first took shape in Little Rock at the end of the '90s. (...) Influenced by a wide-ranging collection of artists such as Björk, Danny Elfman and Tori Amos, the band started releasing EPs of its material. Even without the benefit of live performances, Evanescence began to establish a reputation. (...) The album [Fallen] successfully finds that intangible balance between lush beauty and primal heaviness. Typical of the record is the first single, Bring Me To Life, a piano ballad-turned-riff-driven barnburner. Highlighted by a guest vocal from Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, the song is featured prominently in the Daredevil film and soundtrack. Lyrically, Evanescence explores dark, introspective themes of love, desperation, and despair. But the group insists its fundamental message is a positive one. 'The point of this whole record and band is to let people know that they're not alone in dealing with bad feelings or pain or anything that they go through,' says Lee, who pens most of the words. "
-- evanescence.com/bio
 2000:
Origin
 Tracklisting: 1. Origin 2. Whisper 3. Imaginary 4. My Immortal 5. Where Will You Go 6. Field of Innocence 7. Even In Death 8. Anywhere 9. Lies 10. Away From Me 11. Eternal Released by BigWig Enterprises, in Nov 2000, for a live performance at the Little Rock River Market Pavillion. "...if you fancy a fusion of Garbage electro-goth chick vibes, Chatterbox/Circle of Dust melodic industrial-metal, epic transcendence ala The Gathering, and plenty of piano prog like, maybe, '80s Yes or ELP (but don't quote me on that). In fact, most of the song structures have the fluid classical feel of being written on the piano, then translated through guitars and electronics. Amy Lee is of course the main attraction, her soaring, sad voice accented by ethereal "oohhhhs" and soft whispery overdubs. In the vast space around her, there's usually a lot going on, with layers of keyboards, samples, drum loops, effects, and electric guitars all flowing together into one glowing gothic industro-metal glacier."
-- Josh Spencer, The Phantom Tollbooth, 12/00
  ¾
2003: Fallen "Although the band's name may suggest a sudden vanishing, the music of Evanescence is poised for longevity. 'Fallen', the Wind-up Records debut of this talented quartet from Little Rock, Arkansas, is an emotional, ethereal work of undeniable potency guided by the heavenly vocals of Amy Lee. Two Evanescence tracks Bring Me To Life and My Immortal are featured on Daredevil The Album. In stores March 4, 2003. "
-- winduprecords.com
"Amy Lee is the american replica of Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia. With identical voices and identical styles of music, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between an Evanescence song and a Lacuna Coil song. The allure of the american clone band is the absence of the annoying male vocals of Andrea Ferro, and an increased visibility now that they are featured on a major movie soundtrack, something that their italian counterparts can only hope for. Fallen, their official debut, lays a firm basis of infectious melodies and engaging guitar riffs for Amy's vocals to triumphantly soar and transport the listener through dark melancholic ballads -Hello, My Immmortal- and heavier emotional tracks -Haunted, Bring Me to Life-, with a substantive dose of pop sensibility. If mainstream music is ever to embrace gothic metal, Evanescence is the perfect messenger."
-- Said Sukkarieh, musicfolio.com, 2/03
 ¼ 2004: Anywhere but Home (CD/DVD) Evanescence’s 'Anywhere But Home', captures one night of the magic as cameras entered The Zenith in Paris to capture the phenomenon. The two-disc DVD/CD features Evanescence’s sold-out European tour and is offered in both 5.1 and two-track audio mixes. In addition to the live concert DVD, which was directed by Hamish Hamilton (U2, Peter Gabriel), 'Anywhere But Home' also includes a CD of the concert presented in a two-track mix, and the previously unreleased studio recording of the composition Missing. The DVD features the band's four music videos, an hour-long behind-the-scenes program, and some special surprises in addition to the concert film. The special surprises will be discovered by the viewer as they navigate the menus designed exclusively for this special release.
-- press notes
 ¾ 2006:
The Open Door Tracklisting: 1. Sweet Sacrifice 2. Call Me When You're Sober 3. Weight Of The World 4. Lithium 5. Cloud Nine 6. Snow White Queen 7. Lacrymosa 8. Like You 9. Lose Control 10. The Only One 11. Your Star 12. All That I'm Living For 13. Good Enough Musicfolio picks: Lithium, Your Star, Lacrymosa, Lose Control "... As a guitar player, he [Ben Moody] was a somewhat disposable commodity, but as the main songwriter behind 2003's 14-million selling 'Fallen', he was a vital cog in the Evanescence machine, and such as, irreplaceable. Or so you'd think. Because not only does 'The Open Door' well and truly wipe the floor with 'Fallen', it's also a massive creative leap into territory more epic, exciting and musically fulfilling than its somewhat restrained predecessor. The whole mood throughout the album is one of elegant heaviness. The guitars are far more heavier than before for one thing - with the occasional riff even reminiscent of My Dying Bride levels of melodic darkness - but there's also a much more prominent classical influence at work, with strings and choirs a major feature, all the while keeping a firm hold on their trademark dark pop-driven hooks and choruses. Countering all this classical flamboyance is a new grasp of Bjork-ish electronica that creates a subtler mood. Electronic drums, dirty bass, and distorted, sleazy vocals all make appearance during Cloud Nine and Lose Control's more reserved moments, before both songs explode with huge, thick groovy riffs and orchestral flourishes. During the moments where this pomp reaches fever pitch, such as on Snow White Queen and Your Star, Amy Lee's vocals are immense, half hummable rock vocalist, half organ-throated operatic siren. And it sounds brilliant, particularily on album centerpiece Lacrymosa, where the classical parts and incredibly heavy guitars entwine perfectly to create a stunning Wagnerian wall of choir-led dark majestry. Not that Evanescence are turning into Nightwish just yet, but there's still an undeniably strong new classical learning among their trademark goth-edged metal."
-- Nick Ruskell, Kerrang Magazine, 9/06
¾ 2011:
Evanescence Tracklisting: 01. What You Want 02. Made of Stone 03. The Change 04. My Heart Is Broken 05. The Other Side 06. Erase This 07. Lost in Paradise 08. Sick 09. End of the Dream 10. Oceans 11. Never Go Back 12. Swimming Home "Arkansas rockers Evanescence have had a very turbulent history (with band members fighting, leaving & returning over the years) but one thing is certain; the quality of music has never wavered. 2003's 'Fallen' was a solid debut that ended up selling well over 6 million copies and 2006?s The Open Door, while not as commercially successful, proved to be a critical masterpiece. Five years later and the band is back and ready to roll with their new self-titled album and while physically the band may not look at all like the original lineup from 'Fallen', their sound is not compromised, thanks to what can only be attributed to the driving force of lead singer Amy Lee. Track one and lead single What You Want is absolutely the most commercial sounding song on the album and it is a real pity that it didn’t manage a Top 40 peak on mainstream charts around the world. A song of such a nature would have been a Top 20 hit on Billboard in 2006 but the industry has changed tremendously since then. (...) Track 7 provides the gem of the album; Lost In Paradise is one of the best Evanescence songs written since “My Immortal” and could well be the pop hit that the band needs to get back into the mainstream scene. (...) The deluxe edition of Evanescence, contains four bonus tracks well worth the extra couple of coins and notes. (...) All-in-all the album is a great effort from a band who sets the bar in a rock-pop-alternative field of their own."
-- prettydamnepic.com, 10/11
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