Evanescence - Self Titled

New Music Tuesday is in full swing today with one of my closeted favorite bands, Evanescence. I'm not sure why I don't proclaim from the heavens that I love these guys - but I do. I enjoy their hard rock - yet somehow ballady style. It's a really great contrast. This album drops today - but is a couple years in the making. They started writing lyrics for this album all the way back in 2009. They started recording this in 2010 - but after getting halfway through it, they determined they had hired the wrong producer for the job. Sometimes that happens. You feel a certain guy will give you the edge you're looking for, but when you hear everything on playback, it just isn't what the band thought it'd be. Which is hard, since you end up so far in the process before you make that determination. Some people think calling your album the same name as your band is just lazy. (Yep, me too) but for this particular album, they claim to have a reason. Amy Lee talked about how everyone in the band was getting tired, and maybe losing the love for music they once had. Suddenly they had this revelation. They all realized the band is a huge part of them and makes them really happy making music for not only themselves, but their fans. So this album is called Evanescence because it's all about their revitalization in themselves, and this album is for the band. In terms of style, this album doesn't stray too much from the secret Evanescence formula. It still has that heavy overtone with great Amy Lee vocals and solid arrangements. There seems to be a little more electronics on this album, which surprised me pleasantly. I do feel this album is more in your face than previous albums. Like, if I could put myself in Lee's shoes, and think about how she felt while writing these tracks, I feel this might be her most passionate album to date. And I'm coming away impressed. I'm going to recommend this one today. I think you'll enjoy it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. What You Want
2. Made of Stone
3. The Change
4. My Heart Is Broken
5. The Other Side
6. Erase This
7. Lost in Paradise
8. Sick
9. End of the Dream
10. Oceans
11. Never Go Back
12. Swimming Home
13. New Way to Bleed
14. Say You Will
15. Disappear
16. Secret Door

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Secret Door
2. My Heart Is Broken
3. Erase This

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Evanescence - The Open Door

Every so often I get something in the Suggestion Box that is a repeat of something I've already done. I know I need to get a better "search" function - but I just haven't had the time to dive into it lately. Sometime...I swear. Anyway, follower Ashley asked that I take a peek at any Evanescence album - which I reviewed their 'Fallen' record just over a year ago. The simple search for them in the blog brings it up, but something like 5 or 6 pages below the top. It's there though. Regardless of that one, I'll happily do another record by them - because I adore Amy Lee's voice. It's got this impact on me I can't really describe - but I feel her passion come through in the music. And usually that means it's someone screaming into the microphone and getting emotional. Not her. Really smooth, quality vocals - very polished, but still very full of feeling and emotion. Love it. This record is a mere 2x platinum after their debut drop hit a solid 7. Overall the sound varies quite a bit. Starts hard with 'Sweet Sacrifice' and 'Sober' - but by the end slows down to the incredibly well done 'Good Enough'. If you took those three tracks, you have a heck of a start to a record. It's the stuff in the middle on this album where it lacks the luster. Still a really solid album - just not going to be knocking down the door of any "top of" lists anytime soon. They have another record due out in October this year, so it'll be intriguing to see if they keep this kind of style or mix it up. I do like this though, and I really like the band. Very much worth checking out today.

TRACK LISTING:
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. Only One, The
11. Your Star
12. All That I'm Living For
13. Good Enough

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Good Enough
2. Call Me When You're Sober
3. Sweet Sacrifice

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Evanescence - Fallen

Hooray for Friday!! I decided to roll the dice today with Evanescence. And I have to be careful not to use the band's name too much in my review today, because quite frankly, I'll misspell it 9 out of 10 times. Now, I'm a guy who can really enjoy lyrics and a great vocal. It's not usually the first thing I listen for in my songs (a beat will normally catch my ear first), but especially when I review music, I put a lot of value in the quality of the vocal and I try to lose myself in it - so I can know if it's something I'd listen to over and over. In that incredibly long explanation, all I can say is Amy Lee has one of the most AMAZING voices I've ever heard. Her passion in Bring Me To Life makes that song well worth listening to. Her haunting passion in My Immortal makes that one of the best songs of the 2000's. (Hey, it's 2010 now, I can do B Side's top 100 of the aughts!) These guys have only dropped two albums so far with this one coming out in 2003 and selling over 7 million copies in the US. It's rumored that they'll be coming out with another one this October - so keep your eyes peeled for that. One thing is certainly true about Fallen, it's a collection of very emotional tracks that stirs up emotion in the listener. It seems they are trying to tell a story one to the next and they very much succeed. Please give this a go B Side. Friday will feel a little better after tossing on some Evanescence.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Going Under
2. Bring Me to Life
3. Everybody's Fool
4. My Immortal
5. Haunted
6. Tourniquet
7. Imaginary
8. Taking Over Me
9. Hello
10. My Last Breath
11. Whisper

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. My Immortal
2. Going Under
3. Bring Me To Life

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars