Evanescence
is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. [1] [2]
After recording two private EPs and a demo CD named Origin
, with the help of Bigwig Enterprises in 2000, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen
, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen
sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards. [3] A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home
, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door
, which sold more than five million copies. [4]
The band has suffered several line-up changes, including co-founder Moody leaving mid-tour in 2003, bassist Will Boyd in mid-2006, followed by guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007. The latter two of the changes ultimately led the band to be on hiatus with only temporary replacements sought in order for the band to finish touring. In June 2009, Amy Lee posted on Evanescence.com that the band had been working on new material for a proposed 2010 album.
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EVANESCENCE TICKETS
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History
Founding and early years: 1995-2001
Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former lead guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. The two met in 1994 at a youth camp in Little Rock, where Moody heard Lee playing "
I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by
Meat Loaf on the
piano.
[5] Their first songs together were "Solitude" and "Give Unto Me", both written by Lee, and "Understanding" and "
My Immortal", both written by Moody. The songs were edited by both artists, and they shared equal credit.
Two of Lee and Moody's songs found playtime on local
radio stations, raising local awareness of the group and demand for a concert. The band eventually appeared live, and became one of the most popular acts in the area. After experimenting with band names, such as Childish Intentions and Stricken, they decided on Evanescence, which means "disappearance" or "fading away" (from the word
evanesce
, which means "to disappear"). Lee loved the name because "it is mysterious and dark, and places a picture in the listeners' mind."
[6] [7]
Their first full-length demo CD,
Origin
(released in 2000), is relatively unknown. The band also released two EPs. The first is the self-titled
Evanescence EP
(1998), of which about 100 copies were made and distributed at the band's early live performances. The second is the
Sound Asleep EP
, also known as the
Whisper EP
(1999), which was limited to 50 copies.
Origin
and the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on their debut album,
Fallen
. For example, the recording of "My Immortal", found on
Fallen
, can also be found on
Origin
, minus a handful of additional string accompaniments. Only 2,500 copies of this record were produced; in response, Lee and Moody encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the Internet.
[8] [9]
Fallen
and Anywhere but Home
: 2002-2005
In early 2003, the lineup was completed by Amy Lee and Ben Moody's friends,
John LeCompt,
Rocky Gray and
Will Boyd, all of whom worked on Evanescence's earlier songs. Meanwhile, Evanescence signed on with their first major label,
Wind-up Records, and began work on their first album,
Fallen
. While they were looking to promote
Fallen
, Evanescence accepted an offer from the
video game company
Nintendo to perform on the "
Nintendo Fusion Tour" which they headlined in 2003.
[11]
Fallen
spent 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10;
[12] was certified 7x Platinum in the United States;
[13] and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide,
including 7 million in the U.S. The album was listed for 104 weeks on the Billboard Top 200, and it was one of eight albums in the history of the chart to spend at least a year on the Billboard Top 50.
[14]
On October 22, 2003, Moody left the band during the European tour for
Fallen
, reportedly because of creative differences.
[15] In an interview several months later, Amy Lee said: "...we'd gotten to a point that if something didn't change, we wouldn't have been able to make a second record." This became a point of confusion for some people, as Moody and Lee stated on the
Fallen
album liner notes that they were best friends.
[16] Later, Lee said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions created within the band.
Moody was replaced by
Terry Balsamo from
Cold.
[17]
Evanescence's
major label debut single "
Bring Me to Life", which features guest vocals from
Paul McCoy of
12 Stones, was a global hit for the band and reached #5 on the American
Billboard Hot 100.
[18] It provided Evanescence with their first UK #1 listing,
[19] where it stayed for four weeks from June-July 2003. The song also became the official theme for
WWE No Way Out 2003. The equally popular "
My Immortal" peaked at #7 in the U.S. and UK charts,
and both songs were featured in the soundtrack for the action movie
Daredevil
. "Bring Me to Life" garnered recognition for the band at the
46th Grammy Awards in 2004, where they won the
Best Hard Rock Performance and
Best New Artist awards and were nominated for two others.
[20] The two other singles off
Fallen
are "
Going Under" (#5 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks,
#8 UK Charts) and "
Everybody's Fool" (#36 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks,
#23 UK Charts); all were promoted by a music video.
In 2004, Evanescence's new lineup released a DVD/CD compilation entitled
Anywhere but Home
. The DVD includes a concert in Paris, as well as behind-the-scenes features, including shots of the band backstage signing autographs and warming up. The CD contains a previously unreleased song entitled "Missing", which was internationally released as a single and reached #1 in
Spain. Also on the CD are the live songs "
Breathe No More" (from the
Elektra
movie soundtrack), "Farther Away", and the band's
cover of
Korn's "
Thoughtless".
The Open Door
: 2005-2007
A spokesperson for the band's label confirmed on July 14, 2006 that
bassist Will Boyd had left the band for "not wanting to do another big tour" and wanting "to be close to his family." Amy Lee originally broke the news to the fans in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com.
[21] In an interview with MTV, posted on their website on August 10, 2006, Lee announced that
Tim McCord, former
Revolution Smile guitarist, would switch instruments and play bass for the band.
[22]
The album progressed slowly for several reasons, including Amy Lee's desire to maximize the creative process and not rush production, other band members' side projects, guitarist
Terry Balsamo's
stroke, and the loss of their former manager.
[23] Although Lee stated on the fan
forum Evboard
that Evanescence's new album would be completed in March 2006,
[24] the release was pushed back allegedly because "Wind-up Records...wanted to make a few changes to the upcoming single "
Call Me When You're Sober", which hit modern rock and alternative rock radio on August 7, 2006. The 13-track album
The Open Door
was released in
Canada and the United States on October 3, 2006;
the
United Kingdom on October 2, 2006; and
Australia on September 30, 2006.
[25] The album sold 447,000 copies in the United States in its first week of sales and earned their first #1 ranking on the
Billboard
200 album chart, becoming the 700th #1 album in
Billboard
since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956.
The music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was shot in Los Angeles and is based on the
fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood
.
The Open Door
became available for pre-order on the
iTunes Store on August 15, 2006; the music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was also made available.
The tour for
The Open Door
began on October 5, 2006 in
Toronto and included locations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during that year. This first tour continued on January 5, 2007 and included stops in Canada (alongside band
Stone Sour), Japan and Australia (alongside band
Shihad) and then returned to the U.S. for a second tour in the spring (alongside bands
Chevelle and
Finger Eleven).
[27] [28] As part of their tour, Evanescence performed on April 15, 2007 on the Argentinan festival Quilmes Rock 07 along with
Aerosmith,
Velvet Revolver and other local bands.
[29] They also co-headlined on the
Family Values Tour 2007 along with
Korn and other bands.
[30] [31] The group closed their European tour with a sell-out concert at the Amphi in
Ra'anana,
Israel, on June 26, 2007,
[32] and finished the album tour on December 9, 2007.
[33]
On May 4, 2007, John LeCompt announced that he had been fired from Evanescence, and also stated that drummer Rocky Gray had decided to quit.
[34] Wind-up issued a
press release on May 17, 2007, stating that two
Dark New Day members, drummer
Will Hunt and guitarist
Troy McLawhorn, would be joining the band to replace LeCompt and Gray.
[35] It was initially stated that Hunt and McLawhorn would tour with Evanescence until the end of the Family Values Tour in September 2007,
[36] but both continued to play with the band through
The Open Door
tour.
Untitled third album: 2009-present
In a news posting to the Evanescence website during June 2009, Amy Lee wrote that the band was in the process of writing new material for a new album proposed for release in 2010. She stated that the music would be an evolution of previous works and be "better, stronger, and more interesting".
In other media
Lee claimed that she wrote a song for the 2005 film
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
, but that it was rejected because of its dark sound. Lee went on to state that it was just "more great stuff [for
The Open Door
]".
[37] Another song supposedly written for
Narnia
was the
Mozart-inspired "Lacrymosa".
[38] The producers of
Narnia
, however, refuted her claim, stating this information was "news to them" and that no Evanescence music had been planned for inclusion in the soundtrack.
[39]
Style
Critics vary in terming Evanescence a rock or metal band, but most identify them as some form of gothic band: Publications such as the
New York Times
,
Rough Guides
,
Rolling Stone
and
Blender
have identified Evanescence as a
gothic metal act,
[40] [41] [42] [43] while other sources such as
NME
,
MusicMight
,
IGN
and
Popmatters
have termed them
gothic rock.
[44] They have been compared to a variety of bands from differing genres, such as
nu metal ensembles like
P.O.D. and
Linkin Park,
[47] [48] gothic metal groups like
Lacuna Coil,
[49] and
symphonic metal acts like
Nightwish and
Within Temptation.
[50] David Browne of
Blender
offers an elaborate description of the band's music as "goth Christian nü-metal with a twist of melancholic Enya."
[51] Despite Evanescence being recognized mostly as gothic metal or gothic rock, Amy Lee stated that Evanescence is neither metal or goth, but rather rock with various influences in metal, classical music and electronica.
[52] Adrien Begrand of Popmatters describes Evanescence as utilising "nu-metal riffage".
Other genres and influences used to describe the band’s sound include
alternative metal,
[55] [56] alternative rock,
,
and
electronica.
"Christian rock" controversy
Originally promoted in Christian stores, the band eventually made it clear they did not want to be considered part of the
Christian rock genre.
During a 2003 interview with
Entertainment Weekly
, Ben Moody stated, "We're actually high on the Christian charts, and I'm like, What the f--k are we even doing there?"
[59] This seemed to go against earlier sentiments by Moody that "We hope to express in our music that Christianity is not a rigid list of rules to follow..." and also "The message we as a band want to convey more than anything is simple—God is Love."
[60] This led to criticism of the band within the Christian community, even more so given that the band themselves approved of the plan to distribute
Fallen
to the Christian market.
[61] Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying "They clearly understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels."
[62] After many Christian stores began to remove the band's music from their shelves, Wind-up Records chairman Alan Meltzer then issued a press release in April 2003 requesting formally that they do this.
[63]
When asked by
Billboard
in 2006 if Evanescence was a "Christian band," Amy Lee responded, "Can we please skip the Christian thing? I'm so over it. It's the lamest thing. I fought that from the beginning; I never wanted to be associated with it. It was a Ben thing. It's over."
[64]
Band members
;Current
- Amy Lee – lead vocals, piano, keyboards (1995–2007; 2009-Present)
- Terry Balsamo – lead guitars (2003–2007; 2009-Present)
- Tim McCord – bass (2006–2007; 2009-Present)
;Former
- Ben Moody – lead guitars (1995–2003)
- David Hodges – keyboards, piano, drums, backing vocals (1999–2002)
- Rocky Gray – drums, percussion (2002–2007)
- John LeCompt – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (2002–2007)
- Will Boyd – bass (2003–2006)
;Session and live musicians
- Francesco DiCosmo – bass (session, 2003)
- David Eggar – cello (session/live, 2006)
- Josh Freese – drums, percussion (session, 2003)
- Will Hunt – drums, percussion (live, 2007)
- Troy McLawhorn – rhythm guitars (live, 2007)
- Stephanie Pierce – background vocals (live, 1999)
Discography
- Fallen
(2003)
- The Open Door
(2006)
Awards and nominations
;Grammy Awards
| Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
| 2004
| Evanescence
| Best New Artist
| Won [65]
|
| "Bring Me To Life"
| Best Hard Rock Performance
| Won |
| Fallen
| Album of the Year
| Nominated |
| Fallen
| Best Rock Album
| Nominated |
| "Bring Me To Life"
| Best Rock Song
| Nominated |
| 2005
| "My Immortal"
| Best Pop Performance by a
Duo or Group with Vocal
| Nominated [66]
|
| 2008
| "Sweet Sacrifice"
| Best Hard Rock Performance
| Nominated [67]
|
;MTV EMA Awards
| Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
| 2003
| "Bring Me To Life"
| Best Song
| Nominated
|
| Evanescence
| Best Group
| Nominated
|
| Evanescence
| Best New Act
| Nominated
|
| 2006
| Evanescence
| Best Rock
| Nominated
|
| 2007
| Evanescence
| Rock Out
| Nominated
|
References
- Amy's Story
- Berelian 2005, p. 115
- Second Cup Cafe: Amy Lee Of Evanescence
- News: Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
- Evanescence: The Split
- [V] Special: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home
- Evanescence
- Evanescence EPs and pre-Fallen Material
- Interview with DC101 radio on February 24, 2003
- Evanescence Font
- Evanescence, Nintendo Fusion Tour
- Evanescence steps through "The Open Door"
- Duffy's Dazzling Debut
- Evanescence zooms by Killers to take #1
- AllMusic (((Evanescence > Biography)))
- Moody Blues
- Evanescence Name New Guitarist
- Evanescence - Artist Chart History
- All The Number 1 Singles
- 46th Grammy Awards - 2004
- Evanescence Lose Bassist; Amy Lee Vows To Stay On Schedule
- Evanescence Set For Fall Tour; Amy Lee Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Sober'
- Evanescence - Bio
- EvBoard - i love my album :)
- Evanescence steps through 'The Open Door' - Amy Lee in love with new songs
- Call Me When You're Sober
- Official 2007 tour information
- Complete tour dates
- Quilmes Rock 2007
- Korn, Evanescence, Hellyeah Top Family Values Tour Bill
- Family Values Tour Coming To A City Near You! - Evanescence News
- Evanescence rocks the park
- Closing the Open Door
- Rock act Evanescence on the rocks
- New Lineup Announced
- Korn, Evanescence Backing Musicians Vow To Carry On With Dark New Day
- EvBoard - A Bunch Of Stuff!!!
- The Essence of Evanescence
- Wardrobe closed to Evanescence singer
- A NIGHT OUT WITH: Amy Lee; The Goth Candidate
- Berelian 2005, p. 114
- Evanescence: The Open Door
- Evanescence (live concert)
- Evanescence
- Evanescence - The Open Door review
- Evanescence: Fallen
- Evanescence: Fallen
- Fallen
- Lacuna Coil: Karmacode
- Nightwish: Once / Over the Hills and Far Away
- Evanescence: The Open Door
- Italian Evanescence Interview Special - Rock TV
- My Dying Bride
- Interview with Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost
- Evanescence biography at Musicmight
- Anywhere But Home
- Evanescence - The Open Door review
- Evanescence
- Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy
- Interview with Evanescence
- Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview; Wind-Up Records issues recall of product
- Evanescence Fall From Grace
- Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution
- Evanescence leader Lee unlocks 'Door'
- 46th Grammy Awards - 2004
- 47th Grammy Awards - 2005
- 50th Grammy Awards - 2008