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Originally promoted in Christian stores, the band eventually made it clear they did not want to be considered as part of the Christian genre. Shortly thereafter, Wind-Up Records Chairman Alan Meltzer issued a press release asking for the band's music to be removed from Christian retail outlets.<ref name="BillboardPull">{{cite news |url=http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1866383 |title=Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution |work=Billboard.com news |first=Deborah Evans |last=Price |date=[[2003-04-16]] |accessdate=2006-11-12}}</ref>
Originally promoted in Christian stores, the band eventually made it clear they did not want to be considered as part of the Christian genre. Shortly thereafter, Wind-Up Records Chairman Alan Meltzer issued a press release asking for the band's music to be removed from Christian retail outlets.<ref name="BillboardPull">{{cite news |url=http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1866383 |title=Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution |work=Billboard.com news |first=Deborah Evans |last=Price |date=[[2003-04-16]] |accessdate=2006-11-12}}</ref>


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?"<ref name=YM>{{cite news |url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12047846 |title=Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy |work=Yahoo! Music |date=[[2003-04-16]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> This went 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."<ref name="StrangerThings">{{cite web |url=http://www.strangerthingsmag.net/evanescence.html |title=Interview with Evanescence |work=StrangerThingsMag.net |year=2000 |month=September |accessdate=2006-10-18}}</ref> This has 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.<ref name=CT1>{{cite news |url=http://www.cmcentral.com/news/1270.html |title=Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview; Wind-Up Records issues recall of product |work=Christiam Music Central.com |first=Robin |last=Parrish |date=[[2003-04-13]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> 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."<ref name="RollingStone1">{{cite news |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/evanescence/articles/story/5936155/evanescence_fall_from_grace |title=Evanescence Fall From Grace |work=Rolling Stone |first=Gil |last=Kaufman |date=[[2003-04-15]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> Ex-vocalist and keyboardist [[David Hodges]] eventually left the band over the controversy, with other members stating that he had been pulling them in more of a Christian direction than Lee and Moody were comfortable with.
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?"<ref name=YM>{{cite news |url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12047846 |title=Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy |work=Yahoo! Music |date=[[2003-04-16]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> This went 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."<ref name="StrangerThings">{{cite web |url=http://www.strangerthingsmag.net/evanescence.html |title=Interview with Evanescence |work=StrangerThingsMag.net |year=2000 |month=September |accessdate=2006-10-18}}</ref> (Amy Lee may have been involved in Ben Moody's sudden change in vision for Evanescence.) This has 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.<ref name=CT1>{{cite news |url=http://www.cmcentral.com/news/1270.html |title=Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview; Wind-Up Records issues recall of product |work=Christiam Music Central.com |first=Robin |last=Parrish |date=[[2003-04-13]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> 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."<ref name="RollingStone1">{{cite news |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/evanescence/articles/story/5936155/evanescence_fall_from_grace |title=Evanescence Fall From Grace |work=Rolling Stone |first=Gil |last=Kaufman |date=[[2003-04-15]] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> Ex-vocalist and keyboardist [[David Hodges]] eventually left the band over the controversy, with other members stating that he had been pulling them in more of a Christian direction than Lee and Moody were comfortable with.


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."<ref name="BillboardPhilly">{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/15692326.htm |title=Amy Lee says adversity made her stronger, more independent |work=Billboard via Philly.com |first=Tamara |last=Conniff |date=[[2006-10-06]] |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref>
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."<ref name="BillboardPhilly">{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/15692326.htm |title=Amy Lee says adversity made her stronger, more independent |work=Billboard via Philly.com |first=Tamara |last=Conniff |date=[[2006-10-06]] |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:04, 3 February 2007

Evanescence

Evanescence is an gothic rock band from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Early in their career, the band garnered local fame in Little Rock before releasing their first major label album, Fallen, which has sold more than 14 million copies.[1]

Although usually categorized as alternative rock, Evanescence does not easily fit into any one rock subcategory. The band is sometimes labeled by media sources as, and takes influences from gothic metal[2], nu metal, piano rock, arena rock and chamber pop; their music videos have sometimes been classified as Wagnerian rock.

History

Early history

Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former lead guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. The two met at a youth camp in Arkansas, where Moody heard Lee playing "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf on the piano.[3] After discovering a shared love of music, they began to write songs together. Their first songs were "Solitude" and "Give Unto Me," written by Lee, and "Understanding" and "My Immortal", written by Moody. Each song was altered by the other artist, which allowed them to receive equal credit.

Although the two were unable to play live shows due to an inability to recruit other musicians, two of Lee and Moody's songs found playtime on local radio stations, raising local awareness of the group and demand for a show. 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 has stated she loves the name because it is mysterious and dark, and places a picture in the listeners' mind.[4][5]

Their first full-length demo CD, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively unknown. The band also released two Extended plays (EPs). First, the self-titled Evanescence EP (1998) of which about 100 copies were made, and second the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP (1999), 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 2500 copies of this record were produced; in response, Lee and Moody encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the Internet.[6]

Fallen

Main article: Fallen (album)
File:EvFallencover01.jpg
Fallen cover

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 next album, Fallen. While looking to promote Fallen, the video game company Nintendo offered the band to perform on the "Nintendo Fusion Tour". Evanescence accepted the offer and became the headlining band for the 2003 Fusion Tour.[7]

Fallen spent 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10;[1] has been certified 6x Platinum;[8] and has sold more than 14 million[1] copies worldwide, including 6.6 million in the United States.[9] 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.[9]

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 and #1 in Latin America's top 100 of that year. It provided Evanescence with their first UK #1 listing, where it stayed for four weeks from June-July 2003. The song also became the official theme for WWE No Way Out. 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 Grammy Awards of 2004, where the band was given the Best Hard Rock Performance and Best New Artist awards. The two other singles off Fallen are "Going Under" (#5 US Modern Rock Tracks, #8 UK Charts) and "Everybody's Fool" (#36 US Modern Rock Tracks, #23 UK Charts); both were promoted by a music video.

Lineup changes and Anywhere but Home

On October 22, 2003, Moody left the band during the European tour for Fallen, reportedly because of creative differences.[citation needed] 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." Many people are confused by this statement, because in their Fallen album cover they state each other as best friends.[10] Since then, Lee has said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions created within the band.[citation needed] Moody was replaced by Terry Balsamo from Cold.[11]

File:Ev anb scan1.jpg
Anywhere but Home cover

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 reached #1 in Spain. Also on the CD are the songs "Breathe No More" (from the Elektra movie soundtrack), "Farther Away", and the band's cover of Korn's "Thoughtless".

On July 14, 2006, it was confirmed by a spokesperson for the band's label that bassist Will Boyd had left the band for "not wanting to do another big tour" and wanting "to be close to his family."[citation needed] Amy Lee originally broke the news to the fans in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com.[12] In an interview with MTV, posted on their website on August 10, 2006, Amy Lee announced that Tim McCord, former Revolution Smile guitarist, would switch instruments and play bass for the band.[13]

The Open Door

Main article: The Open Door

To promote the release of the band's second album, The Open Door, Amy Lee and John LeCompt visited capital cities in Europe. Previews took place in London, England on September 6, 2006; Barcelona, Spain on September 8, 2006; and Paris, France on Monday, September 11, 2006. At the previews, the new album was played to fans who were the winners of various competitions, a short Q&A took place, and Lee and LeCompt performed acoustic tracks from the album before doing a signing session. On October 2, 2006, the day before the album was released in the United States, Evanescence appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed the song "Call Me When You're Sober". The band also spent time in New York City for press and a photo shoot for Metal Edge magazine.[14]

File:Theopendoor.jpg
The Open Door cover

The 13-track album[15] was released in Canada and the United States on October 3, 2006;[1] the United Kingdom on October 2,2006; and Australia on September 30, 2006.[16] 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 debut in Billboard history.[9]

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 controversy surrounding the dismissal of their former manager.[citation needed] Although Lee stated on Evboard that Evanescence's new album would be completed in March 2006,[17] the release was pushed to October 3, 2006, 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.[citation needed] 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 Music Store on August 15, 2006; the music video for Call Me When You're Sober was also available.

Amy Lee confirmed that she wrote a song for the 2005 film version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe released by Disney, but it was rejected due to its dark sound. Lee, however, said it was just "more great stuff for the album".[18] Another song which was written for the Narnia movie did make it onto the album, the Mozart-inspired "Lacrymosa".[14]

The tour for the album began on October 5, 2006 in Toronto and included locations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during 2006. The tour continued on January 5, 2007 and included stops in Canada (alongside band Stone Sour), Japan and Australia.[19][20]

Christian controversy

Originally promoted in Christian stores, the band eventually made it clear they did not want to be considered as part of the Christian genre. Shortly thereafter, Wind-Up Records Chairman Alan Meltzer issued a press release asking for the band's music to be removed from Christian retail outlets.[21]

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?"[22] This went 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."[23] (Amy Lee may have been involved in Ben Moody's sudden change in vision for Evanescence.) This has 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.[24] 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."[25] Ex-vocalist and keyboardist David Hodges eventually left the band over the controversy, with other members stating that he had been pulling them in more of a Christian direction than Lee and Moody were comfortable with.

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."[26]

Band members

Current

Former

  • William Boyd - Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals (June 2003 - June 2006)
  • Ben Moody - Guitar, Percussion, Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Backing Vocals (Co-Founder, July 1994 - October 2003)
  • David Hodges - Keyboard, Backing Vocals (1999 - December 2002)

Discography

Main article: Evanescence discography
Date of release Title Record label
1998 Evanescence EP None
1999 Sound Asleep EP Big-Wig Enterprises
November 4, 2000 Origin Big-Wig Enterprises
January, 2003 Mystary EP Wind-Up Records
March 4, 2003 Fallen Wind-Up Records
November 23, 2004 Anywhere but Home Wind-Up Records
September 25, 2006 The Open Door Wind-Up Records
Look up evanescence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Samples

Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Evanescence steps through "The Open Door"" (Press release). Evanescence.com. 2006-04-26. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Fuoco, Christina. "Influenced by Type O Negative". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  3. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (2004-02-27). "Evanescence: The Split". MTV.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "[V] Special: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home". Astro.com.my. 2006-11-06. Archived from the original on 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2006-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Evanescence". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
  6. ^ "Evanescence EPs". EvanescenceReference.info.
  7. ^ Serra, Brian (2003-08-12). "Evanescence, Nintendo Fusion Tour". ShowandTellOnline.com. Retrieved 2006-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "RIAA Certifications For September 2004". Billboard.biz. 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ a b c Hasty, Katie (2006-10-11). "Evanescence zooms by Killers to take #1". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2006-10-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "billboard1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ Bakker, Tiffany (2004-01-09). "Moody Blues". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (2004-01-16). "Evanescence Name New Guitarist". MTV News via VH1. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-07-14). "Evanescence Lose Bassist; Amy Lee Vows To Stay On Schedule". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-08-10). "Evanescence Set For Fall Tour; Amy Lee Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Sober'". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b Reesman, Bryan (2006). "The Essence of Evanescence". Metal Edge magazine. 52 (11): 5–10. ISSN 1068-2872. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-04-26). "Amy Lee says new Evanescence LP has more sensuality". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Evanescence steps through 'The Open Door' - Amy Lee in love with new songs". Sony BMG Music Entertainment. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Lee, Amy (2006-01-20). "EvBoard - i love my album :)". EvBoard.com. Archived from the original on 2006-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Lee, Amy (2005-12-02). "EvBoard - A Bunch Of Stuff!!!". EvBoard.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Official 2007 tour information". Evanescence.com. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
  20. ^ "Complete tour dates". EvanescenceTheOpenDoor.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  21. ^ Price, Deborah Evans (2003-04-16). "Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution". Billboard.com news. Retrieved 2006-11-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy". Yahoo! Music. 2003-04-16. Retrieved 2006-12-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Interview with Evanescence". StrangerThingsMag.net. 2000. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  24. ^ Parrish, Robin (2003-04-13). "Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview; Wind-Up Records issues recall of product". Christiam Music Central.com. Retrieved 2006-12-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Kaufman, Gil (2003-04-15). "Evanescence Fall From Grace". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2006-12-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Conniff, Tamara (2006-10-06). "Amy Lee says adversity made her stronger, more independent". Billboard via Philly.com. Retrieved 2007-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)


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