Evanescence

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For the optical phenomenon, see Evanescent wave.
Evanescence

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 the official Evanescence website that the band had been working on new material for a proposed 2010 album.

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

File:Evlogo.png
The band's signature font was created when Fallen was in development. The label designers used slightly modified versions of each character to make the track titles look unique.[10]

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,[3] 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.[16] 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,[18] 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,[18] #8 UK Charts) and "Everybody's Fool" (#36 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks,[18] #23 UK Charts); all were promoted by a music video.

Evanescence performing at the concert in Le Zénith, Paris, featured on Anywhere but Home

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]

Evanescence performing at a concert in Brazil in 2007

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;[12] 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.[14][26] 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]

John LeCompt, former Evanescence guitarist

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.[33]

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".[4]

The band also announced that they will be performing at the Maquinaria Festival in Sao Paolo, Brazil, on November 11.[37]

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]".[38] Another song supposedly written for Narnia was the Mozart-inspired "Lacrymosa".[39] 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.[40]

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,[41][42][43][44] while other sources such as NME, MusicMight, IGN and Popmatters have termed them gothic rock.[45][46][47][48] They have been compared to a variety of bands from differing genres, such as nu metal ensembles like P.O.D. and Linkin Park,[49][50] gothic metal groups like Lacuna Coil,[51] and symphonic metal acts like Nightwish and Within Temptation.[52] David Browne of Blender offers an elaborate description of the band's music as "goth Christian nü-metal with a twist of melancholic Enya."[53] 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.[54] Adrien Begrand of Popmatters describes Evanescence as utilising "nu-metal riffage". [48] Adrian Jackson of My Dying Bride stated that he feels Evanescence is doing something similar to his own gothic metal group, only in a more commercial direction.[55] Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost suggests that Paradise Lost has probably influenced Evanescence only indirectly through other similar acts.[56] Other genres and influences used to describe the band’s sound include alternative metal,[46][57] alternative rock,[46][58] hard rock,[46] post-grunge[59] and electronica.[45]

"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?"[60] 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."[61] 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.[62] 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."[63] 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.[64]

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."[65]

Band members

Main article: List of Evanescence band members
Current
Former
Session and live musicians

Discography

Main article: Evanescence discography

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards
Year Nominated work Award Result
2004 Evanescence Best New Artist Won[66]
"Bring Me To Life" Best Hard Rock Performance Won[66]
Fallen Album of the Year Nominated[66]
Fallen Best Rock Album Nominated[66]
"Bring Me To Life" Best Rock Song Nominated[66]
2005 "My Immortal" Best Pop Performance by a
Duo or Group with Vocal 		Nominated[67]
2008 "Sweet Sacrifice" Best Hard Rock Performance Nominated[68]
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

  • Berelian, Essi (2005). The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal. London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-415-0.

Notes

  1. ^ "Amy's Story". OutoftheShadows.com. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  2. ^ Berelian 2005, p. 115
  3. ^ a b "Second Cup Cafe: Amy Lee Of Evanescence". CBS News. November 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  4. ^ a b Hartzler, Amy (2009-06-19). "News: Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?". Evanescence.com. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  5. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (February 27, 2004). "Evanescence: The Split". MTV.com.
  6. ^ "[V] Special: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home". Astro.com.my. November 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-12.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Evanescence". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  8. ^ "Evanescence EPs and pre-Fallen Material". EvanescenceReference.info. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  9. ^ "Interview with DC101 radio on February 24, 2003" (MP3 audio). EvanescenceReference.info. February 24, 2003. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  10. ^ "Evanescence Font". Draftlight.net. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  11. ^ Serra, Brian (August 12, 2003). "Evanescence, Nintendo Fusion Tour". ShowandTellOnline.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  12. ^ a b "Evanescence steps through "The Open Door"" (Press release). Evanescence.com. April 26, 2006.
  13. ^ "Duffy's Dazzling Debut". RIAA. July 27, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  14. ^ a b Hasty, Katie (October 11, 2006). "Evanescence zooms by Killers to take #1". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  15. ^ Fuoco, Christina. "AllMusic (((Evanescence > Biography)))". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  16. ^ a b Bakker, Tiffany (January 9, 2004). "Moody Blues". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  17. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (January 16, 2004). "Evanescence Name New Guitarist". MTV News via VH1. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d "Evanescence - Artist Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  19. ^ "All The Number 1 Singles". TheOfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  20. ^ "46th Grammy Awards - 2004". RockontheNet.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  21. ^ Harris, Chris (July 14, 2006). "Evanescence Lose Bassist; Amy Lee Vows To Stay On Schedule". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  22. ^ Harris, Chris (August 10, 2006). "Evanescence Set For Fall Tour; Amy Lee Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Sober'". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ "Evanescence - Bio". Evanescence.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  24. ^ Lee, Amy (January 20, 2006). "EvBoard - i love my album :)". EvBoard.com. Archived from the original on 2006-02-16.
  25. ^ "Evanescence steps through 'The Open Door' - Amy Lee in love with new songs". Sony BMG Music Entertainment. May 3, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  26. ^ "Call Me When You're Sober". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  27. ^ "Official 2007 tour information". Evanescence.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  28. ^ "Complete tour dates". EvanescenceTheOpenDoor.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  29. ^ "Quilmes Rock 2007". VuenosAirez.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-03-04. Retrieved 2007-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  30. ^ Moss, Corey (March 26, 2007). "Korn, Evanescence, Hellyeah Top Family Values Tour Bill". MTV News. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Family Values Tour Coming To A City Near You! - Evanescence News". Wind-up Records via Evanescence.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  32. ^ Saba, Rula (June 26, 2007). "Evanescence rocks the park". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  33. ^ a b Lee, Amy (December 9, 2007). "Closing the Open Door". EvThreads.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  34. ^ Gittelson, Gerry (May 4, 2007). "Rock act Evanescence on the rocks". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  35. ^ "New Lineup Announced" (Press release). Wind-up Records via Blabbermouth.net. May 17, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite press release}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "Korn, Evanescence Backing Musicians Vow To Carry On With Dark New Day". Blabbermouth.net. May 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  37. ^ "Yes we are - 11/08/2009 - Brazil, Sao Paulo, Maquinaria Festival". 2009-09-01. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  38. ^ Lee, Amy (December 2, 2005). "EvBoard - A Bunch Of Stuff!!!". EvBoard.com.
  39. ^ Reesman, Bryan (2006). "The Essence of Evanescence". Metal Edge. 52 (11): 5–10. ISSN 1068-2872. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  40. ^ "Wardrobe closed to Evanescence singer". The New Zealand Herald. November 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  41. ^ Chaplin, Julia (February 8, 2008). "A NIGHT OUT WITH: Amy Lee; The Goth Candidate". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  42. ^ Berelian 2005, p. 114
  43. ^ Sheffield, Rob (October 5, 2006). "Evanescence: The Open Door". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  44. ^ "Evanescence (live concert)". Blender. August 7, 2003. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
  45. ^ a b "Evanescence". NME. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  46. ^ a b c d "Evanescence biography at Musicmight". MusicMight. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  47. ^ Thompson, Ed (October 4, 2006). "Evanescence - The Open Door review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  48. ^ a b Begrand, Adrien (May 23, 2003). "Evanescence: Fallen". Popmatters. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  49. ^ Miller, Kirk (March 25, 2003). "Evanescence: Fallen". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  50. ^ "Fallen". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
  51. ^ Begrand, Adrien (May 12, 2006). "Lacuna Coil: Karmacode". Retrieved 2008-04-29. {{cite web}}: Text "publisherPopMatters.com" ignored (help)
  52. ^ Begrand, Adrien (January 24, 2005). "Nightwish: Once / Over the Hills and Far Away". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  53. ^ Browne, David (2006). "Evanescence: The Open Door". Blender. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  54. ^ "Italian Evanescence Interview Special - Rock TV". Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  55. ^ Grow, Kory (2007). "My Dying Bride". Decibel (28). Archived from the original on 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2008-08-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  56. ^ D, Chris (November 10, 2005). "Interview with Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost". Retrieved 2008-10-05. {{cite web}}: Text "publisherMetal-Temple.com" ignored (help)
  57. ^ "Anywhere But Home". Allmusic.com. 2004. Retrieved 2008-08-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
  58. ^ Thompson, Ed (October 4, 2006). "Evanescence - The Open Door review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  59. ^ Fuoco, Christina. "Evanescence". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  60. ^ "Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy". Yahoo! Music. April 16, 2003. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  61. ^ "Interview with Evanescence". StrangerThingsMag.net. 2000. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  62. ^ Parrish, Robin (April 13, 2003). "Evanescence ignites controversy with new interview; Wind-Up Records issues recall of product". Christian Music Central.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  63. ^ Kaufman, Gil (April 15, 2003). "Evanescence Fall From Grace". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  64. ^ Price, Deborah Evans (April 16, 2003). "Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution". Billboard.com news. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  65. ^ Conniff, Tamara (September 12, 2006). "Evanescence leader Lee unlocks 'Door'". Reuters/Billboard via Entertainment News. Archived from the original on 2007-08-27. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  66. ^ a b c d e "46th Grammy Awards - 2004". RockontheNet.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  67. ^ "47th Grammy Awards - 2005". RockontheNet.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  68. ^ "50th Grammy Awards - 2008". RockontheNet.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Evanescence.
Look up evanescence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best New Artist
2004 		Succeeded by

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