Disco de Evanescence: “The Open Door [Digipak]”

3 1/2 half years, and Ben Moody-less later, Evanescence delivers the follow up to their debut "Fallen." "The Open Door" sees the band adapting a few new sounds, but staying firmly rooted in the sound that brought them to worldwide fame. Amy Lee has always been Evanescence, but with Moody gone, she really takes over. She's definitely the driving force behind The Open Door, and that makes for a record that is her vision. At first I considered the Open Door a sophomore slump, as the first few times through there were only a handful of songs I liked, and none of them grabbed me like say Bring Me To Life, or My Immortal. But thankfully repeat listens did wonders for me and the album, and I now feel it is even better on an overall level then Fallen. The album has some misses, but it has mostly hits. I think it has somewhat of a subtle feel to it, in that the quality of many of the songs doesn't unravel until you give a lot of attention to them. Overall I think Evanescence delivers a solid sophomore set. If you like the band for Fallen, give this a chance and you shouldn't have much to complain about.

Song reviews:

1. Sweet Sacrifice-The best comes first. This is my favorite off of the Open Door. It was one of the only songs I immediately liked on first listen, and repeat listens just made it better. Catchy guitars, hooks, and melancholy lyrics add together to make one of the overall best songs the band has, not to mention a surefire future hit single. 10/10

2. Call Me When You're Sober-The first single, and a song that deals with Amy's ex boyfriend, Shaun Morgan of Seether, and his drug/alcohol problems. A decent song, but a FAR stretch from the first single off Fallen, Bring Me to Life. Something like Lithium or Sweet Sacrifice would have been much better first singles. Unlike the majority of the songs on The Open Door this one has a very short appeal, and it won't take long to get tired of it. 7.5/10

3. Weight of the World-This song has catchy verses, while delivering a chorus that is mediocre at best. The first time I listened I was expecting it to dive into some big catchy chorus similar to Going Under from Fallen, but then it totally underperforms with a snooze fest chorus that contains similar lyrics to CMWYS' chorus. Just decent. 7/10

4. Lithium-The second single from the album, and my 3rd favorite. The song is one of the best songs on the album, and it really has great lasting appeal. The song seems to be about Amy's struggle with being happy, and her voice really soars here. This will be a huge hit. 10/10

5. Cloud Nine- Evanescence gives us their "Haunted" for this album, with a spooky and gothic feel that grabs you and doesn't let go. It's a song that I can't seem to get out of my head. Love the verses, and bridge especially. 9/10

6. Snow White Queen-Here's where some of those new sounds I referred to come in. Some where between goth rock and tecno, Snow White Queen is a tale about a stalker and his victim. Creepy and weird, my initial reaction was that I hated it, but repeat listens have made me think different. The song has its own unique flair, and I appreciate the band for experimenting. 7.5/10

7. Lacrymosa-Borrowing from the classic Mozart song, but adding plenty of their own flare, Lacrymosa is another one that shines on The Open Door. The song is one that really demands you listen to it as soon as it starts. Haunting, beautiful, melodic, and soaring vocals make this song so great. 9.5/10

8. Like You-Similar to Hello from Fallen, in that it's about Amy's deceased sister. The lyrics are heartfelt, but I would have to put this as one of the misses on the album. It's very boring as a song, and just won't grow on me. 6/10

9. Lose Control-Probably my least favorite. Despite some clever lyrics, the song drags, and is too forgettable. 5.5/10

10. The Only One-Another one that's just OK. It's starting to grow on me, but it just seems like a filler track. 6/10

11. All That I'm Living For-This would have been right at home on Fallen. Great all around song, and I could see it as a future single. 8.5/10

12. Your Star- This has to be the most underrated song on the album. Pretty much every review I've read of the Open Door seems to just kind of ignore this song. That's a shame, because I think if you give this song a chance it's one of the band's best. For me it is the only song that gives Sweet Sacrifice competition for best song of the album. The verse starts off slow, building into a chorus that is a lot better then you first realize. The song is very deep as well. Even though I doubt it will ever happen, I would love to see this as a future single, just for the exposure. 10/10

13. Good Enough- Amy had already hyped this song awhile back, and called it the big ballad, only this time it was a happy ballad. So I kind of drew expectations that this would be the big OMG!, My Immortal song of the album. So when I first heard it I was extremely disappointed that it clearly wasn't. I quickly wrote it off, and didn't listen for awhile. Thankfully I came back, and like many songs on the album it took repeat listens for me to appreciate it. Although it is far from My Immortal, or far from the best song on the album, it is still a good song. Amy's vocals again steal the show, and a happy song is something that's nice to hear from Amy. Good closer. 7.5/10

I want to preface this by saying a few things: The only reason I ever checked out Fallen and Evanescence is because I was mesmerized by Amy Lee's voice. She is perhaps the finest young singer out there today, and probably my favorite. Her tone, control, and inflections are just riveting and endlessly dramatic. However, as much as I loved Lee's voice, Fallen - on the whole - was a VERY mediocre album. That statement alone will send 5000 Evanescence fans crying foul with "this review wasn't helpful" votes, but hear me out:

As good as Lee's voice is, the majority of the music on Fallen was mostly just plain bad. Too much of it sounded like a bland Linkin Park ripoff (as if they weren't bland enough). The sole exception being a really good drummer - the guitars and bass on Fallen were just terrible. I say this coming from a music lover's background. Someone who feels actual music makes music good as opposed to catchiness or a good voice or lyrics. Fallen had great vocal performances in spades, and My Immortal is in my pantheon of all-time great songs. But the rest was just sub-par from a song-writing and musical standpoint.

With all of that out of the way, I get to The Open Door. Boy, did Lee and co. surprise me with this album. I will simply say that everything is vastly improved. It's denser and much more complex than Fallen, without losing an ounce of what made Fallen a success. That being outstanding vocal performances, and the right combination of catchy hooks and darkness. I honestly didn't expect an album like this from Evanescence so soon - an album that will seperate the Evanescence fanboys and fangirls from those who genuinely enjoy music as art.

Amy's voice has actually grown in leaps and bounds since Fallen. She has learned how and when to mix her haunting, wispy vocals with her towering, belting vocals. Besides that, we have a whole new lot of inflections from Amy, including a dark and almost menacing low register. All of this is combined with perfect control and a highly dramatic delivery that brings to mind opera without being over the top. Speaking of leaps and bounds, the guitars on this album are exactly that. Gone is the puking tone from Fallen's Ben Moody, and here is a tight, "dialed in just right" metal tone from the much more competant Terry Balsamo. Besides the tone, the interplay between the guitarists is actually pretty good. Nothing on the level of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, but still darn good for a mainstream band. On the whole, the guitars go from what was an annoyance on Fallen to genuinely enjoyable on The Open Door. The drums and bass also provide a solid backbone and a driving momentum for most of the songs. While perhaps a bit forgettable compared to the rest of the album, they're by no means bad.

In terms of song-writing we hear an artist learning to write multi-faceted and well structured songs that actually go somewhere. Sweet Sacrifice and Call Me When You're Sober rock as hard as anything on Fallen, but both are exceedingly better structured with some - surprisingly - good, interlocking guitar work. The dark, haunting numbers are equally as accomplished. Lithium builds perfectly into a momentous finale with Lee's voice looming large over the hulking guitars. Like You is as bleak as anything they've done. With disturbing lyrics that match the somberness of the music.

Elsewhere, the multitude of experimentation works much more often than it doesn't. Snow White Queen starts out as a brooding piece before bursting into one of the best choruses on the album. Lacrymosa might be THE highlight of the album. Sampling a piece from Mozart's Requiem we hear a near brilliant fusion of dire classical and gravely gothic metal. This piece builds from just the strings of Mozart's piece into a colossal finale with grinding, churning guitars and Amy's soaring voice mixing with the Lacrimosa chorus creating a truly dramatic ending. Your Star begins with a eerie piano bit, before Lee enters with a ghostly like vocal. The song again builds into an excellent finale with an intricate dual piano/guitar melody.

The last half of the album is just as rewarding as the first. This is another differing point from Fallen - which fell apart near the end. The Only One and All That I'm Living For actually match the power of the lead singles, and are perhaps even more satisfying with repeat listens. The album closes with its answer to My Immortal in Good Enough. This is a simple gem of a song. It's not as immediately striking and memorable as My Immortal, but it's equally as stellar. Featuring Amy Lee at her most confessional and restrained, this is a sobering and haunting song. Sounding little like Evanescence's usual goth-metal-pop mix, this song bears more resemblence to R&B. In truth, this is as soulful a song as I've heard in a long time, and as good a vocal performance as I've ever heard.

The Open Door is not all premium material though, with a few generic numbers. Weight of the World just can't match the power of the opening songs. Cloud Nine and Lose Control are also rather drab and one dimensional. This would've likely been a stronger album if those songs were cut, trimming the album from 13 to 10 songs. These few minor grievances cannot detract from what is still a marvelous album. Compared to Fallen, I was surprised by how much better this album got with repeated listens, which is likely due to it being much more subtle and intricately structured. Another highlight is the outstanding production that allows the details (and Amy's voice) to shine. This album sounds absolutely magnificant on my high end audio system, and is one of my favorites to listen to because of it.

Now, compared to bands like The Gathering and Lacuna Coil, Evanescence still has a ways to go. But as a mainstream band trying to fuse pop and gothic metal, they succeed admirably. What we end up with is an album that fulfills the potential shown on their debut, while still hinting that perhaps even better things are to come. I will say that this is an album that uber-fans of Fallen might not easily get into and like (as shown by the polarizing reviews on Amazon). But I extremely respect Amy Lee for delivering a truely dark, confessional album with many musical highlights rather than a banal remake of Fallen. If I only enjoyed Fallen because of Lee's vocals, I truly enjoy every aspect of The Open Door - from the vocals to the music and arrangements to the production. And that's as high a compliment as I can give this album.

I picked this CD up a couple of months ago and after quite a few listens am finally prepared to evaluate it.

First off, let me state that "Fallen" isn't the masterpiece that many hail it as. Yes, it has a couple of great songs ("Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal") and a handful of other good tunes. The rest of the material is, at least, listenable. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good female-fronted gothic-tinged new metal album; it's just not as stellar as the hype would suggest.

Evanescence subsequently lost their primary songwriter, Ben Moody, and I was naturally curious as to how their new material would stand up to "Fallen." Not to worry, however, as "The Open Door" is every bit as good as "Fallen."

WHAT WORKS: First of all, I think we all can agree that Amy Lee is one of the most breath-takingly beautiful women to ever walk the earth, and her voice is nothing short of angelic.

Ben Moody's replacement, Terry Balsamo, is definitely a worthy proxy; a professional metal guitarist and song-writer in every sense.

The production is incredible -- crisp, clear and heavy; I'm not sure if I've ever heard a better SOUNDING recording.

The very first song, "Sweet Sacrifice," kicks some serious arse. This sole tune expertly obliterates any doubts concerning whether or not "The Open Door" will match up to "Fallen."

One of the songs, "Lacrymosa," features full-on orchestration.

I really can't say there's a bad song on the entire (very long) album; it's, at least, enjoyable from beginning to end. Nothing makes me cringe.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: As I see it, "The Open Door" has the same problem that plagued "Fallen," the songs are simply too samey-sounding. Yes, the creative ideas abound and the instrumentation is plentiful, but the numbers are somehow a bit too indistinguishable. On their next release they need to tweak the song-writing and production to make their tunes more distinguishable.

BOTTOM LINE: If you liked "Fallen" you won't be disappointed with "The Open Door." It's a worthy follow-up and natural progression. The production and musicianship are of the finest expertise. Their gothic/near-opera/modern metal material is classy, slick, serious, heavy and mature; no bubble-gum rock here, that's for sure. The only flaw is that the songs are a bit too similar-sounding.

I'm looking forward to a long and laudable career for Amy Lee and Evanescence. "The Open Door" is an enjoyable and impressive progression along that journey.

As much as I love Evanescence, I was kind of worried about their sophomore effort The Open Door, as were many fans. The obvious reason is the fact that Ben Moody left, and he was supposed to be the "commercial" half of Ev, the one that made their music listenable. This had me concerned that Amy's songwriting and musical direction would carry the band too far from the one I had become obsessed with after hearing Fallen. I now feel foolish for ever doubting her.

The Open Door is a complete masterpiece, although it took me more than a few listens to realize this. The first time I listened to it I was a little disappointed at how different the sound was from their first release. I probably thought five songs were great right away, and the rest were good or okay. But the more listens, the more I got used to their new sound and it is just fantastic. Amy takes more chances vocally on this album, hitting high notes and stretching her voice more often. It is also in a lower tone for many songs, which goes along well with the dark mood trying to be set. Since her incomparable voice is why I became fascinated with Ev in the first place, this is my main reason why I prefer this album over Fallen.

Also, TOD is less commercial and more experimental. Amy managed to set each song apart from the next and give each it's own identity, but still maintained the same sound we're used to hearing. Terry's guitar work is better than Ben's IMO- more intricate and less repetetive. The lyrics are more straight-forward and less imaginative than the last album, but I don't really mind it. They all circle around Amy's relationship troubles and the problems she has gone through the last few years. Despite that, this album kind of has a positive vibe going on to me, moreso than previous efforts anyway.

Sweet Sacrifice, Weight of the World, Snow White Queen, and All That I'm Living For are probably the ones most will associate with their previous sound(heavy, more mainstream rock). Lithium is comparable to My Immortal, only stronger and deeper. Like You is comparable to Hello in that it is a very personal song concerning Amy's sister-guitars kick in half-way to really drive the song home. Call Me When You're Sober is the most popish song and was a good choice for the first single. The Only One gives me the most positive vibe, and therefore is a tough choice as my fav song for now-a heavy and inspiring anthem. Lacrymosa is heavy, epic, and just amazing. Lose Control and Your Star are very experimental and a totally different sound for the band. Cloud Nine is the one that best shows off Amy's amazing vocal talent. Good Enough is the only song that doesn't have guitars-it's a heartfelt ballad and is nice to hear just Amy's voice standing alone with piano.

Obviously not all fans will like this new CD, but if you're a fan of Amy and her amazing voice and were looking forward to something different from Origin and Fallen, pick this up and give it several good listens-you shouldn't be disappointed!

I realize that I will probably be shouted down for saying anything disparaging about this album, but I have to be honest. This album was a disappointment for me. Let's talk turkey here. I'll start with the good. Amy has a great voice and it can really get under your skin and stay with you. I loved her voice on Fallen, however here she has stretched herself to a new place and is doing things I think she simply wasn't ready for in the past. The songs are well written and most of them stick in your head and are worthy of repeat listening. If you are an Amy fan then I have no doubt you will not be disappointed.

So, what's my problem with it? First off, what made Fallen so great was the rawness of it. It was unpolished and unapologetic about it. It made the album very in your face and deeply personal to the listener. The songs were held up by Amy's voice and some really cool guitar riffs. The lyrics were dark, haunting and deliciously beautiful. Everything the second album is not (for me). The new album is way too polished and way, way over produced (I have no doubt the record company had everything to do with that). In spite of her much better vocal work (technically) I found a lot of her new techniques kind of cliche and put a lot of distance between her and the listener; much less personal and much more mainstream. The guitar work is, well, kind of boring; not nearly as crunchy and erratic, once again too main-streamish. A powerful tool in music is the ability to use dissonance in your work. It can add a lot of impact to a piece. It is WAY overused here. Too much dissonance and then it becomes overpowering and takes away from the flow of your song. I was simply unhappy with a lot of the songs and the ones I do like just don't have the same "feel" as Fallen and I found my mind wandering when playing the album.

Overall I am unhappy with the new album, especially considering how long I waited for it. It seemed like it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to finally see the light of day. Now, that it's here I'm sad that the sound of Evanescence has changed so much. Amy kicks serious behind, but I think that 50% of the creative genius of the first album walked out the door. I'm still a fan and I'm not sad that I bought the album, but it will get very limited listening time after spinning it four or five times. Part of my problem is that in getting bored waiting for this album to hit the shelves I stumbled upon a huge untapped market of great metal/gothic/whatever type bands with powerful female vocalists. I got spoiled by some of the HUGE, HUGE talent out there; bands like Within Temptation, Stream of Passion, The Gathering, Beseech, Xandria, Mortal Love, Ambeon to name a few and even some more technical bands like Nightwish, Nemesea and whole slew of others. If you get bored and want some other bands in your repetoire, then I recommend checking some of them out.

Most importantly though, I am in no way saying that The Open Door is a bad album. I am also in no way dissing Amy. I am simply sharing my limited viewpoint and nothing more. So, try to keep the flames down to a minimum. ;)