Evanescence certainly are tolerable for a nu-metal band, aren't they?

[Ivan May]

Whilst I don't consider myself a fan of Evanescence, they were a pretty good band. Formed in Little Rock, AR (a place not well known for heavy metal acts), Evanescence were a ragtag team of classically trained twentysomethings who put out their first album, Fallen, in 2002. If you want to know what Evanescence sounds like, let me put it this way: If Vanessa Carlton joined Blue Oyster Cult and did the bulk of their dark songwriting, then yeah, that's what Evanescence often sounds like.

 

Fallen came out and still stands as one of the biggest selling albums of the 2000s, with over 7 million copies to date. Songs such as My Immortal and Bring Me To Life showcased the heavy side of Amy Lee's superior, soulful, ethereal vocals, along with the guitar playing of David Hodges and Ben Moody. The group toured incessantly and won a Grammy for Best New Artist, though Hodges and Moody soon left the group after its release.

 

 

 

 

However, whilst their second album, The Open Door, sold 5 million copies, it proved that Evanescence had fallen prey to the Appetite for Destruction theory--in other words, whilst their second album was good both critically and commercially, it also confirmed a speculation that Evanescence were never to scale these heights again. Though the song Call Me When You're Sober wasn't too bad.

 

Their new album, The Bitter Truth, is very good. The lead single, Use My Voice, was very good, with Amy Lee trying very desperately to sound like Ann Wilson.

 

 

Amy Lee is also a classically trained pianist, and she actually plays Baldwin pianos. Which is the same kind Billy Joel plays. A lot of my friends like Evanescence, but you would have to be an avid listener of Evanescence, of which I am not, to like this post.

 

But if you like Evanescence please let me know.

[wd8dky]

I've been a fan since day one.  When I think of Nu Metal, Korn comes to mind though. 

[Jonathan Hughes]

This posts reads as some kind of cross between a wikipedia article and spam.

[Jim Alfredson]

Sounds like a contemporary Christian service.

[Bill H.]

This comes from running weeknight karaoke shows for years, but I'm so sick of hearing My Immortal that I want to puke. It's a song every woman who came of age around that time feels they absolutely must sing after having a few drinks. The results are never good - as the best singers avoid it like the plague. It's almost 5 minutes long so I try to take a break, but that's usually cut short when I have to run to the mixer to turn the singer down during the final chorus. 

[DaveMcM]

I must admit that I’ve never heard of Evanescence. But then my guess is I’m a bit older than the thread creator. Not to old to rock mind you, but still. At any rate and at the risk of being scorned by those who have commented, I liked the song and the singer.

[Adan]

Throughout that video (which seemed almost endless, hence the "immortal" in the title?) one question pressed upon my mind: what do people who wrap their hands in ribbons do when eating barbecue?

[Husker]

She has one of the most powerful voices around.    I've also always said she has the power of Ann Wilson. 

[o0Ampy0o]

Music of Millennial self-absorption, Evanescence. Amy seems to attract people with the mindset that their lives are torturous for merely being alive. Everyone wants to kill themselves. Whether or not they are in fact her fans make the lyrics about pain and suffering. Judging by comments on YT they worship her.

 

I do like several of their songs. They are more of a studio band. The music centers around her voice. She doesn’t have the vocal strength to front the heavy metal sound live. She tends to belt out the vocals in the studio and just can’t hold that up consistently. She needs and definitely uses Autotune in the studio at least. I recall their debut on the Tonight Show sounded like a garageband covering the song. In contrast, I have been surprised and impressed with how powerful Miley Cyrus’s voice is. She has what it takes to honorably cover a Chris Cornell vocal evinced at his tribute concert. 
 

One thing for certain is that this is quite a strange thread topic to open on a band the OP does not really care about.

[Rod S]

Haven't listened to lately, but the first two albums were a insufferable listening experience.  

 

I actually enjoyed some of their tunes, but their extreme wall of sound / 0 dynamics compression approach makes it unlistenable for much time for me.  

[Rod S]

1 hour ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Music of Millennial self-absorption, Evanescence. Amy seems to attract people with the mindset that their lives are torturous for merely being alive. Everyone wants to kill themselves. Whether or not they are in fact her fans make the lyrics about pain and suffering. Judging by comments on YT they worship her.

 

 

Fully agree.   Around 2008 got introduced to a band called Within Temptation.   Very interesting use of distorted guitar with orchestral arrangements, but what you described fits their lyrics also perfectly.  

[Bill H.]

4 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Music of Millennial self-absorption, Evanescence. Amy seems to attract people with the mindset that their lives are torturous for merely being alive. Everyone wants to kill themselves.

 

My Immortal is full millennial emo for sure - the relic of a bygone era. As purely an outsider looking in, young women today are into music with lyrics more self  empowering. But I'm just an observer... 

[Stokely]

I liked a few albums by Sevendust, I suppose they would be called nu metal.  I lose track (and interest) when it comes to all the "genre boxes" that music has to be placed in.

[KuruPrionz]

I just listened to about half of the video. That's more than enough, done with them forever now. 

On to the next. 

[Husker]

14 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

She doesn’t have the vocal strength to front the heavy metal sound live. She tends to belt out the vocals in the studio and just can’t hold that up consistently. 

 

Strong non concur.  Have you actually seen them live? 

[Moonglow]

Dig the singer, heavy guitar, piano, and string orchestrations all twisted up into dark, emotive compositions…it just draws me in.

 

I was in a Heart tribute band during the late-aughts featuring a lead singer who could very capably pull off the Ann Wilson vocals. We also did a handful of songs by other artists (e.g., Led Zeppelin, Roxette). I tried to convince her to do something by Evanescence, as it was solidly in her wheelhouse, but ultimately could not get her to buy into the idea. 🙁

[o0Ampy0o]

16 hours ago, Husker said:

 

Strong non concur.  Have you actually seen them live?

Do I need to be present as they perform live to hear something different than what seems apparent in multiple live recordings available online? ( Not asking rhetorically). At the least she has inadequate microphone technique. On the surface, much of her vocal style is lost in a live performance because of her vocal volume fluctuation and the band drowning her out. She tends to yell on key sometimes and sometimes not on key. There are other singers with similar styles who do not exhibit these problems (Maclachlan, Morrisette, Wilson). If they had her volume up it would solve some things but accentuate the weakness. She sings out a dazzle of notes but the definition / distinction between them relies on Autotune. I have never detected Autotune in the other singers but it is very obvious in Amy's vocals.

 

 

[TommyRude]

On 6/3/2022 at 9:15 PM, IMMusicRulz said:

Whilst I don't consider myself a fan of Evanescence, they were a pretty good band.

 

If you want to know what Evanescence sounds like, let me put it this way: If Vanessa Carlton joined Blue Oyster Cult and did the bulk of their dark songwriting, then yeah, that's what Evanescence often sounds like.

 

Their new album, The Bitter Truth, is very good. The lead single, Use My Voice, was very good, with Amy Lee trying very desperately to sound like Ann Wilson.

 

A lot of my friends like Evanescence, but you would have to be an avid listener of Evanescence, of which I am not, to like this post.

 

But if you like Evanescence please let me know.

 

 

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

Imagine making an Evanescence thread without ever mentioning the song that's become something of a living meme with Gen Z..."Bring Me To Life". Easily the most popular song of theirs among my generation anyways...My Immortal is occasionally heard but Bring Me To Life is the one that most of my friends think of. It's sort of a running joke though...or it definitely was back in junior high (thanks to the male "WAKE ME UP" lines). I can't count the number of times some guy would yell/scream "WAKE ME UP INSIDE" at that age. LOL.

 

 

On 6/5/2022 at 7:21 AM, Rod S said:

 

Fully agree.   Around 2008 got introduced to a band called Within Temptation.   Very interesting use of distorted guitar with orchestral arrangements, but what you described fits their lyrics also perfectly.  

 

I'm a WT fan to some degree...at least their singer is better and I think the instrumentation and songwriting is better. Their newer album is pretty good too. But Nightwish is where it's at for Symphonic Metal IMO...Epica isn't bad either.

[allan_evett]

On 6/4/2022 at 4:24 PM, Jim Alfredson said:

Sounds like a contemporary Christian service.

 

 Glad my coffee was sitting next to me, vs being sipped; it would've been all over my computer.  

 

It's just about there, as a contemporary Christian anthem.  Just missing the bridge cycling over, and over, and over...

[Mighty Motif Max]

Really, I think they’re okay, just not really my thing. Like most rock bands for me...also, I’m not sure they’re really “nu-metal” stylistically. Period-wise, yes, but I really think of them as more of a hard rock band with pop and punk influences.