Artist: Evanescence
Label: EMI Records
Release: 2011
Length: 47:18
Rating: 3/5
Evanescence, the hot American alternative metal quintet whose musical preaching has always been so successfully wrapped in a bleeding, suffering veil of saccharine bitterness and gothic-pop charm, are back after five years with a new studio album. This is a band that needs no special introduction, one that hit every success a teenage dream could conjure up with its debut alone. You could say commercial success outran the band’s maturity, and that showed in how their career went on from there. The band simply named the new album after themselves. Given the five-year absence from the release scene, that’s a very welcome move, and it also hints at a fresh burst of creative drive. A ground zero, a kind of new birth.
The album “Evanescence” sounds mature. More mature than the band’s previous two albums. Sure, it’s a bit unfair to compare just three albums, since it took the lineup a whole eight years to put those out, but still, the new record is the band’s most compact and polished creation to date.
On it, the band keeps the trademarks of the previous two albums and basically presents them in the light of the best production yet, which means they’ve taken the sonic look up another notch. But that’s not all. The arranging and the songwriting have also been stepped up, making this the most convincing studio work of the band’s career in terms of message. The turbulent lineup changes are offset by long breaks between studio releases, which isn’t exactly great for the band’s development, but those very pauses helped the band consolidate the new faces in the lineup, so they could competently pick up the musical form embodied by the previous two albums.
A massive wall of guitars holding up the voluminous thunder of the drums, effective contrasts added by classical piano, and a soundscape filled out with string arrangements and sample programming that deepen the dramatic atmosphere of black moods: this is a form tailor-made for the polished vocal approach of singer Amy Lee, who once again grabs the lion’s share of the album’s attention with her performance. Despite the uniform offering of 12 songs, with no room for provocative experimentation, the album manages to squeeze out the most variety within the compositions so far, and that gives Amy even more room to maneuver in her vocal interpretation. The elements that build the sound are placed ideally and come across as full and hungry. Nick Raskulinecz (Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters, Rush, etc…) proved to be a spot-on choice of producer, a real bullseye. The guitar sound is cranked up, aggressive and sharp like never before, and the “sly” pop element, which has always worked so convincingly from the background for Evanescence, is lurking more than ever.
A band that was clearly going to hunt for as many hits as possible on this album won’t be so successful at it this time around. Despite all the seductiveness of the melody-meets-punch combo in What You Want, which was already released as the first single and drew exceptionally good reactions from the wider public, it’s hard to point to any “grabbers” on the album that would seriously fill the band’s coffers in the form of potential hit singles. That’s a sign of the band’s artistic maturing, but until it’s clear how the album fares on the charts, any speculation in that direction is tough.
The songs aren’t fully catchy on first listen. The moody blackness is front and center and clearly emphasized, which was to be expected. What impresses about this record is the fantastic production, the fully exploited soundscape, and the fully capitalized talent of singer Amy Lee, whose approach effectively stands up to any situation when it comes to bringing emotions to life. However you slice it, her contribution is hugely important, since besides her vocal role she also works as an additional instrument. At heart, Evanescence are very simple musicians who get most of their support from playing with the “faders” in the studio, as well as from tutoring by the producers. So don’t expect any special instrumental wizardry that would make any listener strain their cerebral processors to figure it out. That makes it all the more important that Amy is spread out across the whole album as the central figure driving its machinery and stirring up the dynamics of the songs at every step, so they don’t accidentally fall into a loop of stale, monotonous self-repetition.
Anyone demanding a new “hit-maker album” will be disappointed, because this time around it comes across as completely unobtrusive, relaxed and unburdened when it comes to chasing mega hits. It’s proof of a kind of maturity-driven rebirth. Despite the sonic and expressive upgrade of the sound and style, which doesn’t hide its potential and reserves, Evanescence still cautiously feel out the new realities of the market with this album and stay in the familiar waters of the previous two albums, so the new record doesn’t bring any real creative departure. That’s why it’s merely a very lovely comeback album from a band that true Evanescence fans will worship first and foremost, while it won’t manage to “buy” any new ones.
Lineup
Amy Lee – vocals, keyboards, piano, harp
Terry Balsamo – guitar
Troy McLawnhorn – guitar
Tim McCord – bass
Will Hunt – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
David Campbell – string arrangements
Chris Vrenna – programming
Production
Nick Raskulinecz
Tracklist
1. What You Want
2. Made Of Stone
3. The Change
4. My Heart Is Broken
5. The Other Side
6. Erase This
7. Lost In Paradise
8. Sick
9. End Of The Dream
10. Oceans
11. Never Go Back
12. Swimming Home
