Anytime Evanescence makes the news (in the current times, because the band is working on its fifth studio album, The Bitter Truth), there is an inevitable mention of the band’s debut album, Fallen.
The article usually talks about how the band went from essentially nobodies to stars overnight when Bring Me to Life was released and was featured on the soundtrack to Daredevil along with My Immortal. In addition, the article may discuss the band’s second album, The Open Door, and usually mention the songs Call Me When You’re Sober and Lithium as album highlights (which is definitely true).
However, one of their rock albums seems to be ignored largely by news media, and to a lesser extent, by fans of Evanescence. That would be the self-titled album, released in 2011.
The Evanescence album deserves so much more credit than it is given. It is the heaviest of the three albums and features some of the best Evanescence work that exists. So, in honor of the album that became my personal anthem during my senior year of high school, here is an appreciation post for the self-titled Evanescence album.
Singles
The singles of Evanescence are alone three of the band’s strongest songs ever. The first single, What You Want, debuted in August 2011, about two months before the album’s release.
What You Want was the perfect pick for the lead single, as it set up the tone for the rest of the album, and represented all of the album’s themes well. Lyrically, What You Want is about love and the quest for freedom. Indeed, the lyrics tell you to “Remember who you really are,” telling people to go out there and do what they want with their lives.
What You Want also features what I would argue are the most unique Evanescence lyrics with the hook of “Do what, what you want.” I’ve read that Amy Lee was nervous about presenting those lyrics to the band, worrying about being compared to Janet Jackson due to the hook, but the band loved it, and it serves the song well. The song is also unique in that it is definitely a song that is danceable, and could easily be played loudly at a dance for people to rock out to.
The second single, My Heart is Broken, is a powerful love ballad. With its fast piano melody and the hard rock of guitars, bass and drums mixed in, it’s a hell of a song, and is one that you should want to play when your heart is broken (pun slightly intended).
Add in Amy Lee’s ever-powerful lyrics to My Heart is Broken and you’ve got the ingredients for what could arguably be the perfect song. Even non-regular listeners enjoy the song. In an early 2012 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Evanescence performed the song to close the show, and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe certainly appeared to be a fan of the song, hurrying up to Amy and shaking hands with her, presumably praising the song.
Finally, the album’s third single, Lost in Paradise is the top highlight of the album. Amy said in interviews that Lost in Paradise is the song that caused tears to fall during recording; it’s certainly clear why.
Lyrically, Lost in Paradise is Amy’s apology to the fans after such a long absence from Evanescence. Though the apology was wholly unnecessary, it’s wonderful to see that those who love Evanescence (including Amy) inspired the song.
Lost in Paradise is similar in ways to My Immortal. While the song starts off with just Amy’s lyrics and a piano, the band eventually joins in midway through, making the song a total rock song that is full of emotion.
The Perfect Blend
Production of the self-titled album was definitely an all-band experience. All members of the band have writing credits on multiple songs, with many of the songs being written by all members of the band. This is translated onto the album when you can clearly hear the collaborative efforts of everyone in the band.
The album contains Amy’s soaring lyrics and melodic piano, the powerful guitar chords by Terry Balsamo and Troy McLawhorn, a wonderful bass line by Tim McCord and the ever present drums of Will Hunt. All of these elements blend together well throughout the whole album. None of the elements dominates over the others (although Amy’s vocals may dominate at times, you can hear everything else clearly) and each element is heard clearly in every song.
In addition, the album is easily Evanescence’s heaviest offering. The majority of the songs are fast-paced rock songs, which should always be present on rock albums. Although the album contains slower songs (Swimming Home and Secret Door from the deluxe edition come to mind), they work well with the rest of the album and contain all of the elements present in other songs, while adding some of their own, such as the electronica on Swimming Home.
All in all, Evanescence’s self-titled album is a hell of an album that deserves so much love. I played it repeatedly during my senior year of high school (listening to it multiple times a week in the car and at home). Honestly, I’m surprised the CD I bought when the album came out is still in good condition considering how much I listened to it and still do. If you like some heavy fast-paced rock music, give the album a listen.
Leave a Reply