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| Review For The Open Door |
| Tuesday, January 23, 2007 |
Evanescence: The Open Door
Published by KaRL Kornfeld
The Open DoorOkay, I’ll come out and say it: the lion’s share of the appeal of Evanescence’s first album, Fallen, was that Amy Lee sang with the range, expressive clarity and precision usually associated with R&B singers, but she was singing white, suburban hard rock. But for many of us - particularly, but not exclusively musicians - her skill seemed out of place against the backdrop of mediocre, highschool jam-band music, largely written by guitarist, and Lee’s then boyfriend, Ben Moody. A typical response halfway through the album was “Damn, this chick’s got some mad pipes!…but why the hell do they have to keep going to the flat-six like that in every single song?” There was some sort of soap opera about Moody and Lee breaking up and Moody pulling a Nigel, walking out in the middle of a tour in 2003. The good news is Evanescence is much better without him. Moody was replace by Terry Balsamo, who was with Limp Bizkit before they got big.
The music on their new release, The Open Door, is much more original, a better balance for Lee’s voice. There is a new cohesiveness to the band’s sound, with Lee’s piano playing taking a prominent role (keyboardist David Hodges left the band in 2002). Even some of the heaviest songs show a clear Nora Jones influence - not a bad thing at all as it lends a freshness and unique soul to this type of music. The music overall is more dynamic in a way that reminds me of early Queen. Gone are the layered keyboard “pads” that washed over Fallen. Keyboards are almost entirely acousitc piano. And thankfully there are no guest white-rappers ruining things the way Paul McCoy did on Bring Me To Life.
Which conveniently segues to another point. Producer Dave Fortman was free on The Open Door to focus on the band’s unique sound, rather than resort to the over-production of Fallen. Certainly there is plenty of vocal layering here, but there is very little processing on the guitars and, as stated, much less reliance on keyboards to add interest. The result is a little less polish, a little more edge. You’ll want to play this album loud as Lee’s vocals are mixed back a little bit. Though this does sacrifice some of the clarity which seemed to be one of her trademarks on their first release, it sounds more in-the-band than on-top-of-the-band. Also reduced, though not eliminated, are the fairy-tale references which, while cute, helped to earn them simultaneous goth and christian labels with their first release. The lyrics here are more down to earth, personal and gut-level emotional.
The above probably reads as if I hate Fallen. I don’t. But I’m relieved that Evanescence didn’t make us wait four years for a rehash of it. The band has evolved in a very positive direction. |
posted by lacrymosa @ 12:03 PM   |
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