Fallen - Evanescence

\Ev`a*nes"cence\, n. The act or state of vanishing away; disappearance; as, the evanescence of vapor, of a dream, of earthly plants or hopes. --Rambler.

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When Amy Lee and Ben Moody met at summer camp in the States in 2000, little were we to know just what en effect they would have on the music world. The connection, however instant, ...
...finest rock albums of the new millennium, with the backing of one of the best independent record labels around. After the duo had decided to team up and at least write some material together, record labels came sniffing in hope of discovering the next big thing in this vast world known as modern rock. With an endless number of bands treading the very same path, Amy and Ben always planned to be different, with Moody’s undoubted talent and Lee’s truly ... more

\Ev`a*nes"cence\, n. The act or state of vanishing away; disappearance; as, the evanescence of vapor, of a dream, of earthly plants or hopes. --Rambler.

When Amy Lee and Ben Moody met at summer camp in the States in 2000, little were we to know just what en effect they would have on the music world. The connection, however instant, was one that would gel and produce one of the finest rock albums of the new millennium, with the backing of one of the best independent record labels around. After the duo had decided to team up and at least write some material together, record labels came sniffing in hope of discovering the next big thing in this vast world known as modern rock. With an endless number of bands treading the very same path, Amy and Ben always planned to be different, with Moody’s undoubted talent and Lee’s truly stunning voice - they were destined for very big things. Already, only a year into their mainstream career, the band find themselves compared to European bands such as Lacuna Coil and Nightwish - something that is irrelevant in terms of popularity and chart success, largely in fact that Evanescence far excel in those departments. Amy’s gothic influences were always to play a big part in the birth of Evanescence, with a dress sense to match, she became the style icon for the mislead generation, giving hope to the needy and an outcry through the bands music. Wind Up Records, the lucky label that managed to secure the duos signature, gave them a mere two years to travel to Los Angeles and constantly write, in hopes of turning up enough sufficient material to allow for a debut release - and in no time at all the material was ready, the recording finished and the album pressed for release.

The undoubted success of debut single ‘Bring Me To Life’ was just the platform the band needed to continue on their path to world domination - eclipsing sales of virtually every other single in its four week stay at number one in the UK singles charts - an amazing feat for a new rock band. With relative success through an assortment of movie soundtrack discs, most notably the appearance of ‘Bring Me To Life’ and ‘My Immortal’ on the Daredevil soundtrack, the band had already managed to reach such a wide audience in such a short space of time - this all coming prior to the release of their first full length album. When the album did come, the expectation was at such a peak that it instantly hit number one in worldwide album charts, and within 3 weeks had sold a million copies - again, unheralded for a band of their kind. Lee has been quoted in numerous interviews as saying that the duo preferred to write alone, before joining their ideas and formulising the overall sound to produce a final result - obviously a more than successful ploy. Lyrically the band don’t tread the tracks of so many others - instead Amy prefers to relate her music to the slightly older generation and steer clear of the angst filled formula that occurs so frequently now-a-days. - and with Moody’s ability to pick a tune, she has more than enough scope to pull it off. Their reputation as one of the good guys of rock is more than justified, with the band preferring to be known for their on stage antics rather than those off of it.

What ‘Bring Me To Life’ offered in terms of heavy, melodic rock, second single ‘Going Under’ copied on a grander scale. The riffs are harder, the lyrics darker and the sound (for some reason), less commercial. Despite not hitting the dizzy heights that its predecessor did, ‘Going Under’ still managed to get more people on their feet and recognise the brightest new band around - a band that were sweeping all others aside on both sides of the pond. The thing for any band around, is to not release a plethora of similar songs, and with that, the bands third release was to be undoubtedly one of the finest tracks of 2004 in general - My Immortal. As mentioned earlier, its appearance in the funeral scene in the Daredevil movie had already earnt the song a minor following, yet the song was eventually released amid a unhappy time in the bands history. With the band in the middle of a major European tour, Moody took it upon himself to simply walk out on Lee and the other members as he believed the band had become to mainstream for his liking. This reasoning was not given for a mere three months after, with Moody simply ignoring the pleas of his former bandmates to return, giving little explanation in return. The video for ‘My Immortal’, strangely enough, featured both Moody and Lee walking alone, as if separate entities, something that encapsulated the state the band found themselves in - two brilliant minds slowly parting. The first low point in a career of undoubted highs - yet Amy was not to let that destroy the band.

The situation defined the success of ‘My Immortal’, selling well within the singles market and portraying the emotions of Lee, something that must have been at the forefront of her mind. With Ben moving on to collaborate with a endless list of other artist, namely co-writing Avril Lavigne’s ‘Nobody’s Home’, Amy remained strong and would not allow the band to flounder on one mans petty reasons. Fourth single ‘Everybody’s Fool’ encapsulated that anger and threw it in the proverbial face of Moody, as if to say “we can get by without you”, whilst being the final release to be taken from ‘Fallen’, it seemingly ended the glorious four year relationship between to undoubted talents, something that is not easily forgotten. Moody was eventually replaced by former Cold guitarist Terry Balsamo, providing an alternative edge to Moody’s smooth melodies, something that so far has proved a very wise decision. The fact is that Evanescence will never be as strong as they were at the peak of the Moody/Lee partnership, but anyone who writes Amy off, doesn’t know her very well. What ‘Fallen’ gives the listener is an urge to destroy something, an urge to love something and an urge to listen deep within the sound and understand the lyrics - a strength that not many bands can claim to have.

The remainder of the album comprises of similar tracks to the four singles, comprising of a similar style with the same strong lyrics, backed by Lee’s more than amazing vocals - proving to be far more than simply “Linkin Park with a female singer”, a claim that always appeared ridiculous to me upon reading it. ‘Hello’ is one of the most beautiful ballads you will ever hear, going places ‘My Immortal’ could merely dream of, whilst ‘Taking Over Me’ and ‘My Last Breath’ are a couple of tracks that follow the copybook of ‘Everybody’s Fool’ in delivering hard rock with a melodic feel. I’m not one to criticise Moody for the option he took - rather it’s the way he ended it all that sickens me, but for who he is and what he did for the band, all I can say is thank you. Futures possibly undecided, but the one thing that is certain is that Amy Lee will come back stronger than ever and will be anything but ‘Fallen’.

Track Listing

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