Fallen - Evanescence > Reviews > Fallen for it already

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	The most haunting voice in music today
Disadvantages:	Too damned popular now !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

It's rare that I buy imported albums don't you know? In fact the last album I bought that was over-expensive due to being imported was Dido's No Angel - but I've gone and done it again, and once again I've fallen on my feet with this one too.

Evanescence - a little-known (in the UK) Pop/Punk/Rock band that were even lesser known until the movie DareDevil came out, then people started to hear Bring Me To Life and people were liking it too but still Evanescence are virtual unknowns in the UK, and it has to be said that I didn't know of them till I bought my girlfriend the DareDevil soundtrack as a pressie and then nicked a copy for myself - now a little over 1 month later I'm sat here listening to Fallen - all on the strength of Bring Me To Life and My Immortal - and the albums tops.

If you want to know what to expect - well its going to be a hard one - but I'll give it my best shot - for Vocals think of a cross between Sarah Mclachlan and Beth Orton, just make it a little bit rockier and you've got it - music wise, well I've heard people comparing them to Linkin Park, but I'd say they're a bit softer than that (note to self - review Meteora), but its an anthemic rock sound that sometimes (for sometimes read most times) fades into a Gothic sound - got an idea now? yes? good!

Quick note to the packaging - simple really, on the front you get a haunting picture of Amy (Lead singer of the band) whilst on the back there's the rest of the band members looking decidedly rock-ish.

Tracks:

1. Going Under: A great indication of whats to come with the rest of the album, Amy's voice is full of angst - before slipping into a full on rock-chorus, its slow but not so much that it hinders the actual music, unlike other Rock Bands (Limp Bizkit we're looking at you), and it doesn't last that long anyway as towards the end of the track you'll find the pace start to quicken - and it works, it works well even!

2. Bring Me To Life: the Daddy of Evanescence songs, as simple as that - this is the type of song that is definitely a highlight to the album, Amy's voice is at top spot here and in the same track we also have a sort of alternation between vocalists on the chorus, which is sadly lacking from the rest of the album.

Now as some of you know I'm a sucker for singing along to a song on my travels so long as its really good - and on my recent trip back to Grimsby it was this song that got the Angelus treatment - its a catchy tune that makes the hairs on your back stand on end, and leaves you begging for more.

3. Everybody's Fool: Basically a softer version of Bring Me To Life - teamed up with a very very gentle chorus that always has an undertone screaming out to be evolved into a Rock sound - Amy's singing is extremely reminiscent of Sarah Mclachlan on this track - and although the Rock sound is there - this is the kind of track where Evanescence are leaning more towards a pop sound.

4. My Immortal: The Second song to be added to the DareDevil Soundtrack album, and its hauntingly beautiful - with a piano background replacing the guitars of the previous 3 tracks, it sounds almost like a classical track, and Amy's vocals almost seem to float over the actual music - it has to be said that this one is my favourite of the album - its hard to explain why but it just sounds so emotional and engaging that it takes you away with the music.

5. Haunted: Moving back to the Rock-type of music but opening with an extremely haunting sound - then moving onto a slow sound which is hard to explain - this is again a heavy sound in the background but its a generally quiet sound - and very hard to explain - Amy herself seems to have changed her vocals just slightly for this one putting maybe a little less passion in it all.

6. Tourniquet: Errrr, weird is one good word to sum it all up I think, but weird in a nice way, as we open with a quick-paced beat before moving onto Amy singing with what starts out as almost muffled vocals before moving on to sound clearer and cleaner - and then a strong chorus that gets your toes tapping and has a sound that is almost gentle in its rock-ish-ness.

7. Imaginary: As has become standard Amy starts with just one long note not even singing any actual words and then moving on to a sound that pushes itself out of the speakers and grabs you inside. But half-way through you'll find that as is now par for the course with this album evanescence soften down to a gentle sound before hitting with a big ending.

8. Taking Over Me: Opening with a soft piano, this track teases you with a short rock interlude and then slipping back to the gentle sounds of Amy's voice and the piano before finally moving onto the gentle rock guitar and Amy's voice getting stronger and louder, to be honest it is one of the weaker tracks of the album - but if I was giving the tracks marks out of 10 - it'd have still got a 9.

9. Hello: Once again we have a soft track with a piano background and Amy gently singing over the top of it - its very similar to My Immortal - the whole sound of the track is extremely haunting but none more so than when Amy holds a note for a few seconds - definitely one of the highlights of the album.

10. My Last Breath: Starting off with an almost electronic sound before moving on to a rock guitar opening and finally settling down to Amy's voice beating over the music, with a chorus that makes you want to scream out for more - quickening the pace of the track and an end that makes you sit there feeling addicted to Amy's breath.

11. Whisper: The final track of the album, and to be honest its another good one, its similar to the rest of the album - harmonic, gentle yet still full of Rock Tones, Amy's voice is again simply beautiful, and always still haunting.

For an end to the album it seems brilliant, it leaves you hoping that they'll release another album soon - even the background which does include some soft chanting, which works well as it adds a slight mystique to the whole song.

That's it - that's your lot, the album is fantastic, in fact I think that its fast going to become one of my favourite albums, that's just how good it is!