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Album Review: The Essence of 'Evanescence'

By: Dan Capeau

 

Photo courtesy of Wind-Up Records

It has been a long four years for Evanescence fans but their wait is finally over. The triumphant return of Evanescence comes in a twelve track (sixteen track deluxe edition) self-titled album that takes the listener on a very emotional and personal journey. Although, technically speaking, it’s not a concept album, it can be treated like one without losing any integrity. However, there is one thing that needs to be addressed before I even go into the review. Hardcore Evanescence fans from the “Fallen” era might realize that most of the original core songwriting was done by guitarist Ben Moody. Since its release in 2003, Evanescence has undergone many lineup changes and thereby causing somewhat of a forced evolution for the band, including the removal of Ben Moody before The Open Door album. So for all those expecting Fallen 2011, sorry but it’s just not going to happen. Instead, we get a much more emotional Amy Lee who pours her heart into this record that every Evanescence fan can appreciate.

 

Opening with ‘What You Want’, the album kicks off with a different type of song compared to classic Evanescence and sets the pace for the rest of the album, but fear not. Over the entire forty-seven minutes (regular edition time), we are graced with heavy riffs and beautiful melodies. No Evanescence album is complete without serene piano parts with Amy Lee’s vocals over them and this album is no different. Without going into technical music lingo, let’s just say that there is a great attention to detail in song structure. The parts aren’t just copy-and-pasted together to make a song. There are many small variations in every song that score high for any musician and music listener.

 

One thing that I noticed, which is somewhat signature for Amy Lee, is that her vocal melodies are very unpredictable and very atypical. Long, flowing lyrics come together as a very pretty melody that is pleasing to the ear. Sticking with unique features, I noticed that the chorus sections on most of the songs are really untraditional which shows a sign of evolution of the band as a whole.

 

Conversely, there is the expected Evanescence ballad and this one is extremely emotional. “Lost in Paradise” is the song that might hit home for many listeners just because of the purity of the song. Of course the meaning is open to interpretation: if Lee is addressing issues of her life or the lives of her fans, but that’s what makes this song a sort of pinnacle of this album. With its piano and string sections, the emotion-evoking melodies force the listener to feel a part of this song, and moreover the band.

 

If I were to name one theme in this album, it would be pain. Any and every kind of pain whether it be emotional, physical, mental, etc. Just about every song has the word ‘pain’ in its lyrics. But this is what makes the album so strong. The underlying theme ties the entire album together, not as a negative view on pain, but as an optimistic outlook on a not-so-bright past/present. Every song has an upside which allows the songs to resonate with the listener’s emotions.

 

As a whole, “Evanescence” is a very atmospheric and picturesque album. When you listen to the entire album straight through, it can put you in a zone away from reality, which is a big positive for this album. The only negative I felt, as a critique and not a fan, was the way some of ending the songs just glazed over each other upon first listening. But I think that’s just a one-time thing because that idea was erased upon subsequent listening. However, the one thing that causes me to take away some points is the ending song: “Swimming Home”. I’m going to take a lot a heat because of this, but here it goes. As an ending to this glorious return of Evanescence, this song felt weak. WAIT! Not weak lyrically because it actually brings the album around full circle almost perfectly, but there is just something about me as a fan that was expecting an epic ending and I was let down. BUT, like I said before, there is always a positive look in this album and that’s the bonus songs. Unlike the usual one or two tracks that seemed to be just leftover extra tracks that the record label decided to throw on a new CD edition and make a little more money, these tracks are good. And we get four of them. “Secret Door” almost seems like the proper ending to the album but that’s really opinion speaking.

 

Oh Yeah, there is a harp in a few songs and sounds and flows flawlessly with the album. So all those people who were “Harps and Evanescence…derp derp derp…wtf…it’s gonna suck…merp.” Shut up, you were wrong. It’s really not that hard to see how a pianist/singer/writer like Amy Lee can incorporate a harp into these songs. In fact, I found myself asking, “Why haven’t they done this before?”

 

The last thing that irked me was that only one song of the seventeen total tracks had a guitar solo. Being a musician, I really wanted to hear more, but being an Evanescence fan, I know that the showcase is Amy Lee’s vocals, not the guitarists. Sorry fellow guitarists.

Overall “Evanescence” is very solid with only a few debatable flaws. For an Evanescence fan, this album is the long-awaited answer for more. Combined with the amazing singing range and vocal control of Amy Lee and the newfound togetherness of the band, the album really shows how Evanescence has come together after the difficult times almost leading to a breakup. But they are back and they take us on a journey through which many listeners won’t be the same by the end.

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Zen and the City

By: Phil Stone

The Detachment

 

It is said that attachment leads to suffering.  But in this day and age where we have made ourselves dependant on technology and other people, how can one truly seek enlightenment?  Not to mention when one lives in the city that never sleeps, how can one truly rest?  How can we achieve a higher level of learning and understanding when it’s not a downloadable app?  As usual, the answer is simple, detach yourself.  But even that can result in a battle on in itself.

                This story on the road to awe begins 3 weeks ago when autumn decided it was time to change the summer winds into promises of brown leaves and future snowfall.  And as nature changes its mood, so does the mood of all people around us.  That which may have seemed one way early in the summer days now seemed to have another route which was never noticed before.  Alana was also changing.  She had been put under loves tricky spell.  The boy was taller than she, educated, artistic.  In the end, all the things she sought after in another individual.  For a while it seemed that life had been giving them signs but they chose not to act upon them.  Instead, they played a game called ignorance; a game in which all dreams eventually die.  Ignorance, not because they were not aware of what to do, but because they choose not to do anything. One waited for the other to make the move necessary to open the doors to each other’s hearts.  There had been signs.  The way the boy spoke to her, the way they interacted among friends, the way he was there and yet not there at the same time.  But alas, Alana did nothing.  She said nothing about how she felt.  Instead she ignored the potential of what could’ve been.  She ignored her heart.  Eventually, there came the time in which life could no longer wait.  Because they did not make their intentions clear, he moved on, and of course, she was heartbroken. 

                Alana begged to understand what happened.  She craved to understand where she had gone wrong.  She wondered if it had been her fault.  She wondered if it had been his fault.  With that she chose to punish herself and her heart.  Sadness took over her.  Eventually frustration made its way into her life, and finally, suffering.  The suffering held on to her and refused to let go.  It told her that it was all her fault.  It told her to move on and dive into darkness and ultimately not care about love or life.  It promised her that by not caring, she would never get hurt again.  However, suffering forgot to mention one thing, its weakness.  All negative defects in life have Achilles' heel.  In this case suffering major flaw is detachment.    

Suffering is necessary so that we learn how to break free from it.  Its pain makes us stronger.   It wants us to fail but in reality, all we need to do it fall.  Failing tells us that the fight towards understanding is over.  With that logic, the war is lost.  However, falling lets us know that we can get back up.  Detachment allows us to understand and to let go.  It helps us come to terms and realize that the moment that brought us pain is gone.  Its effects may linger, but sufferings hold on us and its intensity lies solely within us.  We choose to make that pain last.  We are responsible for its creation and eventually, its destruction.  As the old saying goes, “There’s no use crying over spilled milk.”  After Alana learned this she realized that it seemed simple enough to detach one’s self from the situation, but that’s not usually the case.  But that’s the road to Zen.  It is said that anything difficult to fight for is usually worth fighting for.  As the season changes, so does emotions.  Detachment from what one cares about most and even from what one hates most can lead one to pure fulfillment and freedom.  Alana is learning to be free.  Her heart is telling her that love is not impossible, but it wants her to understand the lesson she just endured.  Currently she walks the city streets now watching not only the leaves change but her life change too.  Preparing, understanding and getting ready for her heart to love again.