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Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody.[title=Amy's Story ][publisher=Rough Guides ] After recording two private EPs and a demo CD named Origin, with the help of Bigwig Enterprises in 2000, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards.[title=Second Cup Cafe: Amy Lee Of Evanescence ] A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which sold more than five million copies.[title=News: Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? ]
The band has suffered several line-up changes, including co-founder Moody leaving mid-tour in 2003, bassist Will Boyd in mid-2006, followed by guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007. The latter two of the changes ultimately led the band to be on hiatus with only temporary replacements sought in order for the band to finish touring. In June 2009, Amy Lee posted on the official Evanescence website that the band had been working on new material for a proposed 2010 album.
HistoryFormation and early years: 1995–2001Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former lead guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody
. The two met in 1994 at a youth camp in Little Rock, where Moody heard Lee playing "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf on the piano.[title=Evanescence: The Split ] Their first songs together were "Solitude" and "Give Unto Me", both written by Lee, and "Understanding" and "My Immortal", both written by Moody. The songs were edited by both artists, and they shared equal credit.
Two of Lee and Moody's songs found playtime on local radio stations, raising local awareness of the group and demand for a concert. The band eventually appeared live, and became one of the most popular acts in the area. After experimenting with band names, such as Childish Intentions and Stricken, they decided on Evanescence, which means "disappearance" or "fading away" (from the word evanesce, which means "to disappear"). Lee loved the name because "it is mysterious and dark, and places a picture in the listeners' mind."[title=[1] Special: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home ]
Their first full-length demo CD, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively unknown. The band also released two EPs. The first is the self-titled Evanescence EP (1998), of which about 100 copies were made and distributed at the band's early live performances. The second is the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP (1999), which was limited to 50 copies. Origin and the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on their debut album, Fallen. For example, the recording of "My Immortal", found on Fallen, can also be found on Origin, minus a handful of additional string accompaniments. Only 2,500 copies of this record were produced; in response, Lee and Moody encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the Internet.[title=Evanescence EPs and pre-Fallen Material ][title=Interview with DC101 radio on February 24, 2003 ]
Fallen and Anywhere but Home: 2002–2005In early 2003, the lineup was completed by Amy Lee and Ben Moody's friends, John LeCompt, Rocky Gray and Will Boyd, all of whom worked on Evanescence's earlier songs. Meanwhile, Evanescence signed on with their first major label, Wind-up Records, and began work on their first album, Fallen. While they were looking to promote Fallen, Evanescence accepted an offer from the video game company Nintendo to perform on the "Nintendo Fusion Tour" which they headlined in 2003.[title=Evanescence, Nintendo Fusion Tour ]
Fallen spent 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10;[title=Evanescence steps through "The Open Door" ] was certified 7x Platinum in the United States;[title=Duffy's Dazzling Debut ] and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide,[title=Evanescence zooms by Killers to take #1 ]
On October 22, 2003, Moody left the band during the European tour for Fallen, reportedly because of creative differences.[title=AllMusic (((Evanescence > Biography))) ] In an interview several months later, Amy Lee said: "...we'd gotten to a point that if something didn't change, we wouldn't have been able to make a second record." This became a point of confusion for some people, as Moody and Lee stated on the Fallen album liner notes that they were best friends.[title=Moody Blues ] Later, Lee said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions created within the band.[title=Evanescence Name New Guitarist ]
Evanescence's major label debut single "Bring Me to Life", which features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, was a global hit for the band and reached #5 on the American Billboard Hot 100.[title=Evanescence - Artist Chart History ] It provided Evanescence with their first UK #1 listing,[title=All The Number 1 Singles ] where it stayed for four weeks from June-July 2003. The song also became the official theme for WWE No Way Out 2003. The equally popular "My Immortal" peaked at #7 in the U.S. and UK charts,[title=46th Grammy Awards - 2004 ] The two other singles off Fallen are "Going Under" (#5 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks,
, featured on Anywhere but Home
In 2004, Evanescence's new lineup released a DVD/CD compilation entitled Anywhere but Home. The DVD includes a concert in Paris, as well as behind-the-scenes features, including shots of the band backstage signing autographs and warming up. The CD contains a previously unreleased song entitled "Missing", which was internationally released as a single and reached #1 in Spain. Also on the CD are the live songs "Breathe No More" (from the Elektra movie soundtrack), "Farther Away", and the band's cover of Korn's "Thoughtless".
The Open Door: 2006–2008A spokesperson for the band's label confirmed on July 14, 2006 that bassist Will Boyd had left the band for "not wanting to do another big tour" and wanting "to be close to his family." Amy Lee originally broke the news to the fans in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com.[title=Evanescence Lose Bassist; Amy Lee Vows To Stay On Schedule ] In an interview with MTV, posted on their website on August 10, 2006, Lee announced that Tim McCord, former Revolution Smile guitarist, would switch instruments and play bass for the band.[title=Evanescence Set For Fall Tour; Amy Lee Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Sober' ]
Evanescence performing at a concert in Brazil in 2007
The album progressed slowly for several reasons, including Amy Lee's desire to maximize the creative process and not rush production, other band members' side projects, guitarist Terry Balsamo's stroke, and the loss of their former manager.[title=Evanescence - Bio] Although Lee stated on the fan forum Evboard that Evanescence's new album would be completed in March 2006,[title=EvBoard - i love my album :) ] the release was pushed back allegedly because "Wind-up Records...wanted to make a few changes to the upcoming single "Call Me When You're Sober", which hit modern rock and alternative rock radio on August 7, 2006. The 13-track album The Open Door was released in Canada and the United States on October 3, 2006;[title=Evanescence steps through 'The Open Door' - Amy Lee in love with new songs ] The album sold 447,000 copies in the United States in its first week of sales and earned their first #1 ranking on the Billboard 200 album chart, becoming the 700th #1 album in Billboard since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956.[ title=Call Me When You're Sober ] The music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was shot in Los Angeles and is based on the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The Open Door became available for pre-order on the iTunes Store on August 15, 2006; the music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was also made available.
The tour for The Open Door began on October 5, 2006 in Toronto and included locations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during that year. This first tour continued on January 5, 2007 and included stops in Canada (alongside band Stone Sour), Japan and Australia (alongside band Shihad) and then returned to the U.S. for a second tour in the spring (alongside bands Chevelle and Finger Eleven).[title=Official 2007 tour information ][title=Complete tour dates ] As part of their tour, Evanescence performed on April 15, 2007 on the Argentinan festival Quilmes Rock 07 along with Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and other local bands.[title=Quilmes Rock 2007 ] They also co-headlined on the Family Values Tour 2007 along with Korn and other bands.[title=Korn, Evanescence, Hellyeah Top Family Values Tour Bill ][title=Family Values Tour Coming To A City Near You! - Evanescence News ] The group closed their European tour with a sell-out concert at the Amphi in Ra'anana, Israel, on June 26, 2007,[title=Evanescence rocks the park ] and finished the album tour on December 9, 2007.[title=Closing the Open Door ]
John LeCompt, former Evanescence guitarist
On May 4, 2007, John LeCompt announced that he had been fired from Evanescence, and also stated that drummer Rocky Gray had decided to quit.[title=Rock act Evanescence on the rocks ] Wind-up issued a press release on May 17, 2007, stating that two Dark New Day members, drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn, would be joining the band to replace LeCompt and Gray.[title=New Lineup Announced ] It was initially stated that Hunt and McLawhorn would tour with Evanescence until the end of the Family Values Tour in September 2007,[title=Korn, Evanescence Backing Musicians Vow To Carry On With Dark New Day ] but both continued to play with the band through The Open Door tour.
Third studio album: 2009–presentIn a news posting to the Evanescence website during June 2009, Amy Lee wrote that the band was in the process of writing new material for a new album proposed for release in 2010. She stated that the music would be an evolution of previous works and be "better, stronger, and more interesting".[title=Evanescence Return to the Stage at "Secret" New York Gig ][title=Evanescence Returns To Live Stage, Taps Finger Eleven Guitarist ]
In other mediaLee claimed that she wrote a song for the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but that it was rejected because of its dark sound. Lee went on to state that it was just "more great stuff The Open Door".[title=EvBoard - A Bunch Of Stuff!!! ] Another song supposedly written for Narnia was the Mozart-inspired "Lacrymosa".[ " class="PageLink" target="_blank">access]
Musical style and influencesCritics vary in terming Evanescence a rock or metal band, but most identify them as some form of gothic band: Publications such as The New York Times, Rough Guides, Rolling Stone and Blender have identified Evanescence as a gothic metal act,[title=Evanescence ][title=Evanescence: Fallen ] They have been compared to a variety of bands from differing genres, such as nu metal ensembles like P.O.D. and Linkin Park, gothic metal groups like Lacuna Coil, and symphonic metal acts like Nightwish and Within Temptation. David Browne of Blender offers an elaborate description of the band's music as "goth Christian nü-metal with a twist of melancholic Enya." Adrien Begrand of Popmatters describes Evanescence as utilising "nu-metal riffage". [title=My Dying Bride ] Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost suggests that Paradise Lost has probably influenced Evanescence only indirectly through other similar acts.[title=Interview with Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost ] Other genres and influences used to describe the band’s sound include alternative metal,[title=Evanescence biography at Musicmight ] alternative rock,[title=Evanescence ] and electronica.
Evanescence was originally promoted in Christian stores. Later, the band made it clear they did not want to be considered part of the Christian rock genre.[title=Evanescence Interview Ignites Christian Music Controversy ] Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying "They clearly understood the album would be sold in these music channels."[title=Evanescence Fall From Grace ] After many Christian stores began to remove the band's music from their shelves, Wind-up Records chairman Alan Meltzer then issued a press release in April 2003 requesting formally that they do this.[title=Evanescence Set Pulled From Christian Distribution ] In 2006, Amy Lee told Billboard that she had opposed being identified as a "Christian band" from the beginning.[title=Evanescence leader Lee unlocks 'Door' ]
Band members- Current
- Amy Lee – lead vocals, piano, keyboards (1995–present)
- Terry Balsamo – lead guitars (2003–present)
- Will Hunt – drums (2007–present)
- Tim McCord – bass (2006–present)
- Troy McLawhorn – rhythm guitars (2007–present)
- Former
- Ben Moody – lead guitars (1995–2003)
- David Hodges – keyboards, piano, drums, backing vocals (1999–2002)
- Rocky Gray – drums, percussion (2002–2007)
- John LeCompt – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (2002–2007)
- Will Boyd – bass (2003–2006)
- Session and live musicians
- James Black – rhythm guitars (live, 2009)
- Francesco DiCosmo – bass (session, 2003)
- David Eggar – cello (session/live, 2006)
- Josh Freese – drums, percussion (session, 2003)
- Stephanie Pierce – background vocals (live, 1999)
Discography- Studio albums
- Origin (2000; demo album)
- Fallen (2003)
- The Open Door (2006)
- Live albums
Awards and nominations- Grammy Awards
- MTV EMA Awards
- Kerrang! Awards
Copyright Citations
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