Evanescence (studio album) by Evanescence

The production on this record is awful, everything is compressed. Real sounds from real instruments please.

From soundguardian 01/01/2015 09:28

The third and final release from this mostly generic, but mostly enjoyable nonetheless, post-grunge-goth-rock nu metal outfit manifests itself as a far more mature effort than previous releases. That's clear from the creative direction Lee took on this one - smarter poetry, combining electronic elements into the mixture of very much Evanescency grinding guitars, and of course, Lee's signature vocals, which are broad and impacting.

These new elements, professes Lee, were inspired by the likes of electro-pop acts like MGMT, as well as classic trip-hop figures like Portishead, Massive Attack, and Bjork. And while I do appreciate that these provide abstraction and a new dimension to the sound, and while I can admire Lee's soul-searching efforts - a perquisition which fostered a love for spectacular music and an influential seedling within her mind - the album still reeks of a penchant for muddy guitarwork, sprinklings of piano, and weeping classical strings in favor of such sophisticated nuances. I don't hear these new electronic ideas presented as strongly or as passionately as Lee describes her newfound appraisal of trip-hop and electronic artforms, but some elements do creep into the mix. The potential of the eponymous album is clearly never fully realized, because the creative direction doesn't /really/ transform considerably; Lee's (et al) lyrics, on the other hand, became more cultivated with time, correlated with her evolution, from "where [she] was at that time of [her] life" during the production of Fallen and The Open Door.

Written: 1 January 2015
Rated: 70/100 on 1 January 2015

Good stuff there. Congrats!

A stronger set than the previous album. Feels like going to the opera when you listen to this group. While on many songs I find it hard to understand the lyrics, there are some merits here. They place a nice formula. Oceans was a standout. All said... band doesn't do it for me.

I was a very casual Evanescence fan prior to this release. This album blew me away. This is a real band effort. The songs flow into one another and the execution, production, and muscianship are flawless. The self titled LP is a masterpiece of songcraft. Truly underrated. The album should be a staple of every rock fan's collection.