Originally published by L.S. Media. October 16th 2011.
L.S.Media Rating: ***
There was only one way that Amy Lee could go after 2008’s The Open Door and that was to gather herself together, forget the past and strive to regain the delight in performing and making records that would match the ideal and superb debut album her band Evanescence achieved in what seems alife time ago.
Although The Open Door had its moments it felt uncompleted, there was too much of the negativity to be found within the album that was obviously spilling out from the destruction of the band. In the self-titled new release, Amy Lee and her new group of musicians that make up Evanescence have almost got there, it’s not quite got the appeal of Fallen but in terms of music it’s vastly superior to the previous album.
It may have taken its time to come out, the band have been working on it for over two years, but if Amy Lee can call it fun then there really isn’t anyone who can argue with her. And it is fun, there is a lot to take from an album and it seems that Amy Lee has moved on finally from what can only be described as downbeat and almost uninspiring. It certainly seems as though the band have learned from mistakes and fall outs to make an album that is genuinely touching and a huge step in the right direction back to the idealistic/fatalistic Rock that fans fell in love with first time round.
There are some excellent songs to be found within and some extraordinary lyrics that if you listen to them will make you understand Amy just that little bit more. Songs such as Erase This, Lost in Paradise, with the chilling line “If I was Human”, and End of the Dream all go towards to show that Evanescence are not just a band that will be remembered for one great album and one very average one. In Amy Lee they have a true talent that deserves to be very highly thought of and a group of musicians alongside her who can finally match her potential.
The band release the second single from the album, My Heart is Broken on October 31st.