Vocalist reflected on dilemmas from the band’s early days, as well as the great merits of “Fallen”, their most famous album
Released in March 2003, the band’s debut album Evanescence, Fallen, was a smashing success. It featured hits such as “Bring Me to Life”, “Going Under” and “My Immortal” and sold millions of copies worldwide — today, more than 10 million units are sold in the United States alone. Furthermore, it exposed the mainstream to a movement that fused gothic influences with a palatable rock/metal approach — to the point of making other groups with such inspirations (and also with female singers) reach stardom.
But none of this was easy. The vocalist and leader of the group, Amy Lee, always says in interviews that the path to success was quite exhausting. Not surprisingly, the group was founded in 1994, with Amy and the guitarist Ben Moody still teenagers, and only managed to release their first album almost a decade later.
In an interview with Kerrang!, Lee reflected on what he considers to be the biggest challenge faced by Evanescence throughout your initial walk. For the artist, dealing with the “commercial side” was always the most notable complication, as record companies did not believe in the success of a band with that sound and format — and she was not willing to change her art to meet already established standards. .
Fighting on the business side to get what we wanted was always very difficult. I always felt like it was my mission to fight for this. I was the one who thought: ‘if you make small changes, that’s fine, but if this whole idea changes, I don’t want that’. The whole point, for me, was to do something that I loved and believed in.
One of the biggest internal battles between Amy and the executives of Wind-upthe record label that released the band’s first album Evanescenceis related to the presence of male rap vocals — which were in vogue in rock/metal due to the growth of nu metal at that period.
In the artist’s words, if it weren’t for her, there would be rap “in eight of the 11 songs on the album”. They ended up managing to introduce the influence in one of the songs, “Bring Me to Life”, which features Paul McCoyfrontman of the band 12 Stones. But only.
There could be rap in eight of the 11 songs on the album. Fallen. Can you imagine this? How wrong would that have been? That turbulence, that stress, was horrible. They wanted us to audition for a rap rocker in the band and I thought, ‘Absolutely not, that’s not going to happen.’ So ‘Bring Me to Life’ was the ‘deal’.
Personal challenges and lasting work
Throughout your entire life, Amy Lee had personal battles. During her childhood, she lost her sister. Like several songs from Fallen were composed at different times, the singer put out a lot of her sadness. Briefly, she reflected on the Kerrang!:
It’s hard to explain what I was going through without saying a lot of things I don’t want. The truth is it was a rollercoaster.
More than 20 years later, however, Fallen remains one of the most important rock albums in the 21st century. Even under the distrust of Amywho had problems with his low self-esteem.
It was a constant for me to always be my biggest critic. You think you are ahead of everyone’s criticism because you already hated yourself first. But this is so unhealthy. Thoughts came like ‘No, never think positively about yourself’, ‘You’re just the singer, it doesn’t mean anything, anyone can sing’ and ‘You’re not skilled, just open your mouth’. It took a long time for this to disappear.
Finally, she celebrated the fact that Fallen having achieved a “long life” among fans. It was not a passing success.
I’m also impressed by what we’ve done with our band since then. And how it’s not just about the people who were there at the time making that record. Credit is due to the band now and all the work and love we put into Fallen all these years on stage. We’ve continued like this all these years: playing shows around the world, making new music, living it up with our fans. I know that when someone who only knows ‘Bring Me to Life’ comes to our show, they leave with a new impression that is much more than they thought. And that leads them to our music, old and new.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.