Evanescence rewrite history

[The_Sacrificed]

EVANESCENCE’S Amy Lee is rewriting history on the band’s new album.

Their fourth release Synthesis is the opposite of an unplugged effort — rather Lee has re-recorded the band’s old material an even more dramatic and bombastic manner, with a full orchestra and heavy electronics.

That includes their breakthrough 2003 hit Bring Me To Life. And there’s something missing from the version you know — that rap, by guest vocalist Paul McCoy.

“God bless the rap, it’s part of what got us on the radio I guess,” Lee says. “At least according to all the rules of radio that I don’t agree with or understand. The rap wasn’t part of our original idea or sound, it was a compromise in many ways. So to be able to go back to the original vision for the song was great.”

It’s not uncommon for an artist to go back and record their songs — Lee embraced being to able to revisit the band’s signature hit after performing it live at every concert they’ve played since it was release.

“The recording of a song that ends being the one you hear the most through history is usually when the song was just freshly written. You’re still learning it yourself and getting used to what the notes are and how the parts go. That’s true for Bring Me to Life for sure. After doing it live for so long there’s different vocal choices I’ve made and different things we got to use in this version.”

And no rap.

“I forget the rap’s there now to be honest,” Lee says. “At the time it was a big issue, it was our first single. I wanted people to understand who we were. That’s a struggle you always fight as an artist. If we only had the one hit, if no one ever heard from us again then nobody would understand who we were. We’ve made it past that point so the rap doesn’t make me angry any more. I’m so glad to put a new version out there without the rap though.”

Similarly there’s an adult version of another Evanescence anthem, My Immortal — like Bring Me To Life it’s been the subject of countless covers and soundtracked many moody memes.

Lee admits My Immortal almost got cut from Synthesis.

“People have heard it so many times, I’m pretty open about the fact it’s not one of my favourite songs, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to totally re-record it again.”

Despite a “band” version being recorded for their 17 million-selling debut album Fallen, most fans and radio gravitated to the early version of My Immortal, which Lee recorded as a teenager sneaking into the studio her dad worked at after hours.

“I hate that version. I totally hate it. It’s an old demo from before we were even signed. Every time I hear it gets under my skin, but that’s the version most people play. I love the album version we did. But I wanted to do a new version so people know where I am vocally as a 35-year-old with all of this experience I have now behind me. As opposed to when I was 17. It’s beautiful because it’s pure and innocent but I was definitely still finding my voice.

“I want this version to be at the top on Spotify, if someone googles My Immortal I hope this version comes up. At least for a few months!”

Synthesis is a passion project for Lee and David Campbell (aka Beck’s dad and one of America’s top arrangers) who has worked on each Evanescence album.

“It’s cool to create something people don’t expect,” Lee says. “I enjoy that probably a bit too much. I wanted to combine that classical, orchestral world and the electronic programming — both those sides have been in our music before, but this is making it all about those two extreme parts.”

By the time of self-titled third album in 2011, Lee had been through the wringer with the business side of the music business. Band members (including founders and songwriters Ben Moody and Dave Holmes) had left, there’d been legal wrangling with her record label who even rejected the first attempt at their self-titled release.

Lee had started saying in interviews Evanescence might be over, started doing solo work and in 2014 had her son Jack, to husband Josh Hartzler, the inspiration behind Bring Me To Life.

Last year Lee even released a children’s album with covers of everything from Sesame Street’s Rubber Duckie to the Beatles’ Hello Goodbye (with Jack on vocals) which shattered her intense goth image

“I wouldn’t say I hated the band, but I’ve more than once had to have that moment after the end of a tour or album cycle where I say ‘I think I’m done, I don’t think I want to do this any more, it’s too hard’,” Lee admits

“Between keeping everyone together and happy, all the politics, all the business, all the crap, all the people trying to take advantage of you — it felt a lot of the time I have to fight so hard just to do the thing I want to do which is make and perform music, That fight was a full time job in itself. I’ve gone over and down the mountain again a few times in my life where I was going to quit. But I’ve only said it to myself. I don’t like making big statements, I just like knowing I have the freedom that if I want to stop it’s up to me. Any time I start to feel those marketing thoughts like ‘This feels smart from a business sense’ I hate it, I can’t do it. It’s gross in my mouth.”

Lee is so excited about Synthesis she has formed a tour around the project, with Evanescence picking up orchestras in each state.

“There is a more expensive option which is touring around with 30 extra people but I am not on that level!,” Lee jokes.

The singer is also curating an opening set where the guest orchestral musicians will perform some of Lee’s favourite classical pieces that inspired Evanescence songs.

“What I want to do is what I want to hear from other artists and that’s something real. I don’t want to be sold anything. Left and right, all day on my phone, people are trying to sell me stuff. I don’t want to be part of that. I don’t want to sell something, I want to say something real.

“If that means I have to take off for three years and work out if that’s going to be another Evanescence record or some weird solo project or movie project, until it’s something real then I think that’s right. I don’t feel like that right now, I gave myself that space, I’m really passionate about this project. I’ve poured a tonne of work into it. I’m ready to show people to see what they think of it. And then trying my best to not care too much because if they don’t like it I still love it and I’m going to stand behind it.”

Indeed after being written off, next year marks 15 years since Evanescence’s break through.

“I’m very proud of who I am after all we’ve been through,” Lee says. “We’ve been through plenty of changes, plenty of horrible stuff. I feel like I trust my band. There’s a mutual respect going on, I didn’t have that in the early days. Things changed a lot of times — constant struggle and change. The dream wasn’t to be changing, it was to be set, have a family and a team. I feel like we’re at that place right now. That’s another reason I feel motivated to make more music and go out on tour. When the team isn’t strong and everyone’s fighting and it’s unhealthy it makes it seem to hard. If I’m not going to be supported I’ll just go and do something else. That’s not where we’re at, we’re in a good place.”

Soure

[Rarkphoenix]

Great article. Lots of new info and a really interesting delve into her mindset right now. This is a good sign too. I know she pretty much always says something along the lines of "this is the strongest line up we've ever had" everytime there's a big transition in the band, but it feels even more genuine now (not that it wasn't in the past). There's real tangible chemistry now, not just in a musical sense, but in a group sense, which to me is the most important. If you wind up finishing each other's sentences and just enjoying each other's company, that's a real band. I feel like we're probably going to keep this lineup for a while yet. This is what I felt like not long after Troy and Will joined, but I feel like Terry's departure was more personal than rooted in any animosity. Part of me felt like he wanted to see an Evanescence outside of Wind Up and he got it, but that life on the road wasn't for him anymore.

The My Immortal thing is weird for me. I'm glad she's so honest about it, but it seems strange to me having such a strong dislike of music you've written, as I tend to find that anything I dislike to that degree never reaches completion. I don't know if it just brings back negative memories or that she wasn't able to put enough of her art into what was essentially Ben's creation to fulfill herself in the first place, as it seems weird to me that she could have possibly changed so much that she now despises who she was or what My Immortal represented. Unless it's purely embarrassment, as I can definitely relate to that. Anyway, I guess it's a moot point, but I feel bad for her feeling forced to play it for our sake. I hope her decision to include it in Synthesis creates a version of it that can finally put the original to rest in her mind and create something she now loves.

[princeofpersia]

“Between keeping everyone together and happy, all the politics, all the business, all the crap, all the people trying to take advantage of you — it felt a lot of the time I have to fight so hard just to do the thing I want to do which is make and perform music, That fight was a full time job in itself. I’ve gone over and down the mountain again a few times in my life where I was going to quit. But I’ve only said it to myself. I don’t like making big statements, I just like knowing I have the freedom that if I want to stop it’s up to me. Any time I start to feel those marketing thoughts like ‘This feels smart from a business sense’ I hate it, I can’t do it. It’s gross in my mouth.”

I'd probably be out of words if I try to express all my feelings but I just hope you too understand how I, how we, appreciate all your hard efforts during all these years. for being strong and going on. for us. for always being there when we need 'you' and your music the most. for being the "Amy Lee" that we still admire and still makes us proud and amazed. Thanks for keeping our favorite band and music alive. Thanks for everything you've done for us which always been with honesty, integrity, commitment and no expectation in return.
And one big special thank you for never "trying to sell" your talent and art to the people who trust you even for one single time.

[Rarkphoenix]

Oct 3, 2017 14:01:15 GMT -5 princeofpersia said:

And one big special thank you for never "trying to sell" your talent and art to the people who trust you even for one single time.

I think it helps a lot that she knows she couldn't sell her talent in any inauthentic way. She's built a career on authenticity and she knows that the fanbase will notice and call her out on it if she ever submitted to these numerous and sometimes oppressive voices. Irony is starting to come home to roost in that institutions entirely focussed upon making sales are actually starting to lose out to bands like Evanescence with the way the music industry is changing. It now not only feels good to follow her heart, but it also pays, too. If (not that this would ever happen), but someone in the Ev camp suggested that they do precisely what another band is doing, we'd pick up on it (hey, there was even a bit of backlash with the whole boxset thing, even though they did that in a creative way) and they'd start losing fans. I actually admire that even under Wind Up when their hands were well and truly tied, there were elements of somewhat cynical appeasement (to this day I'm convinced that Sick was designed as a purposely simplistic and inherently sarcastic 'hard rock' Evanescence song to reflect the lyrics that were blatantly criticising this kind of culture in music - I point you to this moment in the Athens show in 2012 link).

People are far more likely to remain fans of artists who have integrity and to spend more money on them because they're not just supporting music they like, but also the ideology behind that, that the people who make the music feel more relatable and genuine. It's why in pop music, the manufactured element is more 'evanescent' and ephemeral and artists with authenticity tend to survive and flourish, whether or not their music has a convincing hook or makes a good, polished first impression.

Edit: Also, going massively off topic here, but has anyone else noticed that there's a thing with a lot of authentic and creative bands where they give themselves really ironic names (eg: Evanescence, Tool)?

[turdyturderson]

Oct 3, 2017 15:00:53 GMT -5 Rarkphoenix said:

Oct 3, 2017 14:01:15 GMT -5 princeofpersia said:

And one big special thank you for never "trying to sell" your talent and art to the people who trust you even for one single time.

I think it helps a lot that she knows she couldn't sell her talent in any inauthentic way. She's built a career on authenticity and she knows that the fanbase will notice and call her out on it if she ever submitted to these numerous and sometimes oppressive voices. Irony is starting to come home to roost in that institutions entirely focussed upon making sales are actually starting to lose out to bands like Evanescence with the way the music industry is changing. It now not only feels good to follow her heart, but it also pays, too. If (not that this would ever happen), but someone in the Ev camp suggested that they do precisely what another band is doing, we'd pick up on it (hey, there was even a bit of backlash with the whole boxset thing, even though they did that in a creative way) and they'd start losing fans. I actually admire that even under Wind Up when their hands were well and truly tied, there were elements of somewhat cynical appeasement (to this day I'm convinced that Sick was designed as a purposely simplistic and inherently sarcastic 'hard rock' Evanescence song to reflect the lyrics that were blatantly criticising this kind of culture in music - I point you to this moment in the Athens show in 2012 link).

People are far more likely to remain fans of artists who have integrity and to spend more money on them because they're not just supporting music they like, but also the ideology behind that, that the people who make the music feel more relatable and genuine. It's why in pop music, the manufactured element is more 'evanescent' and ephemeral and artists with authenticity tend to survive and flourish, whether or not their music has a convincing hook or makes a good, polished first impression.

Edit: Also, going massively off topic here, but has anyone else noticed that there's a thing with a lot of authentic and creative bands where they give themselves really ironic names (eg: Evanescence, Tool)?

[


She actually confirmed that Sick was about the label. Too lazy to root through all the interviews because I’ve watched and listened to so many so many times

[TDS]

Oct 3, 2017 13:11:14 GMT -5 The_Sacrificed said:

The singer is also curating an opening set where the guest orchestral musicians will perform some of Lee’s favourite classical pieces that inspired Evanescence songs.

Soure

Yessss I was so scared of getting only one hour of show.

I am glad that Amy feels free to do whatever she believes is good for the band. I am glad she got the opportunity to be as sincere and honest as she always wanted to be. When you think about it, Amy is very lucky. Evanescence has a solid fanbase of die hard fans, Amy was able to preserve the integrity of the band and they are still making headlines. It's impressive.

I wish the journalists would go more in depth with their interviews. I am also frustrated because they are obviously targeted to the non-fans too, but so many questions are left unanswered. Why Terry left? Why this choice of tracklist? Should we Tim, Troy and Will to play different instruments too?

Guys, the first show is NEXT week! I am so excited

[mydnyghtamethyst]

Nice article but...David Holmes? :/

[Rarkphoenix]

Oct 3, 2017 18:39:15 GMT -5 mydnyghtamethyst said:

Nice article but...David Holmes? :/

Elementary, my dear Watson.

[justanillusion]

I, too, loved the interview and the new stuff about the old stuff that we learned. It's always better than reading the same things over and over and over again.


However, every time I read something like I just like knowing I have the freedom that if I want to stop it’s up to me, my heart skips a beat. Yes, after so many times she's said it! I just can't help it.