Pros: Heavy, crunchy, didn't forget the soft and dreamy. Insanely addictive.
Cons: Linkin Park vibes on Bring Me to Life
The Bottom Line: After writing a music review, abstract descriptions and thoughts are usually removed, but not here. Keep in mind I don't always hear/interpret music like a normal, sane person.
Fallen by Evanescence, an album that could have stalled hard had it been released in 1998 or '99 amidst the bubble gum groups. Changing up between grinding guitars, piano ballads, classy strings, and the Los Angeles Millennium Choir, Fallen is an album that seems like it could be so varied on paper, but ends up with a same-y sound throughout.
Fallen rests on a foundation of metal-esque crunchy guitars supplied by Ben Moody, also onboard, Josh Freese, and Francesco DiCosmo. When things turn sad and reflective, on piano and keyboards, David Hodges. Strangely enough, the official band line-up, and album credits don't quite agree, but these folks seem to head the studio effort.
However good these parts are (and they are good) not one is the core of this album. Like planets, all the musicians revolve around, and are effected by Amy Lee's every movement. Fallen as an album is powered, even rattled by the stout and emotionally drenched vocals of lead singer Amy Lee.
Time after time, on tracks like Going Under and Everybody’s Fool Lee’s vocals rip through the landscape created by her bandmates. Lee puts so much behind her warbling, and aching, that I swear she could lift herself off the ground with those pipes. Even though Lee can be forceful vocally, she can calm her torrid emotions on My Immortal and Taking Over Me and let slip tranquil yet incredibly wounded ballads.
Bring me back to life opens with a tinkling music box piano, followed by the deep bellyache of a whale. Only a high quality sound system or robust headphones could reproduce the very lowest octave of this sound. Between this, Amy sings as if in a fetal position, only to unfurl and fire up her vocal cords to match the pulsing and grinding of her band. Hello is one of the best piano ballads to come since anything by Tori Amos, or Fisher's I will love you. Opening with the sound of a string in the midst of a painful sigh, Hello begins to reminisce with longing piano work.
There are however little things that bother me. Like Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, he comes off like Linkin Park on his vocal contribution to Bring Me to Life. I know LP is all the rage, but I loathe the band, and I don’t want any Linkin in my Evanescence sandwich. I like the music and lyrics of Tourniquet until Amy Lee sings “ my God, my tourniquet return me to salvation.”
I have to respect Amy for singing in what she believes in, but it’s a total turn-off for me. In spite of that, on Tourniquet Amy takes two simple words “crimson regret” and wrings more emotion in hindsight than anyone would think possible. It almost seems that I could roll up those two words and smash other records with them, or just roll them flat and wrap myself up in them.
The sound of constantly yearning, reaching out, and sadness are always present. Amy Lee's torment is always in plain sight, yet the source is not always clear. Amy Lee's pain seems to move from love and relationships lost, to betrayal on Everybody’s Fool. You can "hear" her smokey eyes, black hair and tattooed tears even without ever seeing Amy.
Without rest Fallen is constantly twisting, turning, writhing, struggling to escape an emotional straitjacket. Amy Lee’s vocal assault on your emotions never ends, it absolutely never takes a breath, it's unrelenting, and emotionally exhausting on some level. I can hear plenty of female singers smile when they sing, but I never hear that from Amy Lee, not once.
The Sound
Much credit for the well above average sound on Fallen goes to Dave Fortman, Jay Daumgardner, Ted Jensen, and even Moody (among others) for producing, mixing and mastering Fallen. So what's different here? Fallen doesn't sound mashed together like virtually every pop, rock or metal record I've heard. For the most part, there never seems to be too many things happening at once.
Instruments usually sit in their own space, and this adds air and depth to the sound stage. Helping this along, the music stops, shifts and even hiccups often enough to allow the gentle tickle of piano keys, Amy's vocal struts, strings and choral arrangements to stand out. It's like the reverse of using a highlighter pen, it works well, but sadly it's rarely done, or done well at that. A great man in the music biz once said "it's not what you put in, but what you leave out that matters the most" touche.
Putting It All Together
I know that fans and writers will be quick to pigeonhole Evanescence even if the act is unintentional. But without question, various influences and genres run throughout Fallen. Tori Amos can be heard on Hello, Shirley Manson always seems to be hanging out in the green room, and a hint of Goth perfume wafts in and out. But the beauty of Evanescence and Fallen at the moment, is that the band isn't trying to be anything in particular. The band's many layers and influences, along with the their own unique signature is their strength. This will not only shore them up against casual dismissal, but guarantee this album has long legs.
In spite of what others love to repeat, this is not a religious record. Countless albums find singers expressing their spirituality, or religion, and they are not religious records per se. Using that logic, Alanis' Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie would be the number one religious record of all time. Those that favor metal and Goth will steer Fallen in that direction. Many Christian music web-sites are "claiming" Fallen in some fashion.
Moody and lead singer Amy Lee met at church camp as youths. For whatever reason, fans of Christian music feel Fallen belongs to them. There very rarely has been anything spectacular coming from Christian pop/rock and rap (cringe) and this is an opportunity to grab hold of something intense and moving. In this sense, I foresee many groups jockeying for position, to claim ownership in some way. Honestly, I shouldn't criticize anybody for such things; because in a strange celebrity stalker kind of way, I feel as if Fallen and Amy in particular, belong to me.
Although the band s name may suggest a sudden vanishing, the music of Evanescence is poised for longevity. Fallen, the Wind-up Records debut of this t...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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