21 Evanescence’s Hidden Gem Songs
And songs that “Bring Me To Life”.
I remember borrowing my mom’s Nokia 6600 just to listen to Bring Me To Life when I was in 3rd grade. The song was everywhere at that time; radio, TV, mp3 player (I never have that, but here I’m referring to free songs you got from the toko komputer guy when you purchased a computer or laptop), you name it.
It continued when I was in my last year of high school. I was into Paramore at that time and also other rock bands, including Avenged Sevenfold, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and some Radiohead and Linkin Park. I believed that their songs could keep me awake, as my studying schedule was extended for some reason (you know, finals and stuff). I happened to find Sweet Sacrifice on my parents’ computer, and so it brought me to search their other metally hits on Apple Music. My picks were Going Under, Cloud Nine and My Heart Is Broken.
It is now easier to revisit albums and songs you used to rave on on online music streaming platforms. This year, Evanescence is the go-to artist I religiously listen to 24/7. They’ve got rock and classical infused in all songs, which are great companions to focus on my work and reading time, and somehow invoke my little virtuoso self.
There’s a moment I discovered another method to enjoy their songs by playing each album without shuffle the player, just like when you use a cassette or CD. That’s how I found the “hidden gems” in all of the records. I know some artist that also gives the same experience to their albums, e.g. Billie Eilish does the experience in her first and sophomore albums — *no fade-out between one song to another, which I think this is a great idea to keep the listeners stay tune with each album.
(*Let me be honest that I‘m not 100% sure about the exact term, but that’s how I think of it).
1. Fallen (2003)
Their first album is more than a zero skip album. Covered with dark lyrics and ferocious tones, Fallen is mostly the reason why fans still have their fond memory of the emo phase.
Not long ago, I found their earlier gig in a local coffee shop playing Whisper, Imaginary, and several never-released songs of their early career. It turns out the songs were actually included in their Origin album, one that was the “blueprint” of Fallen. If you look on Genius, there are other demo albums they have, but only some that are finally in the 2003 album. In fact, there was a pre-released Fallen, namely Mystary.
The hidden gems can be found from the long orchestral outro of Tourniquet that connects to the melodramatic intro of Imaginary. Interestingly, that particular outro was almost the actual intro in Imaginary, according to Mystary version. Whether they correlate with each other or not, the experience is such a good start for listeners to absorb the underlying expressions of the band’s identity.
2. The Open Door (2006)
The name of the album itself might be more of “the open door” of the band’s true self. You’ve heard all angsty lyrics and tones in the previous album. Here, the band, especially the frontwoman, Amy Lee, wants to take you to the theatrical side of her persona as a singer-pianist, as well as what the band actually wants to bring to the audience.
In an interview, she revealed that her inspiration firstly came from Mozart and Bach, then other artists she was into, such as Nirvana, Björk, Soundgarden, and many more. No wonder you will find a song entitled Lacrymosa in the 7th track, as it is originally written by Mozart, also under the name Lacrimosa, but is seasoned with the band’s character of being cinematic metal. Other living proofs are the slow-but-melodic Lithium, the glaring Call Me When You’re Sober, and the balladic Good Enough (great song to play with the piano too).
The interlink between Like You and Lose Control is as if a sign that the sophomore album not only is about mashing popular genres but also about the journey from a woeful state of mind to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The 8th track, Like You, is rather slow in tempo and gives a frosty atmosphere up to the intro of Lose Control, the 9th track. The song starts with a shadowy sound followed by a light misty piano intro, then continues with the progressive guitar sound and her iconic powerhouse voice.
3. Evanescence (2011)
After almost 5 years of hiatus, the band was back with their 3rd album of the Self-Titled. Having experienced losing band members in the last 2 albums doesn’t make the frontwoman and the new members stop experimenting with their record. Lyrically and musically, this 2011 album could be the mature version of the 2003 album Fallen.
You can prove it from the 1st song, What You Want, which begins still with a powerful punchy bass drum and chunky guitar. However, if you listen to it carefully, you will notice some synth beats between the drum sound in the background. The first verse speaks like this:
Do what you what you want, if you have a dream for a better / Do what you what you want, ’til you don’t want it anymore (Remember who you really are)…
The overall intro seems like a note from the songwriters that hurdle, hopelessness, and anger are inevitable, yet they make us stronger. It continues with overcoming uneasy transformation in the 3rd song The Change after all best effort.
But how can I forgive you? / You’ve changed! / And I’m a liar by your side / I’m about to lose my mind…
The song ends with a long sustain sound from the guitar that fades out in My Heart Is Broken, in exchange for the atmospheric piano intro (other soothing notes to play with the piano). The bridge of this 4th song, in coincidence, acts as the response of the same section in the 3rd song:
Change, open your eyes to the light / I denied it for so long, oh so long / Say goodbye, goodbye…
4. Lost Whispers (2016)
Lost Whispers is another experience to test the “How Massive EV Fan Are You” quiz if it existed. Long story short, in late 2020, one of my wishes to get into classical songs was granted because it was part of my therapy prescription (yes, listening to a lot of fast-tempo songs affects your adrenaline, my therapist said). As a substitute, I picked and chose their rather calmer and classical songs.
One of the songs I put in the playlist was Breathe No More. I was wondering why there’s the “B-Side Version” annotation next to the song title, as it sounds like a cassette plus EV being a band from the early 00s. Then, in the mid of this year, I found Missing having 2 different album artwork; another one is in Anywhere But Home (2004) live album. Now it makes sense that this 2016 album is all about their pre and post-release albums from the Origin EP (2000) era up to Evanescence (2011).
The “2016 Version” label in Even In Death is to differentiate the song from its Origin version. It wasn’t with piano in the first place (I 98% prefer the 2016 version still, but I saved the 2000 version as well on my YouTube Music just for a different experience). If you watch their live performances in 2004, you will notice they bringing Farther Away on the stage that turns out from Mystary, along with Breathe No More which was a demo song long before the 2003 album. Missing is also another one that was neither in the album nor EP from their earlier official releases.
Honorable mentions are given to Together Again, which was released in 2010 as a single, If You Don’t Mind that performed in Brazil in 2012, and Secret Door that actually embodies more for the Self-Titled 2011 album.
5. Synthesis (2017)
My first impression of the album’s name was “there’s gotta be a lot of modern sounds that incorporate within the previous tracks.” Speaking of which, the word “synthesis” itself means a combination of parts or elements to form a whole. The “synth” in this album can also be the synthetic music element that still combines the symphonic identity that the band has from the start.
The result of the combo is obvious from the long hum at the end of Lacrymosa (from The Open Door) that lasts until the first chorus of End of the Dream (from Evanescence). You will also travel the time a bit to the 2003 era of Fallen, where Imaginary finally has a fresher and more cinematic intro from Unraveling, which at the same time is the interlude of the album. Lastly, a vibrating tune from the outro of Lost in Paradise (from Evanescence) keeps creeping in until the second verse of Your Star (from The Open Door).
6. The Bitter Truth (2021)
Emo is not dead, and never be. Likewise, EV that we’re listening to in The Bitter Truth album is what EV is now. Despite keeping the metallic and operatic attributes of the songs, it is not an experiment to find what they’re capable of anymore. All experiences from the emo phase in the first album to the orchestral remastered in the 2017 album become happier, encouraging, and optimistic today, as seen from the very first track:
Where do we go now? / Find a way to go back / To go back home / To who we are…
These are the last 4 lines from the 1st track of the album, Artifact/The Turn, in which you can still hear the outro of Amy Lee’s ethereal vocal that ties to the intro of the 2nd track, Broken Pieces Shine. There are a number of times this song saves me-being-twentysomethings phase. I realized that the song lyrics fit as the sister of What You Want from the 2011 album, except this time the beat is slower and the synth element is more obvious:
I know you’re with me, so what if we do fall apart? / Shamelessly be who we are / And let all the broken pieces shine…
Anyhow, the 8th track, Use My Voice, is the nominee for the Best Rock category on MTV’s VMA 2021. Thus, use your voice to vote before 9/12!
