Pros: Some gorgeous music, Lee's vocals are often beautiful, powerful at its best
Cons: One big, black brooding pity party. Not a very rewarding listen, not very consistent.
The Bottom Line: Looking for music to plan your suicide attempt to? Then this might be a regular in your CD collection. Often brilliant but Amy Lee does a lot of victim posturing.
Monnie1976's Full Review: The Open Door [Digipak] * by Evanescence
The first time I heard Fallen back in 2003 I was floored by the gorgeous confessional of pain and loss reflected in the thundering guitars, swirling vortex of pianos and strings and Amy Lee's tortured wail. "Bring Me to Life" was an anthem for all those desperately trying to climb out of a chasm; an emotional abyss if you will. "My Immortal" is a stunning portrait of grief with a delivery that was penetrating and captivating. So, of course, I was highly anticipating Evanescence's third album The Open Door. Yet the first time I placed my headphones on my ears to listen I was not drawn in. The beckoning beauty of Fallen was replaced with a more manipulative, calculated bid for my inner secrets. Instead of luring me to that enigmatic lake of inner turmoil, Evanescence seemed to be dragging me under and into dealing with their baggage.
Being a therapist I often have to listen to the emotional agonies of others. Fallen was like the first session where you experience their story unfolding and feel empathy and a bit of admiration for what they have endured. The latest album is more the tenth session where you feel exasperated because they haven't made any attempts to get to a better place and the individual just keep picking at the stitches of old wounds. If I were Lee's therapist I would be like "Are you going to keep whining or are you going to do something about it?"
The album kicks off with a triple play of three biting, angry rock anthems for the jaded. "Sweet Sacrifice" kicks off with some serious distortion, sonically and emotionally and the vocals are crisp yet oddly intoxicated as she slides around her range. It's a taunting, acidic song and the result is a spectacular opening. This leads into the first single "Call Me When Your Sober". Even though I know she's whining about her ex and reveling in all her codependent baggage I think its a strong single. It's no "Bring Me To Life" but it definitely has some power behind it with its adamant blitz of guitars and spiraling piano. The final song of the angry, seething trilogy is "Weight of The World" with its Middle Eastern motif running through the churning guitars. This song is probably the most descriptive of codependency. A psych book couldn't have characterized it better.
"Don't cling to me
I swear I can't fix you
Still in the dark
Can you fix me?"
"Lithium" is supposed to be this albums "My Immortal" but it falls considerably short. The song isn't without merit with its tragic ambiance but it lacks the intimacy and vulnerability of its predecessor. Sweeping sad strings,codependent guitars and Amy's sorrowful voice just doesn't weave the same web of grief and emptiness. There is a fleeting moment of passion that is much more developed on the breathtaking "Like You". You can feel this song as it crescendos and recedes like waves of grief pounding and ripping you apart. It's brilliant.
Unfortunately, "Lacrymosa" sounds like what Interview With A Vampire would sound like if it were on Broadway. Starting off with the brilliance of Mozart the song is promising but then this gothic choir sweeps in and the whole thing flies right over the top.
There are a few more experimental tracks on the album. "Cloud Nine" sounds a bit spooky and unsettling with its ghostly embellishments. A techno vibe percolates angrily underneath the raging guitars. Its like the score to an eighties horror movie. It's often interesting but ultimately unsatisfying. "Snow White Queen" also has a techno undercurrent with gothic trappings. I like this a bit but I'm not blown away by it. "The Only One" is a moody, atmospheric piece with a gorgeous piano melody and a brooding bass line. The stars align to make this song one of the more riveting moments on the album as well. "Your Star" shimmers and orbits nicely but unfortunately Lee's vocal is more strained than ethereal. Every time she belts out "star" it just sounds a bit off key.
"Lose Control" has a beautiful piano melody with caressing yet eerie voices drifting over the top. Despite the stunning beginning the song fails dramatically because once the guitars roar you can't even hear anything else. "All That I'm Living For" is a decent rocker with trademark gloomy depressed verses and then an aggressive chorus. "Good Enough" closes the album with piano and strings married in a dramatic, epic fashion. After a fairly long introduction, Lee's voice merges with the flow of the music and she delivers another fantastic ballad.
There are several aspects of this album that bog down what it has going for it. By the end of the album you feel like you've been carrying the weight of Amy Lee's inner world. You feel tired, dark and depressed yet you don't really feel any catharsis. Song after song about misery and feeling trapped gets claustrophobic. The brilliant moments (Like You, Weight of The World, The Only One) are lost in the midst of dramatic grandstanding (Lacrymosa, Your Star) and it makes for an exhausting, unrewarding listen. If you are a fan of Evanescence there is enough to appreciate here, but you can't help being a bit disappointed by the lack of growth.
On the band s highly anticipated 2006 album, The Open Door, Evanescence presents the full-length studio debut of its new line-up, after the departure ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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