Evanescence's "Lost In Paradise" bows at #99. This is vying to become the group's fourth top 10 hit. The group's third album, Evanescence, enters The Billboard 200 at #1 this week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Lost In Paradise" debuts at #53. "What You Want" bows at #118.
Source: music.yahoo.com
Evanescence's self-titled third album is in stores now.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Evanescence 'Thrilled' By #1 Billboard Debut
'We made an album we're really proud of and now we get to watch it fly,' Amy Lee tells MTV News.
On Wednesday (October 19), Evanescence officially completed their comeback when it was announced that their self-titled third album would top next week's Billboard albums chart, with sales of more than 127,000 copies.It's the band's second-consecutive #1 debut: As any Ev fan surely knows, their last was five years ago, when The Open Door bowed atop the charts in 2006.
And in the time since, they've shed members, gone on a hiatus and, as frontwoman Amy Lee told MTV News, very nearly called it quits entirely.
So you can certainly understand why Lee and her bandmates are feeling so happy today. In an e-mail to MTV News, the singer decided to share a bit of that happiness with us and with Evanescence's fanbase.
"What can I say, we're thrilled about it!" she wrote. "We made an album that we're really proud of and now we get to watch it fly. We weren't expecting this and we're just so grateful to our fans."
It's certainly been a long road back. After coming back together, Evanescence holed up with producer Nick Raskulinecz in Nashville and unveiled the fruits of that labor to MTV News in July. They then premiered the first single, "What You Want," live on MTV in August and played a raucous release-day show in Los Angeles last week.
They'll play a run of U.S. and U.K. shows until early November, and, armed with a #1 album, they're planning a full-blown Stateside tour in early January.
Source: mtv.com
Evanescence Nets Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart
Rock band Evanescence returns to the Billboard 200 chart, scoring its second No. 1 album, as its self-titled third set bows with 127,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. The act, led by singer Amy Lee, last released an album in 2006, when "The Open Door" debuted at No. 1 with 447,000.
The new set's first single, "What You Want," rises 15-13 on the Rock Songs airplay chart this week, while also holding a bullet at No. 17 on the Alternative Songs tally. The group's first album, 2003's "Fallen," spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hits "Bring Me To Life" (No. 5) and "My Immortal" (No. 7).
Source: billboard.com
The new set's first single, "What You Want," rises 15-13 on the Rock Songs airplay chart this week, while also holding a bullet at No. 17 on the Alternative Songs tally. The group's first album, 2003's "Fallen," spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hits "Bring Me To Life" (No. 5) and "My Immortal" (No. 7).
Source: billboard.com
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Taylor Momsen Calls Opening For Evanescence 'Surreal'
Pretty Reckless singer tells MTV News, 'Evanescence was one of the first shows I ever went to.'
"Evanescence was one of the first shows I ever went to," the singer and former "Gossip Girl" actress told MTV News last week, right before her band, the Pretty Reckless, opened for Evanescence at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
"I'm a big fan of Evanescence, so it's really exciting to be opening for them," she told us.
The accolades went both ways: Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee had nothing but nice things to say about the young rocker.
"She's got a great voice; she's real sweet," Lee said with a smile, laughing that being one of Momsen's first concerts makes her feel "old, but very, very flattered."
The 18-year-old Momsen has been on tour since her band's debut album, Light Me Up, was released last year. "We've been touring a lot overseas lately, so it's definitely a lot of fun to be back in the States," she told us.
Describing her band's performance style, Momsen revealed, "We never really have a set list. We kind of go up and play whatever and work it out onstage. It keeps it exciting that it's different every night."
As far as writing material for a second album, she said, "We're always writing. We're just figuring out now how to write on the road, which is definitely a different type of process."
Source: mtv.com
Monday, October 17, 2011
Evanescence Discuss Gear and New Album
In 2007, after a five-year roller coaster that zipped out two multi-platinum studio albums, a live album, a string of tours and band lineup changes, Amy Lee decided to give her band, Evanescence, a break.
So for nearly three years, Lee spent time with her husband, Josh Hartzler, fixed up her New York home and experienced life.
“It was good, because I didn't make any kind of plan,” Lee told Guitar World while she was in San Francisco preparing to play the first U.S. date on the new tour. “I didn't think about what was next for Evanescence or me. I just thought if I get inspired, then I'll know.”
In 2009, Lee started writing and obsessing about music again.
“I started missing the band more and more,” she said. “I missed the guys and wanted to work together again.”
The result is the band's new self-titled album that was released in the U.S. on October 11. The album, produced by Steve Lillywhite and Nick Raskulinecz, wouldn't have sounded the same if it weren't for Lee's perfectionism and current band that includes lead guitarist Terry Balsamo, rhythm guitarist Troy McLawhorn, bassist Tim McCord and drummer Will Hunt.
Guitar World caught up with Lee, Balsamo and McLawhorn to discuss the break, the new album and guitars. During the interviews, Guitar World learned both Balsamo's and McLawhorn's early influence was Kiss. While Balsamo dug the flamboyant riffs of Ace Frehley, McLawhorn wanted to be drummer Peter Criss.
Lee, on the other hand dabbled in classical music and fell in love with the music climate of the 1990s. The new album reflects those influences, and brings Evanescence to a new level.
GUITAR WORLD: Who were the music heroes that made you want to play guitar?
Balsamo: The first thing musically that came into my life was Elton John, but guitar-wise it was Ace Frehley and then Angus Young.
McLawhorn: I'm not exactly sure. I started off wanting to be a drummer. I was a huge Peter Criss fan as a kid, but my dad and grandfather played acoustic guitar and there was always one laying around the house. I think I got more serious about the guitar when I was 10. We moved into a new neighborhood and this kid down the street who became my best friend throughout school was a really good drummer. He was eight years old and was already pounding the drums. So in an effort to jam, I started to pick up his dad's guitar and tried to learn "Crazy Train" or an AC/DC song. I joined Columbia House record club and got the first Van Halen album. Eddie was incredible and was a whole new level and a new ballgame. He's still one of my favorite guitar players. My top three guitarists are Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons and Rick Nielsen.
As you started playing guitar more regularly, did it ever occur to you to play professionally?
Balsamo: It always seemed to me that something was going to come out of it. I felt that if I kept going after it, it would pay off. After I graduated high school, I asked (myself) if I wanted to keep doing it and then Pantera came along and that made me say, “Yes, by all means.”
McLawhorn: As a kid, you don't have a choice. You ask your parents and, if you're lucky, they'll buy you something. There was a little music store down the street and I saw this Lotus Explorer guitar. It was huge and I still have it.
What is your guitar of choice?
Balsamo: For many years it was my Ibanez and I still use Ibanez, but on this last recording, the producer kept asking me to use a Gibson. The Gibson was always something I would use while recording to get different tones, but I started playing it a little more live lately. I also love Charvel guitars. Every guitar we used on the song, we play live.
McLawhorn: If I had my choice, it would have been a Strat, Les Paul or an SG. For the past 10 years, I've been using PRS and Les Paul, exclusively. I also have a Fender Telecaster that I love, but I doesn't fit the music I play and I don't want to change out the pickups and get rid of that twangy sound and all that. On tour I'm using a PRS Baritone and a seven-string Gibson Flying V, they just came out with.
Tell us your experience making the new album.
Lee: We spent a lot of time together writing songs and we have tons of music. We have more than enough for the album and have a lot left for next time. We had a lot of writing sessions with me, Terry and Tim, this time. We also did a lot of writing as a whole band. All of us sat in a circle with our instruments and did jam sessions until we came up with a cool idea. Sometimes I come up with a start on my own and then we would collaborate, but it's awesome to have so many great musicians in the band. Sometimes I'll get an idea and not have that pressure to flesh the whole thing out by myself. There are four other people coming up with their own ideas, too.
Balsamo: We wrote a whole lot this time. There are two or three songs that we wrote together, things just flowed well. We were thinking the same thing, but we had to make sure we worked together, without us playing the exact same parts. So there is the same riff, but two things going on at the same time. During the recording process, we fed of each other and tried to make things really tight.
After taking that long break, did you feel the pressure as you began working on the new album?
Lee: There is always that pressure. I'm an obsessor. I want to make something great. We've already made two awesome records and I never want to put anything out that I think isn't better than what we last did. The challenge was finding the vision of what we wanted to do, because I felt a great sense of freedom creatively. After making those two albums, I felt like, "OK, I can do whatever I want, and if it is going to be a new Evanescence album, should it be a crazy departure?"
After a couple of years of writing and experimenting, we felt like we discovered the album.
Was there a question about you all playing together again?
Balsamo: I knew we would do it again, it was just a matter of when.
McLawhorn: After we finished the tour in 2007, we all went off and did other things. I didn't know what was going to happen. I had another band and assumed I was finished with Evanescence, but when things started going bad with the other band, I called Amy and she said she was ready to make another album and would love me to be a part of it.
guitarworld.com
So for nearly three years, Lee spent time with her husband, Josh Hartzler, fixed up her New York home and experienced life.
“It was good, because I didn't make any kind of plan,” Lee told Guitar World while she was in San Francisco preparing to play the first U.S. date on the new tour. “I didn't think about what was next for Evanescence or me. I just thought if I get inspired, then I'll know.”
In 2009, Lee started writing and obsessing about music again.
“I started missing the band more and more,” she said. “I missed the guys and wanted to work together again.”
The result is the band's new self-titled album that was released in the U.S. on October 11. The album, produced by Steve Lillywhite and Nick Raskulinecz, wouldn't have sounded the same if it weren't for Lee's perfectionism and current band that includes lead guitarist Terry Balsamo, rhythm guitarist Troy McLawhorn, bassist Tim McCord and drummer Will Hunt.
Guitar World caught up with Lee, Balsamo and McLawhorn to discuss the break, the new album and guitars. During the interviews, Guitar World learned both Balsamo's and McLawhorn's early influence was Kiss. While Balsamo dug the flamboyant riffs of Ace Frehley, McLawhorn wanted to be drummer Peter Criss.
Lee, on the other hand dabbled in classical music and fell in love with the music climate of the 1990s. The new album reflects those influences, and brings Evanescence to a new level.
GUITAR WORLD: Who were the music heroes that made you want to play guitar?
Balsamo: The first thing musically that came into my life was Elton John, but guitar-wise it was Ace Frehley and then Angus Young.
McLawhorn: I'm not exactly sure. I started off wanting to be a drummer. I was a huge Peter Criss fan as a kid, but my dad and grandfather played acoustic guitar and there was always one laying around the house. I think I got more serious about the guitar when I was 10. We moved into a new neighborhood and this kid down the street who became my best friend throughout school was a really good drummer. He was eight years old and was already pounding the drums. So in an effort to jam, I started to pick up his dad's guitar and tried to learn "Crazy Train" or an AC/DC song. I joined Columbia House record club and got the first Van Halen album. Eddie was incredible and was a whole new level and a new ballgame. He's still one of my favorite guitar players. My top three guitarists are Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons and Rick Nielsen.
As you started playing guitar more regularly, did it ever occur to you to play professionally?
Balsamo: It always seemed to me that something was going to come out of it. I felt that if I kept going after it, it would pay off. After I graduated high school, I asked (myself) if I wanted to keep doing it and then Pantera came along and that made me say, “Yes, by all means.”
McLawhorn: As a kid, you don't have a choice. You ask your parents and, if you're lucky, they'll buy you something. There was a little music store down the street and I saw this Lotus Explorer guitar. It was huge and I still have it.
What is your guitar of choice?
Balsamo: For many years it was my Ibanez and I still use Ibanez, but on this last recording, the producer kept asking me to use a Gibson. The Gibson was always something I would use while recording to get different tones, but I started playing it a little more live lately. I also love Charvel guitars. Every guitar we used on the song, we play live.
McLawhorn: If I had my choice, it would have been a Strat, Les Paul or an SG. For the past 10 years, I've been using PRS and Les Paul, exclusively. I also have a Fender Telecaster that I love, but I doesn't fit the music I play and I don't want to change out the pickups and get rid of that twangy sound and all that. On tour I'm using a PRS Baritone and a seven-string Gibson Flying V, they just came out with.
Tell us your experience making the new album.
Lee: We spent a lot of time together writing songs and we have tons of music. We have more than enough for the album and have a lot left for next time. We had a lot of writing sessions with me, Terry and Tim, this time. We also did a lot of writing as a whole band. All of us sat in a circle with our instruments and did jam sessions until we came up with a cool idea. Sometimes I come up with a start on my own and then we would collaborate, but it's awesome to have so many great musicians in the band. Sometimes I'll get an idea and not have that pressure to flesh the whole thing out by myself. There are four other people coming up with their own ideas, too.
Balsamo: We wrote a whole lot this time. There are two or three songs that we wrote together, things just flowed well. We were thinking the same thing, but we had to make sure we worked together, without us playing the exact same parts. So there is the same riff, but two things going on at the same time. During the recording process, we fed of each other and tried to make things really tight.
After taking that long break, did you feel the pressure as you began working on the new album?
Lee: There is always that pressure. I'm an obsessor. I want to make something great. We've already made two awesome records and I never want to put anything out that I think isn't better than what we last did. The challenge was finding the vision of what we wanted to do, because I felt a great sense of freedom creatively. After making those two albums, I felt like, "OK, I can do whatever I want, and if it is going to be a new Evanescence album, should it be a crazy departure?"
After a couple of years of writing and experimenting, we felt like we discovered the album.
Was there a question about you all playing together again?
Balsamo: I knew we would do it again, it was just a matter of when.
McLawhorn: After we finished the tour in 2007, we all went off and did other things. I didn't know what was going to happen. I had another band and assumed I was finished with Evanescence, but when things started going bad with the other band, I called Amy and she said she was ready to make another album and would love me to be a part of it.
guitarworld.com
Amy Lee's Top 10 albums
Amy Lee, Evanescence:
1. Bjork – ‘Vespertine’
"Bjork is my idol. When I met her I could hardly speak, it was quite embarrassing. I’m always amazed that the rest of the world wasn’t able to catch up on how astounding 'Vespertine' actually is. Her art has inspired me so much."2. Adele – ‘21’
3. Deftones – ‘Around The Fur’
4. Tool – ‘Aenima’
5. Nine Inch Nails – ‘The Fragile’
6. Tori Amos – ‘Boys For Pele’
7. Portishead – ‘Portishead’
8. Tron Soundtrack - ‘Daft Punk’
9. John Mayer – ‘Continuum’
10. Garbage – ‘Garbage’
Source: nme.com
1. Bjork – ‘Vespertine’
"Bjork is my idol. When I met her I could hardly speak, it was quite embarrassing. I’m always amazed that the rest of the world wasn’t able to catch up on how astounding 'Vespertine' actually is. Her art has inspired me so much."2. Adele – ‘21’
3. Deftones – ‘Around The Fur’
4. Tool – ‘Aenima’
5. Nine Inch Nails – ‘The Fragile’
6. Tori Amos – ‘Boys For Pele’
7. Portishead – ‘Portishead’
8. Tron Soundtrack - ‘Daft Punk’
9. John Mayer – ‘Continuum’
10. Garbage – ‘Garbage’
Source: nme.com
Evanescence concert more the Amy Lee show at Comerica
The gloomy-goth-girl-not-getting-sex deal, the Addams Family-lettered logo, the videos and album covers drained of any hot reds and yellows. It was all there in 2003 when Evanescence hit the streets with "Fallen," an album that went on to sell more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.Now, with a new album just out mere days ago, a self-titled effort more about branding the Evanescence name than exploding it into a bold new direction, one wondered if the fans would come out for yet another reheating of the formula.
One needn't have worried. Moms with teen daughters in slutty Beetlejuice outfits were there at Comerica Theatre on Friday, Oct. 14. So were a surprising number of dudes chanting "Amy! Amy!" like it was "The Jerry Springer Show" back from a commercial break. Also out in force were young women almost 10 years removed from the "Fallen" years, seemingly there more to relive a memory with an old friend who got them through a tough time than to make any new associations.
It's a tough tightrope to walk and Evanescence succeeded.
No matter how many times the name Evanescence flashed on the screen like a not-very-subtle subliminal message, this was the Amy Lee show beginning, middle and end. Consider that not one musician is afforded more than a few perfunctory seconds to show their mettle (or nu-metal, as it were) before Lee's operatic pipes intercede. Her voice is their sound and only trademarkable feature, whether it's juxtaposed against heavy metal riffing or standalone piano and she is singing virtually non-stop in this 16-song set.
The crowd matched her stamina, remaining on their feet through the whole show, even the balladeer junctures in the show where people who want to sit usually do.
Rocking a lot harder than you might expect, they opened boldly with the new headbanger of a single "What You Want," the first of eight songs from the new album (that's exactly half of the show for you mathematical slackers not keeping score).
The biggest shrieks came when the piano movers made their first appearance and wheeled a baby grand onstage for "Lost in Paradise."
"Thank you; we love you very much too," Lee answered, rather businesslike, as if she were Tracy Flick running for class president a third time. It's with this pianissimo material that you realize why the Goth girls and boys love Amy Lee - everything she sings is black and white with no grey areas of ambiguity, no shades of irony or off-colored humor. Really, when your heart is broken, you want a song that's as idea driven as "My Heart is Broken" to carry you through and that's what she delivers.
Not being a show where audience participation is necessary or even solicited from Lee, people worked out their own involvement, like the 30-ish woman a few rows ahead of me, contorting herself in order to sing "I know what's wrong with me" just like Lee.
"I hope everyone comes back from the bathroom in time," Lee joked when she returned alone onstage for the encores. No worries; Evanescence arrived just in time to supply the bombast when needed for "Your Star" and "My Immortal."
And then it was over. I can't recall ever seeing a concert audience disassemble out into the streets so quietly, not unlike a movie audience content to just let everything sink in.
In that quiet time, they might recall what they thought of The Pretty Reckless, the middle opener from New York City. The fact that it's 2011 and we no longer even talk about women in rock as being a novel thing went out the window during their prehistoric heavy metal set. And you've got to tip your hat to the fact that they have you thinking in those terms again. Part of you thinks this could be cool post-millennial hipster irony, that a female lead singer, Taylor Momsen of "Gossip Girl" fame, can come out dressed in lingerie like some Apollonia 6 escapee singing Pat Benatar sex-kitten songs and still expect to be taken seriously. The other part of you feels like you've been shoved into a time machine to the year 1981 and you're looking for a time portal somewhere so you don't have to spend the rest of the night listening to bands in spandex whose names end in double xx's and zz's.
Evanescence' Set List
"What You Want"
"Going Under"
"The Other Side"
"Weight of the World"
"The Change"
"Made of Stone"
"Lost in Paradise"
"My Heart Is Broken"
"Lithium"
"Sick"
"Oceans"
"Call Me When You're Sober"
"Imaginary"
"Bring Me to Life"
Encore:
"Your Star"
"My Immortal"
Source: azcentral.com
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