Evanescence Music Review

Everybody's Fool

perfect by nature
icons of self indulgence
just what we all need
more lies about a world that

never was and never will be
have you no shame don't you see me
you know you've got everybody fooled

look here she comes now
bow down and stare in wonder
oh how we love you
no flaws when you're pretending
but now i know she

never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

without the mask where will you hide
can't find yourself lost in your lie

i know the truth now
i know who you are
and i don't love you anymore

it never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

it never was and never will be
you're not real and you can't save me
somehow now you're everybody's fool


The band Evanescence is composed of main vocalist/pianist Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo on guitar and Tim McCork on bass guitar. This multiple Grammy winning band was formed in Little Rock, Arkansas and quickly rose to fame across both the United States and Europe, going multi platinum and staying a year on Billboard's Top 50 with their album "Fallen". Although the band has had several changes in members, Amy Lee (the only original member)has stayed true to her original intentions and style.
The subject matter for this band is often very dark and extremely emotional, creating a cathartic feeling in some songs, ranging from heartbreak to death to fantastic images. The song "Everybody's Fool" is a good example of both the sound and subject of this band. The video has a sarcastic and satirical sense about everything that seems perfect and mainstream, saying that "nothing is as good as a lie" and showing that someone who seems so happy and perfect actually could be extremely tormented. This shows how the band is trying to go against norms and stereotypes of society. The sound is an interesting mix of rich piano and loud guitar riffs and drums with Lee's haunting and powerful voice.
This band's style is contested and everyone seems to have a different opinion. While it is often defined as "Metal" many die hard metal fans call it too "watered down" or "commercial" to be true metal. Others, including Rolling Stone call it "Gothic rock" yet some other bands deny that Evanescence is gothic rock. There is even some controversy involving their inclusion in the Christian music boards, although Amy Lee denies ever trying to be that genre. It almost seems like Evanescence is a band that does not belong to one genre. In an interview, Lee says that they intentionally cross boundaries but seem to have "gothic electronica" sounds. Still others classify it as nu metal, symphonic metal, or pop goth. The intense lyrics lend the gothic feel, especially songs like "Tourniquet" or "Haunted" which deal with suicide and dark imagery. The metal comes through the guitar and drums. While some may argue that they are too mainstream, Evanescence still has a metal background with gothic undertones.
Amy Lee and the other original member, Ben Moody, both wrote and performed the songs and shared equal credit for their work. Amy Lee is classically trained in piano, and she says she has been influenced by Mozart as well as other rock or metal bands like Nine Inch Nails, Sarah McLachlan,Sting, Enigma, Michael Jackson, Portishead, Plumb, Toni Amos, and Danny Elfman, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas. All of these could influence different aspects, from sound to lyrics. Amy Lee managed to combine all these aspects into something unique. It may sound strange to combine classical piano with metal, but I think it creates an intriguing sound with songs on albums reaching from haunting ballads to gothic rock. As to who this band could have influenced, any metal or rock band could have picked up on certain aspects of Evanescence that they liked. Avec, Ethereal, Jael, Last Minute, Opaque, and Ruby Bullet all have sounds similar to Evanescence and even have similar aesthetics.
The songs from this band all seem to have a different message, from moving on after heartbreak to wanting to give up. The song "Everybody's Fool" has an especially potent message. It speaks clearly to everyone who believes that perfection looks a certain way. In the video, Lee portrays a seemingly successful and happy person who is really in inner turmoil and hates her life. She has betrayed herself and hates who she has become. This message of going against society is very fitting for the band who does not necessarily appeal to everyone, and they are fine with that. The line "I don't love you anymore" is directed towards Lee herself in the video, an especially evocative phrase that portrays the anguish and turmoil. Major themes in their songs include love, pain, and daring to be different.
Co- founder Ben Moody once stated that the message of the band is that "God is love". Since God never once crossed my mind by listening to this music, I would be willing to bet that they did not acheive this message completely, although it was popular in Christian music for a while. Amy Lee recently said that she does not consider this a Christian band and that she was tired of being asked about it. Contradictorily, one member said that they wanted to express that "Christianity is not a rigid list of rules to follow". This one makes a bit more sense, although religion is not clearly spoken of in any of the songs. Music like this is often open to interpretation, and whatever the listener feels from the music. The band members have said that they are tired of neat categories, people should think for themselves about this music. Therefore, they acheive their goal of making people think about the music they are listening to. In a way, not having a particular message is their message, for people to decide for themselves instead of following blindly.
By challenging the world to actually think for themselves for once, this band could create some danger. Any time people think outside the box there is a possibility for danger to the accepted system. While the group is not encouraging people to violently take things into their own hands, they do want independence and individuality, unlike the girl in "Everybody's Fool" who followed and found things to be not as she wanted.
Evanescense has one of the most powerful voices in music right now with Amy Lee and combines it with instruments for a phenomenal sound. Even if you do not think that this band is appealing, at least give it a chance because the deeply personal songs can speak to everyone and decide for yourself what the songs mean.

Hypnopaedia.

Imagination is power is a statement that goes compeltely against everything in Brave New World, where anything creative or free thinking is quickly suppressed. This video uses images of brightly colored and moving images to grab attention and help inspire a person's creativity. The pictures can seem strange but with the power of a mind, anything is possible. The music is "Imaginary" by Evanescence and it talks about letting imagination take you to amzing places and away from any unhappy moments in your life. Imagination can let skies be purple, animals can fly, and clouds can be made of candy. The Hypnopaedia comes through the combination of music and images that could almost hypnotize a person into wanting and thirsting for new images and creativeness.