Evanescence - The Open Door
Release Date: October 3, 2006
Label: Wind-Up



Modern rock, as always, is sorely missing more strong female lead singers. Amy Lee is a bit of an anomaly in the rock music scene not only because of the music that she performs, but also because, unlike others, she doesn’t rely on sex to do it. In fact, Evanescence is a thoroughly unsexy band. Vengeful, but not sexy.

This is not necessarily a good thing. Through much of The Open Door, Evanescence squander the potential of their gothic sound on drowsy radio-rock that tends to simply bleed into the walls and disappear. There are spurts of the album that show potential and even growth, but they tend to appear in small clusters between the less promising tracks. Songs like Snow White and Lacrymosa build upon the band’s gothic sound (employing a cinematic choir of tortured souls on the latter), while Sweet Sacrifice and All That I’m Living For indulge in their poppier moments. But, for every triumph there are two stinkers. Ballads like Lithium and Good Enough attempt to recreate the winning My Immortal formula but end up sounding hollow and forgettable. Rockers Weight Of The World and Your Star rattle by without any sense of purpose or character.

So, is a thirteen track album with only a handful of highlights worth it? It will undoubtedly suffice for many, as The Open Door’s sound doesn’t stray too far from Evanescence’s debut. But, it is a bit of a disappointment. There’s a lot of potential in this band and they seem to be getting closer to realizing it. Here’s hoping that once they’ve walked through this Open Door, they’ll make the album that they’re capable of. C

Key Tracks: Sweet Sacrifice, Lacrymosa, Snow White