Evanescence
Evanescence formed in ’94 around vocalist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. They were also more than bandmates even falling in love and managing to become briefly engaged, before backing off.
Eventually, Moody quit the band in 03. He packed his bags prior to a Berlin concert and left the country.
“We both contributed to the resentment of the deterioration of our friendship that quickly turned into a downward spiral of animosity, conflicting opinions, and a very volatile environment,” Lee later commented.
Earlier in the year, Evanescence’s full-length debut “Fallen” was released. But before that, they got a major break when two of their songs, the ballad “My Immortal”” and “Bring Me To Life.” were used on the “Daredevil” soundtrack.
Next. Evanescence issued “The Open Door” a 13-song effort that represented Lee’s maiden effort with guitarist Terry Balsamo.
“(After Ben Moody’s departure), I didn’t have somebody — I don’t want to be mean — holding me back,” said Lee. “Instead, I had (Balsamo) lifting me up.”
She added that with Balsamo she could “finally create in the same room with someone,” as opposed to Moody where she “could never really sit in the same room and create.”
The album sold 447,000 copies in the first week to top the Billboard 200. Within months it was certified platinum in the U.S. After five years, the album had sold over six million copies worldwide.
“Call Me When You’re Sober” was the lead single.
In the accompanying music video, Lee played a modernized Little Red Riding Hood in the company of live wolves.
She explained the track referenced her relationship with ex-boyfriend, Seether’s Shaun Morgan.
When John LeCompt (guitar) and Rocky Gray (drums) left there were contradictory statements regarding what had happened. Lee said the pair “were ready to move on and so we have parted ways.” LeCompt countered, saying he was fired “without any warning.” Gray claimed that he quit.
Later, Lee returned to the subject adding, “they were very vocal about the fact that they didn’t really care about Evanescence at all and just stayed around for the money.”
Evanescence (essentially Lee with a new band) issued a self-titled album in ‘11. “This is a really, really, rhythmically driven record,” explained Lee. Evanescence’s third studio album featured “What You Want.”
Though “Evanescence” sold far less in its debut week than its predecessor – 127,000 copies – that was still enough to propel the album to #1 on the Billboard album survey.
Evanescence then went on a three-year hiatus. The break officially ended in July, ’15. But just a month later, Balsamo was out and Jen Majura was in. “After two albums, countless adventures around the world and on the stage, Terry’s time has come to an end,” stated Lee. She went on to describe Majura as the “missing piece.”
The fifth studio album, “The Bitter Truth” dropped in ’21 and topped Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums and peaked at #2 on Top Rock Albums charts. It also was the last album with Majura. In a post, Evanescence stated the decision was made to go “separate ways” while Majura said her exit was not “her decision.”
On the heels of Majura’s departure the music video for “Bring Me To Life” surpassed one billion YouTube views. The video was filmed in Romania and featured guest vocals by Paul McCoy. It was uploaded in late of ‘09,
After touring extensively, Evanescence released the song “Afterlife” for the Netflix anime “Devil May Cry.” The track topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Next, Lee teamed with Halsey on the duet “Hand That Feeds” for the John Wick spin-off “Ballerina.” Evanescence also released “Fight Like A Girl,” featuring K.Flay, for the film’s end credits.
Afterlife
Fight Like A Girl
Evanescence released “Who Will You Follow in ’26. The track, written by Zakk Cervini and Jordan Fish (formerly with Bring Me The Horizon), landed on the band’s sixth album, “Sanctuary” and topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
Who Will You Follow
“This album is over three years in the making, and finally listening back to it all at once, about to release it to the world, I am so damn proud of every second of it. It’s overwhelming,” shared Lee. “Working on it has been my outlet for so much that feels wrong and out of control, and a place to ignite hope through the power of music and connection.
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