'THE OPEN DOOR' - EVANESCENCE

Amy Lee has received a lot of flak since Evanescence erupted quite literally from nowhere into the charts, during the summer of 2003. She’s had hassle for the band’s last album ‘Fallen’, for being a moody bitch, for being melodramatic and egocentric both in the portrayal of her own life and the band’s videos, for being so popular and so successful so quickly, for being a despotic control freak, as well for taking so damn long to write this years ‘The Open Door’. But regardless of whether you like her or not, despite what you think of her, one thing is indisputable – she has one truly superb voice! And now that Ben Moody is out of the picture it might also be fair to give her some credit for the quality of Evanescence’s song writing. She might be confined to mildly nu-metallic theatrical balladry, but what she does she does incredibly well. Each of the tracks on this album is immediately accessible, their catchy pop-metal hooks flirting with irresistibly finger-tapping drums. A piano melting so well into the background it’s almost unnoticeable, combined with Amy’s beautifully dark, luscious crooning give it a nice depth – the invitingly blackened puddle that hides what may well be an abyss. The consistency between each track could be construed as a bit samey – certainly ‘Open Door’ is not an album you could listen to in any old mood – but this same consistency also adds greatly to the flow of the album. Each song plays almost seamlessly into the next and before you know it the entire thing has ended, and you’ve lost an hour of your life.

Even the hardest Evanescence critic must be forced to admit that this is a quality album. Put your biased preconceptions aside and give her some slack guys. Amy has worked very hard to produce a record like this, and it is a good record! Give her the credit she’s due.

7/7