EVANESCENCE History

Evanescence is a rock band from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Their music is descr
ibed as dark, epic, and dramatic.
Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former lea
d guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. The two met at a youth camp in Arkansas, w
here Moody heard Lee playing "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by
Meat Loaf on the piano.
The pair discovered they shared a love of Jimi Hendrix and Björk, and they began t
o write songs together (the first was "Solitude" by Amy Lee, followed by "Unders
tanding" by Ben Moody, "Give Unto Me" by Amy Lee, and "My Immortal" by Ben Moody
). The songs were altered lyrically and musically by Ashley Hincher, which is th
e reason for having the names of both of them in the credits for writing them.
For some time they were unable to find other musicians to play with, and did not
have the funds to pay for professional assistance, thus they were unable to pla
y live shows. However, two songs of theirs, "Understanding" and "Give Unto Me",
found their way onto local music charts, and demand for a live show increased. W
hen the band finally made an appearance, they became one of the most popular act
s in the area. They went through several names, including Childish Intentions an
d Stricken, before deciding on the name Evanescence (meaning to fade away or dis
sipate like vapor). Amy said she loves the name because it is mysterious and dar
k, and it puts a picture in your mind, which is what she wanted to do.
Early Work
Their first full length demo CD, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively unknow
n. The band also released two EPs, which are highly sought after by collectors d
ue to their scarcity: the self-titled Evanescence EP (1998) of which about 100 c
opies were made, and the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP (1999), l
imited to 50 copies.
Not atypically, Origin and the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on
their debut album Fallen. In fact, the recording of "My Immortal" found on Fall
en can also be found on Origin, minus a handful of additional string accompanime
nts. However, Lee herself does not consider the record to be an actual album; ra
ther, she considers it merely a bundle of demo songs (some of which she says are
not done properly) that was sent to record companies. Only 2500 copies of this
record were ever made, limiting its availability to the handful lucky enough to
obtain one in the early years, or to those who are willing to pay the hundreds o
f dollars the discs now fetch. In response, Lee encouraged fans to download the
band's older songs from the Internet during an interview.
Not surprisingly, enterprising bootleggers have been selling fake copies of Orig
in, usually as a "Russian re-release," for high prices. It is highly encouraged
that fans not risk money on a copy of Origin as it is likely not an original cop
y, nor does it benefit the band any longer.
Fallen
Their first major album Fallen has been certified 6x Platinum, spent 43 weeks in
the Billboard Top 10 and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. As of April
2005 Fallen is one of only five albums in the history of the chart to spend a f
ull year (52 weeks) in the Billboard Top 50 (Spice by the Spice Girls, E. 1999 E
ternal by Bone Thugs N Harmony, ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears and Brea
kaway from Kelly Clarkson being the others).
Evanescence's major label debut single "Bring Me to Life" was a global hit for t
he band and reached #5 on the American Billboard Hot 100, while the equally popu
lar "My Immortal" peaked at #7 in the U.S. Their inclusion in the soundtrack for
the action movie Daredevil helped propel both songs into widespread popularity
and firmly cemented Evanescence within the music scene. "Bring Me to Life" garne
red recognition for the band at the Grammy Awards of 2004, where the band was gi
ven the Best Hard Rock Performance award. At the same time, Evanescence was awar
ded Best New Artist.
The two other singles off Fallen include "Going Under" and "Everybody's Fool", b
oth of which include a music video.
The previously unreleased song Breathe No More was featured in the 2005 soundtra
ck of the movie Elektra.
Anywhere But Home
Released in 2004, Evanescence's new lineup released a DVD/CD compilation entitle
d "Anywhere But Home". The DVD is their live-from-Paris show with several behind
-the-scenes features, including shots of the band backstage, signing autographs,
and warming up. The CD included contains a song entitled "Missing" which was pr
eviously unreleased. Also on the CD are the songs "Breathe No More" (from the El
ektra movie soundtrack) and "Farther Away". They also included their cover of Ko
rn's "Thoughtless" which they have played at several live shows.
The Open Door
Evanescence is currently working on their second album, titled The Open Door, du
e for release on October 3, 2006 (see press release).
The album will feature 13 tracks, including first single 'Call Me When You're So
ber', and the second single 'Good Enough'. Lee reported that 'Good Enough' is no
t like any other ballad she has written before as its background is more happy.
Another track off the album is titled 'Weight Of The World'.
The album has progressed slowly for a number of reasons, but perhaps chiefly bec
ause of Amy Lee's desire to allow the creative process to fully take its course
and not rush production. Besides that, other distractions have included other ba
nd members' side projects, health problems concerning guitarist Terry Balsamo an
d the controversy revolving around the dismissal of their former manager. Lee st
ated on EvBoard that Evanescence's new album will be wrapping up in March 2006.
The release was pushed to October, allegedly because "Wind-Up [the band's curren
t record label] wants to make a few changes to the upcoming single 'Call Me When
You're Sober'
The Evanescence website was also updated after a long period of stasis to reflec
t the aforementioned press release.
Amy Lee has confirmed that she wrote a song for the 2005 film version of The Chr
onicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe released by Disney, but
it was rejected by producers due to it being "too dark and epic." However, Amy L
ee said it was just more great material for the upcoming album The Open Door
Comparisons
The band is often compared to nu-metal bands such as Linkin Park, P.O.D. and Pap
a Roach, but many fans find this comparison inaccurate because it is based solel
y on "Bring Me to Life," which featured lead singer Paul McCoy of 12 Stones play
ing rap-style counterparts over a short section of the music. This is not reflec
tive of most of their other music, both on Fallen and in their earlier work. Eva
nescence has also been compared to bands such as In Winter, Lacuna Coil, Nightwi
sh, and Within Temptation, all of which incorporate female vocalists and dark ly
rical themes, but these bands are considered to be symphonic metal/gothic metal
rather than rock.
During live shows, Evanescence often performs cover songs from contemporary band
s, such as A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Garbage, Metallica, and Korn. They h
ave also covered material by defunct alternative rock bands such as Soundgarden,
Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Band members
Current Line-up
Amy Lee - vocals and piano
John LeCompt - guitar
Rocky Gray - drums
William Boyd - bass
Terry Balsamo - guitar
Past band members
Ben Moody - lead guitar (co-founder - left October 2003)
David Hodges - keyboards, vocals (left December 2002)

Complete List of Band Recordings

Evanescence EP (December 1998, released by BigWig Enterprises)[limited edition o
f 100 copies]:
1. Where Will You Go (EP version)
2. Solitude
3. Imaginary (EP version)
4. Exodus
5. So Close
6. Understanding
7. The End
Sound Asleep/Whisper EP (August 1999 released by Evanescence with help from BigW
ig Enterprises)[limited edition of 50 copies]:
1. Give Unto Me (Sound Asleep version)
2. Whisper
3. Understanding (Sound Asleep version)
4. Forgive Me
5. Understanding
6. Ascension of The Spirit (instrumental)
Origin (November 4th 2000, by BigWig Enterprises):
1. Origin (instrumental)
2. Whisper
3. Imaginary (Origin version)
4. My Immortal
5. Where Will You Go
6. Field Of Innocence
7. Even In Death
8. Anywhere
9. Lies
10. Away From Me
11. Eternal (instrumental)
Fallen (March 4th 2003, by Wind-Up Records) [debut album]:
1. Going Under
2. Bring Me To Life
3. Everybody's Fool
4. My Immortal
5. Haunted
6. Tourniquet
7. Imaginary (Fallen version)
8. Taking Over Me
9. Hello
10. My Last Breath
11. Whisper (Fallen version)
(on an international rerelease of Fallen later on, a 12th track is included, whi
ch is My Immortal [band version])
Anywhere But Home [live from Paris] (November 23rd 2004):
1. Haunted [live]
2. Going Under [live]
3. Taking Over Me [live]
4. Everybody's Fool [live]
5. Thoughtless (korn cover) [live]
6. My Last Breath [live]
7. Farther Away [live]
8. Breathe No More [live]
9. My Immortal [live]
10. Bring Me To Life [live]
11. Tourniquet [live]
12. Imaginary [live]
13. Whisper [live]
14. Missing (previously unreleased)
Singles are as follows: Bring Me To Life promo single (January 2003, by Wind-Up
Records):
1. Bring Me To Life
Bring Me To Life single (April 2003, by Wind-Up Records):
1. Bring Me To Life (album version)
2. Bring Me To Life (bliss mix)
3. Farther Away (final edit)
4. Missing
Going Under single (September 2003, by Wind-Up Records):
1. Going Under (album version)
2. Going Under (live acoustic)
3. Heart Shaped Box (acoustic Nirvana cover)
4. Going Under (video)
My Immortal single (December 2003, by Wind-Up Records):
1. My Immortal (band version)
2. My Immortal (album version)
3. Haunted (live @ AOL sessions)
4. My Immortal (live from Cologne)
Everybody's Fool single (May 2004, by Wind-Up Records):
1. Everybody's Fool (album version)
2. Taking Over Me (live from Cologne)
3. Whisper (live from Cologne)
4. Everybody's Fool (instrumental)
Unreleased items are the 1997-1998 demos, and the
e on the internet on many different fan sites. In
ses, Windupinvasion.com has a supposedly accurate
s either released, performed live, or included on
.
2001-2002 demos which circulat
addition to the official relea
list of every song the band ha
soundtracks/compilation albums