Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/03/2006
It seems like a minor miracle that
Evanescence released their second album at all, given the behind-the-scenes toil and trouble that surrounded the aftermath of their 2003 debut,
Fallen, turning into an unexpected blockbuster. Actually, so much drama followed
Evanescence that it's hardly the same band anymore. Certainly, pivotal songwriter/guitarist
Ben Moody is no longer with the band, leaving not long after
Fallen had become an international success, and sometime after that, they lost their bassist -- leaving behind
Amy Lee as the indisputable leader of the band. She always was the face, voice, and spirit of the band anyway -- dominating so that it often seemed that she was named
Evanescence and not fronting a band called that -- but by the time the group finally released their long-awaited second album,
The Open Door, in October 2006, there was no question that it was her band, and she has learned well from the success of
Fallen. Pushed to the background are the
Tori-isms that constituted a good chunk of the debut -- they're saved for the brooding affirmation of a closer,
"Good Enough," and the churning
"Lithium," which most certainly is not a cover of
Nirvana's classic (that song never mentioned its title, this repeats it incessantly) -- and in their place is the epic gothic
rock (not quite the same thing as
goth rock, mind you) that made
Lee rock's leading witchy woman of the new millennium. And she doesn't hesitate to dig into the turmoil surrounding the band, since this truly is all about her -- she may artfully avoid the ugliness surrounding the lawsuit against her manager, whom she's alleged of sexual harassment, but she takes a few swipes against
Moody, while hitting her semi-famous ex,
Shaun Morgan of
Seether, directly with
"Call Me When You're Sober," as blunt a dismissal as they come. To hear her tell it, she not only doesn't need anybody, she's better on her own. Yet artists aren't always the best judge of their own work, and
Lee could use somebody to help sculpt her sound into songs, the way she did when
Moody was around. Not that she's flailing about necessarily --
"Call Me When You're Sober" not only has structure, it has hooks and momentum -- but far too often,
The Open Door is a muddle of affections. Sonically, however, it captures the
Evanescence mythos better and more consistently than the first album -- after all,
Lee now has no apologies of being the thinking man's
nu-metal chick, now that she's a star.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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