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Evanescence... this is a band that many metal purists hate, and many non-metallers seem to love. The commercial appeal of songs like Bring Me To Life and My Immortal was so huge, they are ***ing big even where I live (the Netherlands). Now, in my young and naive days I picked up a copy of this record. I actually enjoyed it back then, maybe because I was naive, or because I didn't know of Iron Maiden and such. Today, a couple years later, did the then pleasant experience that was this album stay with me?
I'm afraid not. The album has deteriorated like every lyric in their music. It has no staying power whatsoever. Every song seems recycled and bored. Everything has a been there done that feeling to it. And I only played it a couple of times. Maybe it's me, but every song that has been on the radio and received airplay, has made me want to puke. I simply can't stand any more. It's not innovative, it's not good, there's simply nothing but a buttload of angst behind some mediocre riffs and drums.
This is not to say that there aren't good bits to this band. I will admit here, Amy Lee has a good voice. She will never be my favourite vocalist, for that her voice is too generic, but she can definitely sing and hit some proper notes. And her piano playing is far from terrible. It's nothing extraordinary either, but it's definitely not bad. However, this fails to keep the album from floating above water. Her voice may be good, but the words she crams out of her mouth seem to be an endless tirade against herself and the world. Every song is a bout of angst, making every song seem like the next one, barring the two piano-driven numbers, Hello and My Immortal. Every song uses a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus kind of formula (Hello and Taking Over Me excepted). Every riff is a downtuned mess. Every drum is the same. There's no sense of variation or musicality in anyone else in the band besides Amy Lee.
Of course, some songs still float. My Immortal may be the goth chick's anthem of the week but yeah, it's a good song, at least, the album version which is fully piano-driven. It utilises the two good facets of the band (read: Amy Lee) to great effect. Hello, which uses the same formula, is a disastrous track however. While My Immortal does get on your nerves due to its overplayment and may get boring after a while (it has grown remarkably stale for me), Hello is this from note 1. Every vocal line, every piano note has a feeling of "been there, done that" to it. It's a stale piece of boring tripe.
The only two "louder" songs I like are Imaginary of which the escapist lyrics kind of save the song from becoming absolute trite, and My Last Breath, which for some reason seems kind of catchy. Maybe because it's not on the radio every day. But it definitely has some sort of appeal. If Evanescence had evolved into a more metal direction, and had a little less sparing commercial success, and if Amy Lee had had better musical companions on the instruments backing her up, this album might have been good. As it is right now, the competition that it has (Nightwish, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, After Forever, Epica, the list goes on) blow this disc out of the water with two fingers in their noses. And that's a shame, because in a better backing band Amy Lee could have delivered a lot more than this attempt at teenage angst. Even without the derogatory term "sellouts", this band fails to hit home on every single aspect of their music. If you're into this genre, save up your money for a Nightwish disc instead. There is actually a sense of musicality in that band.
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The review was quite good. This band bores the shit outta me and I can't stand the singer's voice.
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This chick can't sing.
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I don't like the opening line. I think fans of mainstream rock like Evanescence, not necessarily just non-metallers. Alt/Indie music snobs like me dislike them just as much.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
can we agree that most of those people are still non-metal fans :P
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Let's agree that everybody likes the word generic and nobody actually knows what it really means, ha? Comparing this to that, that is and that isn't is just over repeated in reviews of late. Why not just shut up if you don't like something and let the people who do enjoy it without putting some aspect of music in question?
I bought this cd when I was 18 and I had an operation of my vocal cords. I brought this for a listen on those long nights away from my family and friends. I would go to the roof of the polyclinic at night and watch the big city lights listening to this cd. I loved the whole experience! The music was very relatable and I was feeling better for just being introduced to something like that! Imaginary stroke me as a favorite at first, than Going Under, Hello... Of course Bring Me To Life is what led me to this band, and I liked the song a lot, especially the male vocals, because I could sing to them! The video was also very cool at the time. The only song i didn't like was Haunted. When I got back I found their early work which really got me in to this band. I must say I revel in Amy's voice like it were some sweet forbidden pleasure. I like Fallen, and putting it for a spin in my playlist always brings fond memories.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I put the aspect of music in question, and I find this band to be extremely bland. On top of that, you can get a countless amount of other bands who pull the trick off a lot better than Evanescence. I don't deny you your listening pleasure. What I'm trying to say here is: I feel this disc is overrated, bland and not good at all and you're better off spending your money on something else.
If you like the disc, that's fine. I have an opinion, I backed it up, and gave reasons why I don't like this disc.
Oh, and comparing is not bad in a review. It serves to put them against others in a genre, and see if they really are unique in what they do, or a clone of other bands, or if they're a good example of the style. I think I pointed out in my review where Evanescence fits into this point.
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Comparisons are really nice IMHO. Y'know, they can give people some important reference points on what the album you're reviewing sounds like. And if you think a band is completely unique and can't be compared to anything else, you're, quite frankly, a music illiterate.
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Why not just shut up if you don't like something and let the people who do enjoy it without putting some aspect of music in question?
Why should your opinion be more valid than his? He has every right to criticize this.
can we agree that most of those people are still non-metal fans :P
Yeah, I just don't think that's the point. You could call them non-opera fans as well, and it would probably still be true. The point is that they like mainstream rock music.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I never said all non-metal fans like this album, i said that the fanbase is hugely centred amongst people that are not metal fans. many, not everyone. that's the keyword. i never said you had to like them.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I know that, but a lot of people pretend they are.
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I never said all non-metal fans like this album, i said that the fanbase is hugely centred amongst people that are not metal fans. many, not everyone. that's the keyword. i never said you had to like them.
I understand what you said. My point is that you might as well have said that the fanbase is centered amongst people that aren't opera fans. The way you word it (even though you don't say everyone) implies that metalheads is the only group of people who generally don't like this, when really any sort of music elitist (I use this term loosely) will hate this because it's mainstream.
It's a silly discussion, and you can word the intro the way you want. I just didn't like it, and now I explained why.
 This Message Edited On 02.10.07
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
ok fine :P
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I don't think that the band is unique in what they craft here, but I don't like comparing. Comparing always devalues someone. I look at the band on the side of their music, and the words they use in their songs, not the genre of music they fit into. Why does everything have to be cataloged into some form, and put against something for comparesment?
I don't think that my opinion is more valid than anyones, and I don't deny anyone the right to criticize, I just wouldn't waste time reviewing something I don't honestly like, and explaining to people why NOT TO buy this album. You are practically taking the pleasure of discovering and liking something new, away from the listener with your negative and enforcing review.
Me, I only review what I honestly like, and leave it to the listener to decide if it is something he might grow to like. I say what effect it had on me, and what kind of feelings I get listening to some songs, and if someone sees them self in that, than that someone will act accordingly. Never say don't buy.
I would say, if I really hated some music, go and download it over limeWire and see if you'll like it before buying (if money is such an issue).
If anybody who likes this band as much as I do wants to get hold of some demos, and unreleased tracks I will be happy to share the titles and point them in the direction where they can find and download the songs. You can find my review of "The Open Door" the band's second album on Amazon.com under Bojan Rauski (Simpatiko), and there you have my e-mail for correspondence about everything Evanescence. Good night to ya all.
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I don't like comparing. Comparing always devalues someone.
This isn't a youth group where we take turns giving each othe compliments. It's a review site. And if somebody dislikes an album that you like, they have every right to say so.
If you're so thin-skinned that you can't handle this, why are you here?
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steerpike why are you here
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I am not being clear enough, obviously. It is not the listeners responsibility to read and compare reviews, my god what has the music come down to? The listener doesn't have responsibilities, (at least when it comes to music) he listens and enjoys, or doesn't enjoy. Did I say that below average ratings should not exist? No. I said why waste your self on music you don't like? As you said there is terrible music out there, why listen to it and review it than? Its like somebody telling you don't have sex with a lot of different girls 'cause you can get aids. I was simply arguing his way of presenting this album, like don't waste your time and money its boring and not worth it. No, you can say what you think and thats that, let me have my options open.
Of course this isn't a youth group if it was I would take out my wang and hit it on the table making bass sounds so the youthful could enjoy some eye candy. No, indeed it is not a youth group, and I'm not thin skinned, I have thick skin on different portions of the body.
Why am I here, I'm here to make bass sounds...
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
As you said there is terrible music out there, why listen to it and review it than?
Maybe the listener didn't know it was crap prior to listening to it.
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steerpike why are you here
Because I hate you.
It is not the listeners responsibility to read and compare reviews
Yes it is. Always has been, always will be.
Did I say that below average ratings should not exist? No. I said why waste your self on music you don't like?
I guess you're going to have find yet another way to explain it, becuase those sentences are telling me the exact same thing.
As you said there is terrible music out there, why listen to it and review it than? Its like somebody telling you don't have sex with a lot of different girls 'cause you can get aids.
Worst analogy of the week. Granted, I've often compared the quality of Trivium's vocals to STDs, but I was being funny.
Of course this isn't a youth group if it was I would take out my wang and hit it on the table making bass sounds so the youthful could enjoy some eye candy. No, indeed it is not a youth group, and I'm not thin skinned, I have thick skin on different portions of the body.
Jokes about one's own genitalia are best left to funnier individuals like myself.
What this all boils down to is that this reviewer stated in the beginning that he bought this record some time ago, and it grew very old and stale. He is expressing his belief that the female-fronted band trend has more original and creative acts in it.
Does his saying these things in any way hinder your ability to listen to this album? If not, I can't understand your grievance.
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^^Yes.
It's like how I liked Fall Out Boy's prior albums, but strongly disliked the new one. I want to let people know why I, a Fall Out Boy fan, didn't like the new album. Just because you like a genre doesn't mean you'll like every band in the genre.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
No. If I were to say anything more on the subject matter we would just be going in circles, wouldn't we now?
I still stick to what I said, if you are a music lover you don't have any responsibilities towards music, you just love it for what it is. Music is there, take it or leave it, love it or hate it, it doesn't ask anything from you. It is the one thing you have a free choice in, and you presenting it as some sort of responsibility is just wrong. How can some spaceman with not all of his dreams coming true come on common ground with me? I am positive in my views, which is not to say that I like everything, and that everything is fun and sunshine with me, I don't want to waste time on the negative even though it is present in my life, as in any life.
This is what you don't understand, I don't shun anybody. I don't like people telling you what to do in their reviews. It's ok to review a band with a negative grade, much-less it is desirable that you offer your view on things whatever they may be, but not to tell someone "Go get a Nightwish cd instead because there is a sense of musicality there". First of all there is a lot of sense in the music Evanescence made, the sales of over 14 million records for one prove that. The other statement he made is also idiotic:
"If Evanescence had evolved into a more metal direction, and had a little less sparing commercial success, and if Amy Lee had had better musical companions on the instruments backing her up, this album might have been good."
Well now if all those things were changed it just wouldn't be the same band or the same record, would it? Now that is where I make my point. If you don't like the music this band has made, the way they made it you shouldn't be listening or reviewing them. He should have reviewed Nightwish because their work "actually has a sense of musicality".
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