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183 of 210 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Evanescence: The Open Door. A Very Strong Return, October 3, 2006
Major success is a tough act to follow. Selling 6 million copies of its first major label studio album, Fallen, and delivering the mega hits "Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal", Evanescence and front-woman Amy Lee return with the hard charging new album, The Open Door. Despite Ben Moody's acrimonious departure, Terry Balsamo has made a great songwriting pair with Lee. Drawing its strength from hard guitar riffs and Lee's soaring voice, the record offers quite a few nuggets of pure rock bliss, enough to get your head banging and your stereo blasting.
Opening track "Sweet Sacrifice" flat out rocks, its thundering guitars matching perfectly with Amy Lee's towering voice. "Call Me When You're Sober" is an wonderfully angry song with dual guitars trading rhythm and melody lines. "Weight of the World" is a fast paced rocker that isn't too distinctive. "Lithium" is a nice piano ballad with strings showcasing Amy Lee's vocal and lyrical range. "Snow White Queen" is chaotic and disorganized, but the classically influenced "Lachrymosa" is fantastic, a bizarrly fascinating mix of strings, guitar, piano, and choir that just flat out soars. This song would be a perfect addition to any soundtrack.
"Like You", a mid-tempo piano-based track, smartly keeps the guitars in the back of the mix until the crescendo. "Weight of the World" and "Cloud Nine" are solid up-tempo rockers laced with grinding guitar work while "All That I'm Living For" and "Good Enough" are more piano-based emotional tracks. "Lose Control" has a dark piano melody that bursts into crunching guitar on the chorus. "The Only One" is a dark ode that is one of the strongest songs on the album emotionally.
Strongly produced to take full advantage of Lee's towering voice, The Open Door is full of growling guitar riffs and emotive piano melodies. The songwriting is solid, and in some cases, exceptional. The loss of Ben Moody is more than made up by the songwriting team of Lee and Balsaro, and this album is one sure to please Evanescence fans and make some converts with some of the singles. Recommended.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO
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40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lee Keeps Evanescence Tight as a Drum, December 3, 2006
Evanescence has been through a lot since its major label debut "Fallen" rocked the charts in 2003. Songwriter/guitarist Ben Moody departed from the band on account of personal and creative differences with lead singer Amy Lee and has since moved on to work with other artists (Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson), and Lee herself has been at the heart of a well-publicized sexual harassment lawsuit. At long last, however, the band's long-anticipated "The Open Door" has arrived, having debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.
While Lee is flanked by talented musicians, she is now the indisputable centerpiece of the band, which was inevitable from the beginning. She wrote all the tracks either solo or in tandem with the band's new guitarist, Terry Balsamo, and staking a clear assertion of independence. From her impassioned vocals to her forthright lyrics, it is clear to see she has a lot to get off her chest.
Lead single "Call Me When You're Sober" seems at once like yet another Kelly Clarkson radio hit, but this actually works well, striding the line between catchy pop and mainstream rock. Constant airplay has not diluted the song's appeal as it continues to air out Lee's frustrations with Shaun Morgan, her ex-boyfriend and lead singer of rock band Seether. "Lithium," the second single, channels Sarah McLachlan with piano/vocal simplicity before the guitar riffs surge, beckoning the psychiatrist's couch with its deep, dark gloom.
The album's opening track, "Sweet Sacrifice," however, is extremely radio friendly, with a downright awesome hook and sharp lyrics to boot. Meanwhile, the lower-key duo of "Your Star" and "Like You" ruminates with such cryptic observations ("I'd like to be like you/Lie cold in the ground like you") that comparisons to the psyche of Emily Dickinson would be justified.
Elsewhere, "Weight of the World" paves the path for a new future, finding Lee declaring "I won't be held down by who I used to be," while "Snow White Queen" recounts sexual abuse.
"You belong to me/My snow white queen/There's nowhere to run, so lets just get it over/Soon I know you'll see/You're just like me/Don't scream anymore my love, `cause all I want is you."
The album concludes starkly with "Good Enough," finding Lee at her most vulnerable as she puts her guard down, declaring "I've completely lost myself and I don't mind/I can't say no to you."
Listeners who enjoyed "Fallen" will by more than pleased with "The Open Door." The songwriting might not be as refined with Lee steering the ship almost entirely on her own, but she more than compensates for it with ardor and artistic devotion.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Evanescence Delivers a Good Sophomore Effort, November 7, 2006
A Kid's Review
3 1/2 half years, and Ben Moody-less later, Evanescence delivers the follow up to their debut "Fallen." "The Open Door" sees the band adapting a few new sounds, but staying firmly rooted in the sound that brought them to worldwide fame. Amy Lee has always been Evanescence, but with Moody gone, she really takes over. She's definitely the driving force behind The Open Door, and that makes for a record that is her vision. At first I considered the Open Door a sophomore slump, as the first few times through there were only a handful of songs I liked, and none of them grabbed me like say Bring Me To Life, or My Immortal. But thankfully repeat listens did wonders for me and the album, and I now feel it is even better on an overall level then Fallen. The album has some misses, but it has mostly hits. I think it has somewhat of a subtle feel to it, in that the quality of many of the songs doesn't unravel until you give a lot of attention to them. Overall I think Evanescence delivers a solid sophomore set. If you like the band for Fallen, give this a chance and you shouldn't have much to complain about.
Song reviews:
1. Sweet Sacrifice-The best comes first. This is my favorite off of the Open Door. It was one of the only songs I immediately liked on first listen, and repeat listens just made it better. Catchy guitars, hooks, and melancholy lyrics add together to make one of the overall best songs the band has, not to mention a surefire future hit single. 10/10
2. Call Me When You're Sober-The first single, and a song that deals with Amy's ex boyfriend, Shaun Morgan of Seether, and his drug/alcohol problems. A decent song, but a FAR stretch from the first single off Fallen, Bring Me to Life. Something like Lithium or Sweet Sacrifice would have been much better first singles. Unlike the majority of the songs on The Open Door this one has a very short appeal, and it won't take long to get tired of it. 7.5/10
3. Weight of the World-This song has catchy verses, while delivering a chorus that is mediocre at best. The first time I listened I was expecting it to dive into some big catchy chorus similar to Going Under from Fallen, but then it totally underperforms with a snooze fest chorus that contains similar lyrics to CMWYS' chorus. Just decent. 7/10
4. Lithium-The second single from the album, and my 3rd favorite. The song is one of the best songs on the album, and it really has great lasting appeal. The song seems to be about Amy's struggle with being happy, and her voice really soars here. This will be a huge hit. 10/10
5. Cloud Nine- Evanescence gives us their "Haunted" for this album, with a spooky and gothic feel that grabs you and doesn't let go. It's a song that I can't seem to get out of my head. Love the verses, and bridge especially. 9/10
6. Snow White Queen-Here's where some of those new sounds I referred to come in. Some where between goth rock and tecno, Snow White Queen is a tale about a stalker and his victim. Creepy and weird, my initial reaction was that I hated it, but repeat listens have made me think different. The song has its own unique flair, and I appreciate the band for experimenting. 7.5/10
7. Lacrymosa-Borrowing from the classic Mozart song, but adding plenty of their own flare, Lacrymosa is another one that shines on The Open Door. The song is one that really demands you listen to it as soon as it starts. Haunting, beautiful, melodic, and soaring vocals make this song so great. 9.5/10
8. Like You-Similar to Hello from Fallen, in that it's about Amy's deceased sister. The lyrics are heartfelt, but I would have to put this as one of the misses on the album. It's very boring as a song, and just won't grow on me. 6/10
9. Lose Control-Probably my least favorite. Despite some clever lyrics, the song drags, and is too forgettable. 5.5/10
10. The Only One-Another one that's just OK. It's starting to grow on me, but it just seems like a filler track. 6/10
11. All That I'm Living For-This would have been right at home on Fallen. Great all around song, and I could see it as a future single. 8.5/10
12. Your Star- This has to be the most underrated song on the album. Pretty much every review I've read of the Open Door seems to just kind of ignore this song. That's a shame, because I think if you give this song a chance it's one of the band's best. For me it is the only song that gives Sweet Sacrifice competition for best song of the album. The verse starts off slow, building into a chorus that is a lot better then you first realize. The song is very deep as well. Even though I doubt it will ever happen, I would love to see this as a future single, just for the exposure. 10/10
13. Good Enough- Amy had already hyped this song awhile back, and called it the big ballad, only this time it was a happy ballad. So I kind of drew expectations that this would be the big OMG!, My Immortal song of the album. So when I first heard it I was extremely disappointed that it clearly wasn't. I quickly wrote it off, and didn't listen for awhile. Thankfully I came back, and like many songs on the album it took repeat listens for me to appreciate it. Although it is far from My Immortal, or far from the best song on the album, it is still a good song. Amy's vocals again steal the show, and a happy song is something that's nice to hear from Amy. Good closer. 7.5/10
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