Music Review by Bill Rendall
Fallen - Evanescence
The combination of soaring vocals and heavy riffs on down-tuned guitar is irresistible. The album Fallen has a great variety of sounds. Standard rock instruments are mixed with string and choral arrangements.
The initial core of Evanescence was Ben Moody and Amy Lee. They met when Moody heard Lee playing a Jim Steinman song on the piano at a church camp. Evanescence shares some of the theatrical sound of the music of Steinman and Meat Loaf.
Evanescence caught my attention with 'Bring Me to Life' from the Daredevil movie. I am impressed by the combination of theatrical elements with a hard rock backing. I don't like the rapping of guest vocalist Paul McCoy and I am pleased that there is no rapping elsewhere on Fallen.
My favourite songs on Fallen are 'My Tourniquet' and 'Imaginary' which are effectively linked by an orchestral segue. These two songs feature some crunchy distorted guitar and they really rock.
In contrast to the heavy rock songs 'My Immortal' is a slow ballad with subdued backing. The song features in Daredevil, and the haunting string arrangement is provided by the movie's composer Graeme Revell. I thought that 'My Immortal' was an unlikely single release but it proved to be very successful, albeit with the jarring addition of drums and electric guitars near the end.
Some people have assumed that 'My Immortal' was written by Lee. In fact Moody wrote the song, which is indicated by the lyrics. The song was used in Daredevil as a lament to the hero's love interest. In this context it sounds a bit odd when Lee sings of wiping away the tears and fighting away the fears of her lost lover.
Perhaps Lee interprets 'My Immortal' as a lament to a beloved family member. Which brings us to 'Hello' which was written by Lee and is inspired by the death of her sister at an early age. This song has a sparse arrangement with a simple piano accompaniment. It serves as a real showcase for Lee's voice
'Whisper' ends the album in an interesting way with a choir chanting in Latin. It sounds like something from a church but I don't feel that it is too preachy.
Fallen was released through Christian music outlets but was subsequently withdrawn as Moody and Lee disassociated the band with Christian Rock. Apparently keyboard player David Hodges supported the Christian affiliation and subsequently left the band. There are some religious references in the lyrics, most noticably in 'My Tourniquet', but more obviously a dark gothic feel. Death and possession are frequent themes.
The music and lyrics create a hauntingly powerful package. Fallen stands out as a superior example of working within the parameters of radio-friendly format. Unfortunately the dynamic range of the CD recording is too heavily compressed. Heavy-handed compression is all too common on contemporary CD recordings but this is one album that would definitely have benefited with a wider dynamic range.
Live versions of the songs from Fallen are available on the Anywhere But Home video recording. The live sound on my DVD is disappointingly muddy and bass heavy. The worst sin is the use of prerecorded backing. Evanescence should have augmented their lineup with keyboard players and backing singers or stripped down the song arrangements. The best parts of the live concert recording are the quieter moments when Lee is playing the piano.
By the time Evanescence released their second studio album, The Open Door, Lee was the only band member remaining from the debut album. There is more variety in the song arrangements and more room for the music to breath thanks to a lighter dose of compression.
There is no denying that the songs are consistently stronger on Fallen and I have to rate it more highly. A combination of the quality of the songs on Fallen and the production values of The Open Door would be ideal.
Band members:
Amy Lee - Vocals
Ben Moody - Guitars