Fallen by Evanescence (CD, Mar-2003, Wind-Up)

Fallen rests on a foundation of metal-esque crunchy guitars supplied by Ben Moody, matching speed changes on drums is Josh Freese. On Bass Francesco DiCosmo, and when things turn sad and reflective, on piano and keyboards, David Hodges. Strangely enough, the official band line-up, and album credits don't quite agree, but these folks seem to head the studio effort.

However good these parts are (and they are good) not one is the core of this album. Like planets, all the musicians revolve around, and are effected by Amy Lee's every movement. Fallen as an album is powered, even rattled by the stout and emotionally drenched vocals of lead singer Amy Lee.

Time after time, on tracks like Going Under and Everybody’s Fool Lee’s vocals rip through the landscape created by her bandmates like a ten ton sickle. Lee puts so much behind her warbling, and aching, that I swear she could lift herself off the ground with those pipes. Even though Lee can be forceful vocally, she can calm her torrid emotions on My Immortal and Taking Over Me and let slip tranquil yet incredibly wounded ballads.


Bring me back to life opens with a tinkling music box piano, followed by the deep bellyache of a whale. Only a high quality sound system or robust headphones could reproduce the very lowest octave of this sound. In between this, Amy sings as if in a fetal position, only to unfurl and fire up her vocal cords to match the pulsing and grinding of her band. Hello is one of the best piano ballads to come since anything by Tori Amos, or Fisher's I will love you. Opening with the sound of a string in the midst of a painful sigh, Hello begins to reminisce with longing piano work.

There are however little things that bother me. Like Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, he comes off like Linkin Park on his vocal contribution to Bring Me to Life. I know LP is all the rage, but I loathe the band, and I don’t want any Linkin in my Evanescence sandwich. I like the music and lyrics of Tourniquet until Amy Lee sings “ my God, my tourniquet return me to salvation.”

The sound of constantly yearning, reaching out, and sadness are always present. Amy Lee's torment is always in plain sight, yet the source is not always clear. Amy Lee's pain seems to move from love and relationships lost, to betrayal on Everybody’s Fool. You can "hear" her smokey eyes, black hair and tattooed tears even without ever seeing Amy.

Without rest Fallen is constantly twisting, turning, writhing, struggling to escape an emotional straitjacket. Amy Lee’s vocal assault on your emotions never ends, it absolutely never takes a breath, it's unrelenting, and emotionally exhausting on some level. I can hear plenty of female singers smile when they sing, but I never hear that from Amy Lee, not once.

Moody and lead singer Amy Lee met at church camp as youths. For whatever reason, fans of Christian music feel Fallen belongs to them. There very rarely has been anything spectacular coming from Christian pop/rock and rap (cringe) and this is an opportunity to grab hold of something intense and moving. In this sense, I foresee many groups jockeying for position, to claim ownership in some way. Honestly, I shouldn't criticize anybody for such things; because in a strange celebrity stalker kind of way, I feel as if Fallen and Amy in particular, belong to me.

© Tony Flores 2003


StrangerSoundLabs

I recently came across a video of this group while I was in a search mode for new music to listen to. Like many of us, I had been listening to Country to Top 40 stations for a long time and was very bored. I was immediately drawn to the richness of Amy Lee's voice and the power and the range she performed with. I bought this CD because it was their first and was blown away by it. Never have I seen a group or individual pull off a CD so well done. Most groups don't perform and record this well until they have years under their belt. The Talent performed by Amy Lee and the rest of the Band is unsurpassed by anything I've heard in a long long time. This CD - "Fallen" - is one of those that will be referred for years as a Classic, a Must Own item, and definitely one of the best ensembles of songs ever put together. To steal a line from Rush Limbaugh...Amy Lee's voice and music is "Talent on loan from God". Buy every album they put out. You won't be disappointed.

Early Evanescence Has alot of great cuts. The sound and style of this album set the stage for Evanescence to emerge as a GREAT ALTERNATIVE NEW SOUND. The cuts are tight and well produced The sound resonates with a almost haunting ambience in Going Under. Great sound also haunting with My Immortal. Nice at the first go around they found their style. The price was well worth it.

This group ROCKS! I've already played the CD probably 50 times. I'm a 60's baby and was introduced to the group because of other family member's interest in them. I was immediately amazed with the talent & sound quality even the Live in Concert version rivals the studio version, Fallen. We were put out at first because of the "gothic" title they've been given from time to time but to us, we don't find them to dark at all. They are outstanding and would go so far as to say that Amy Lee has one of the best voices ever.

I have always stayed away from anything that is goth or hard but was intrigued by this group ever since I heard them on the Daredevil soundtrack. The main attraction is Amy Lee's voice. It's haunting and is perfect for the sad songs. Since I received this CD I haven't stopped listening to it, from begining to end, all songs are great. Even if don't usually listen to this type of music, give it a try, you'll may also be pleasantly surprised.