Metal Reviews

I'm 5 songs in and so far I like everything except the songs. The guitars remind me of A Perfect Circle's stuff, actually the whole album does. Overall it's kinda Aereogramme's new album since the string/guitar/piano stuff is kinda similar, but the songs here are a lot more repetitive/less good.

She's got a purty voice.

It's actually far more Euro-goth rock/metal than people give it credit for. If this band was not named "Evanescence" people would admit this.

That is so off base it isn't even funny. Sorry Ken, but you are way out there trying to sell that stuff. Yeah, yeah, hit me with the Flowing Tears analogy and other things, but it isn't true.

You know what I WISH, Amy Lee would go to Europe, find a good band that knew how to write good songs and put her excellant voice to good use instead of wasting it on tepid pop/goth arrangements.

To me Euro Goth rock/Metal is Beseech, Lacrimas Profundre, Charon, 69 Eyes. For my Pain, To/Die/For, Darkseed and others. There is not connection between the bands. You know Evanescence isn't even up to HIM quality yet and that kinda says a lot...

That's crazy talk and you know it.

She is trying too hard, get her to Europe, hook her up with some dudes that can write songs and she would be the best ever. Her voice is undeniable....

Hahahaha ! You still believe in the quotation system here ? I don't even think the revewers know what it is ! Don't get me wrong here, this is my favorite metal site and the only one I visit to get reviews (almost), but...than again...by the quotation system used here, there's approximativly 3-4 masterpieces a week in the metal world !

Funny how Ross didn't show up after the "sales = higher quote" remark !

I don't know, bro. I really dig this album. But we've been over all this already.

I agree with Leee.

I think maybe you're taking the word "masterpiece" a bit too literally.

Faglords stick together.

Cool enough.....

He is my son, he just doesn't know I gave him away at birth to go live in Europe.....

I agree with the reviewer 100%!!!

I'll go on record as saying that I loved "Fallen", I took my daughter to Evanescence 3 times on the last tour, and Amy Lee has personally made herself available via the Epilepsy Foundation to my daughter. You would then think that I would firmly be implanted in the "Amy Lee can do nothing wrong" camp....however I AM NOT. I was disappointed from the very first listen and my feelings were the same as the reviewers concerning Evanescence becoming the "Amy Lee Show". I don't believe that any band should just make a carbon copy of their last multi-million selling CD because it works. She just whines way too much on this CD. Gone are way too many off the signature sounds and stylings that made Evanescence a monumental success. The guitars are boring, precictable, and uninspired. The songs for the most part are whiny bitch sessions about how bad her life has been on different fronts. I would never attack Amy Lee on a personal level like many of the slobs over at a certain Blabbery site. I'm sure she's a fantastic person...she has been to my daughter. Amy Lee is dedicating her celebrity status to an incredible cause concerning epilepsy awareness. However, she took way too much personal direction with this CD. I hope she learns a valuable lesson from this. If she doesn't, she'll be waiting tables again and going back to part time status in the music industry.

To further back up the reviewer, I've been a metal fan since 1980. My daughter was 11 when "Fallen" was released. She is now 14 and after listening to my immense metal library and seeing tons of metal shows, even she clarified Evanescence as GOTH POP. Amy has become just a slightly harder edged Christina Aguilara.

It's too bad.

Yet not a one of you will acknowledge that Evanescence was just Amy Lee and Ben Moody. He's gone. He left. Now that leaves Amy Lee. Why are you people holding this against her?


Which The Open Door isn't. Fact.


I would suggest you go back and read the old Evanescence lyrics. Nothing has change. And she'll never be waiting tables again.


Pffft. Ridiculous.

What I don't get is people saying "the first album was good but this is pop crap."

Everything I heard from the first album was pop-rock radio fodder crap with those infernal trendy downtuned guitars. They've never been a metal band.

That's what's funny about it. Fallen was a very radio-friendly album. This one is not. The single "Call Me When You're Sober" is the only song here that touches upon the things people are calling "Amy Lee whining." Yes, it's about her ex-boyfriend; yes, it's a radio-friendly song; and it's the closest you'll get to the stuff on Fallen, and this is the only song with lyrics that has any "whining." There is a b-side called "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"—which is about Ben Moody, I think—but there is nothing "whiney" about that song. That song doesn't apply to The Open Door, however, but I'm just covering this in case it comes up.

The rest of The Open Door is nothing like "Call Me When You're Sober," nor is it even close to the pop goth-rock that was on Fallen. It is very different from Fallen, and I think people are just trying to come up with reasons why it's not like that album, so they're "hearing" something that's not there.

Like I said, this album is darker, has more depth, is more grandiose, and far more mature than Fallen. This is completely separate from how good or bad the songs are, and my feelings about the album. Those are simply the characteristics of the new album. Fallen is a very simple and straightforward album in comparison; The Open Door is neither.

Radagast is stuck in the habit of being right.

I liked their Gothic Pop/Rock fodder. This new stuff with all the piano shit and million changes in the songs just isn't what they are good at obviously. Like I said before they are trying to hard to be all serious like a retarted step brother to After Forever or some band like that and she can't write the songs to do it........ They should go back to songs like Torniquit and a few others on Fallen which is what they are/were good at.

Trying to get depth, serious music and deep meaning from a band like this is about as useful as going to McDonalds to sample culinary delights......People should stick to what they are good at.

But this is what Amy Lee is good at. Shall I send you the early Evanescence songs—the songs with piano, orchestration, and electronic effects?

Lacrymosa sounded kinda european but most of it just sounded like hard rock + tasteless artsyness. (its weird how being ultra bombastic seems to be a popular thing to do these days in pop music )