Evanescence - Bring Me to Life (Synthesis) - Single / Imperfection - Single [Review]

Right around the time that Evanescence's vinyl box set (which I reviewed here) was released, Amy Lee revealed that the band would be releasing a new project in the fall that would be very different than anything that they had done in the past. She eventually revealed that the next Evanescence album would be titled Synthesis and that it would be comprised mostly of new interpretations of old Evanescence songs, subdued and revamped with strings and synths. Synthesis, which is due to drop on November 10th, will include eleven reworked songs, two new songs, and three new instrumental pieces. The first single released from Synthesis was the new version of "Bring Me to Life" (Evanescence's first ever single released from Fallen back in 2003), and while I really like it, it seemed to disappoint many fans, with some fans saying that it sounds like a studio tour version or a fanmade remix. While the Fallen version of the song begins with a piano melody with which most everyone, Evanescence fan or not, is familiar, the new Synthesis version begins with eerie, dissonant strings before Amy introduces us to the lyrics. While vocally not much different than the Fallen version, Amy's vocals are a lot more raw, almost giving the song a live quality (which I think is why some fans said that it sounds like a studio version of a live performance). The song is stripped down, featuring no guitars but instead freshly reworked with shrill and eerie strings (which sound like the score to a horror film) and synths, which hit at full power in the second verse. The synths give the song a fresh futuristic sound, making it sound like it belongs on a Resident Evil soundtrack. Diehard Evanescence fans know, however, that this is not the first time that "Bring Me to Life" has officially been in an electronic capacity, as demo versions of the song recorded before the release of Fallen were much more electronic-driven than the piano-driven final product on the album. Noticeably absent from the Synthesis version are Paul McCoy's rapping vocals. Amy, in fact, skips over those lyrics entirely and sings "Don't let me die here," whereas she eerily whispered that on the Fallen version.

The second single is a brand new song titled "Imperfection." Fans seemed to respond much more positively to this new song, with some even citing it as Evanescence's best single to date. It is definitely a lot more upbeat than the "Bring Me to Life" reworking, featuring piano, a hip hop beat, playful synths, and an uplifting orchestra. During the song's verses, Lee belts out the lyrics similarly to what she does in her electronically driven cover of Chris Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing." The song thematically reminds me of "Disappear" from the 2011 self-titled album, as both songs are from the perspective of someone who loves someone suffering from depression. "Disappear," in fact, features the lyric, "How much longer are you going to give into the fear?," and "Imperfection" features the lyric, "Just don't give into the fear." "Imperfection," probably not coincidentally so, arrives during the wake of beloved rock musicians like Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington recently lost to suicide: "So many things I would've told you if I knew that I was never going to see you again," Lee laments. The song also seems to address depression itself in its second verse: "The way you look us over, your counterfeit composure, pushing again and again and sinking lower and lower. The world is on our shoulders. Do you really know the weight of the words you say?" Depression has a habit of lying to those who suffer its burden, trying to convince them that they are worthless and unloved. Although doubtfully intentional, the song also reminds me of a line from the smash hit "Broken" by Seether and Amy Lee: in "Broken," Lee sings, "I want to hold you high and steal your pain," and in "Imperfection," she sings, "I want to lift you up into the light that you deserve. I want to take your pain into myself so you won't hurt." (As I said, though, I very much doubt that Amy intended to call attention to that song, given her history with Seether frontman Shaun Morgan.) I am overall very pleased with what we've heard of Synthesis so far, and I am really looking forward to hearing the entire album on November 10th!