Evanescence - Use My Voice - Single [Review]

"Use My Voice" is the third single from American alternative metal band Evanescence's upcoming studio album The Bitter Truth (preceded by "The Game Is Over" - reviewed here - and "Wasted on You" - reviewed here). Of the three singles released from the album so far, "Wasted on You" remains, by far, my favorite, and I am, in fact, kind of disappointed by "Use My Voice" because given what it lyrically represents as well as its boasted guest features, it really could have been so much more than it is. The song features guest vocals from Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, Sharon del Adel of Within Temptation, Lindsey Stirling, etc., and when I read that news, I got so excited, especially since, given her friendship with Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee and given the fact that I am also a huge fan of Within Temptation, I had been hoping for a collaboration between Sharon den Adel and Evanescence (or at least between Sharon den Adel and Amy Lee) for a long time. This isn't really much of a collaboration, however, as the guest vocalists are only featured together harmonizing a wordless chant in the song's chorus. The chant is definitely catchy and powerful, but I would have loved to have heard some of the featured guests - especially Sharon - more prominently and maybe having sung a few actual words. The chanting is, as I said, catchy and powerful, but I just feel that the guests each deserved a bigger spotlight, especially since den Adel is a legend in the realm of female-fronted rock and metal. (I can, at least, definitely hear her voice in the harmonizing.) Disappointments regarding the featured vocalists aside, however, it is definitely a powerful song, both lyrically and melodically. It begins with light and airy piano and Lee's ethereal vocals. It interestingly begins on a passive note, both lyrically and melodically (making that word note literal), as the very beginning of the song could easily trick you into thinking that the song is a soft ballad. Lee sings here, "Cover my ears and close my eyes just long enough to stop the noise."

The song fools you in this way, too, however, because Lee eventually flips that passivity on its head when she sings that "I will use my voice" right before the heavy guitar and the aforementioned chanting come in. The song is structured interestingly and unusually, however, because even though the chanting is usually part of the full chorus, the first time that we hear it, it stands on its own, and we get the second verse technically before we hear the chorus. The second verse is the first time that the song makes clear what the song is actually about: "Label me 'bitch' because I dare to draw my own line," Lee sings in a soft and low voice, almost a whisper. Amy Lee candidly explained the song's meaning and said that it's primarily about the need to reclaim America by voting in November. She said that she has never used music as a political platform but now feels that it's her responsibility to do so because of what is now at stake, and I couldn't agree more. She is, perhaps ironically, using her voice as an artist to encourage us to use our voices in various ways such as voting. That particular line to which I just called attention, however, makes it clear that the song is also addressing sexism and misogyny. I don't think that it's any coincidence that all of the featured guest vocalists on the song (which includes not only the ones that I previously mentioned but also Deena Jakoub of VERIDIA, Evanescence's own Jen Majura, Evanescence member Troy McLawhorn's wife Amy McLawhorn, and Amy Lee's sisters Lori and Carrie) are women, and there is absolutely a long-standing tradition of attempting to silence assertive women by calling them hysterical, bossy, bitches, and so forth, and Lee has definitely faced her fair share of sexism in the rock and metal music industry such as when Wind-Up Records initially demanded that Evanescence feature not only Amy as a lead vocalist but also a male vocalist. Lee fought that, and the compromise ended up boiling down to the debut single ("Bring Me to Life") featuring Paul McCoy of 12 Stones on guest vocals. In a lot of ways, she has been freed from such shackles. The band is no longer signed to Wind-Up; they are effectively self-signed which has given them a great deal more freedom to do what they want. (See what I did there?)

Amy Lee's voice crescendos in power as the song progresses, and she is practically roaring in the powerful chorus, especially when she asserts, "...don't you speak for me!" She makes it clear that she will not be silenced: "Whether you like it or not, you're gonna take what I got." There is also a cultural history of men attempting to speak for women. I am, for example, reminded of an iconic scene in the film White Chicks in which the following dialogue occurs: "And for the lady, perhaps a salad?" The "lady" in question responds with, "Perhaps not" and proceeds to order what she actually wants. A similar scene is also in the film Titanic in which Rose's fiancé Cal orders a meal for her before she gets the chance to do so herself. He then asks her whether or not she likes what he ordered, but it's made clear that it is more of a statement than a question. Coincidentally, as writing this review of this song, I saw a photo on Facebook featuring a woman holding up a sign that says "Stop teaching girls that being nice is more important than having a voice" on it. Kindness is so important, regardless of sex or gender; however, if being kind comes at the expense of you being uncomfortable, then it isn't worth it. It is so important to exercise your right to speak up for yourself and stand up for yourself and say no when you feel that you need to. As previously mentioned, Lee has stated that prior to the release of this song, she has never used music as an outlet to express political views, and months ago, shortly after "Wasted on You" was first released, I had a strong feeling that this upcoming album would mark the first time that that changed because of something that the band tweeted. In response to someone asking if The Bitter Truth would be politically charged, the band said, "Be prepared for all of it... this is rock. The voice that needs to be heard right now. The voice that is being silenced. The will that can no longer be controlled..." It is now clear that they were, in that tweet, likely planting this song's seed for us without our having realized it.

The cover art for this single (which I am really glad exists, since "Wasted on You" and "The Game Is Over" merely use the album cover as their covers) also indicates a politically charged theme, as the American flag is featured off to the left. In the song's third verse, Lee sings over the track's slow and steady beat, "Gather your friends, and wave your gun in my face." This is definitely a statement addressing the cult mentality that Trump has fostered in his followers, especially since most of them are vehement NRA supporters. I am personally really happy that Evanescence is taking this stand, especially since you know that things must be bad when an artist who has never previously implemented any kind of political commentary in her music now feels the need to do so. I have seen so many people lash out at musicians and celebrities for using their voices, saying that famous people should not be political, and I find that to be ridiculous. The key word in the term famous people is people. Just because someone is famous does not mean that they don't have the right to express political opinions. Several months ago, for example, Chris Motionless of Motionless in White tweeted something expressing his disapproval of Trump, and someone replied to him, telling him to "stick to music." It is absolutely ludicrous to reduce a musician to nothing more than a musician; as I said, they are people, and that could very well be another issue that Evanescence is touching upon in "Use My Voice." As previously stated, "Wasted on You" remains my favorite single from The Bitter Truth so far, but "The Game Is Over" and "Use My Voice" are definitely growers (as opposed to "Wasted on You" with which I honestly instantly fell in love). "Use My Voice" is definitely not metal like some of Evanescence's past tracks. (Songs such as "Lies," "Whisper," and "Never Go Back" come to mind.) It is, however, still heavy, with its heavy guitar (which breaks out into a brief solo near the end of the song) as well as its aforementioned slow and steady but powerful drumbeat. "The Game Is Over" is definitely the heaviest of the three singles thus far, however, and while I do love "Use My Voice" and love its power, I do feel that it could have been made even better by featuring the guest vocalists more prominently.

Marilyn Manson - WE ARE CHAOS - Single [Review]

The self-proclaimed God of Fuck is back after three years after 2017's Heaven Upside Down (which I reviewed here - check it out, as I am really proud of that review) with the first single - "WE ARE CHAOS" - from his upcoming eleventh studio album (due to drop on September 11th, 2020) of the same title. When I first listened to the song, I instantly fell in love with it, although it definitely surprised me because despite its title, it is anything but chaotic. It is a beautiful power ballad reminding me a bit of The High End of Low (2009)'s "Running to the Edge of the World," making it a surprising lead single. It is, however, not the first time that a rock or metal act this year has released a surprising lead single from a new album. This past April, Evanescence released "Wasted on You" (which I reviewed here), the first single from their upcoming studio album The Bitter Truth, and it surprised a lot of fans because it didn't really have the energy of a lead single; like "WE ARE CHAOS," it is a power ballad that sounds more like an album's closing track than a lead single, and that is definitely the case here, as well. "WE ARE CHAOS" sounds like a track that could effectively close the album, although it isn't going to; it will be the second track on the album. The reason why I bring the Evanescence song up, however, is that frontwoman Amy Lee said that "Wasted on You" was not originally intended to be the first single but seemed appropriate because of the times that we were living in (as in the COVID-19 pandemic), and given the song's second verse, I wholeheartedly agreed: "Once, this was a garden. This was a world. All of the nightmares stayed in the dark. A little too much time by yourself and you become the enemy. Just look at us now." It seemed to describe the world - having to quarantine and isolate because of the virus - pretty perfectly, and I think that Manson might have chosen "WE ARE CHAOS" as this album's lead single for the same reason - that and just how chaotic that 2020 has been in general. I, in fact, would even venture as far as to say that the lyrics were likely directly written about or at least heavily inspired by the pandemic: "If you say that we're ill," Manson opens the first verse with his signature throaty moan, "give us your pill. Hope we'll just go away, but once you've inhaled death, everything else is perfume." The parallel there to this year's situation is, in my opinion, pretty obvious.

Genius describes "WE ARE CHAOS" as being more uplifting than most of Manson's music tends to be, and I would definitely agree - both sonically and lyrically. The song is sonically light and has a bit of a dreamlike quality to it, namely because of the softly strumming acoustic guitar and Manson's slightly echoed and displaced vocals. There is some electric guitar in the mix (which comes in later), but it's really not heavy and makes the song more of an alternative track than a hard rock or metal track. It is a stark contrast when considering Heaven Upside Down's lead single "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE," which is arguably one of the heaviest songs of Manson's career thus far. The song is also, as just mentioned, lyrically uplifting, although it may not seem that way at first glance. The anthemic hook declares that "we are sick, fucked up, and complicated" and that "we are chaos; we can't be cured." This seems to suggest, since it says that we can't be cured, that humanity is a hopeless case. I am, however, reminded of the X-Men franchise in which some people try to find a cure for mutants, but some of the mutants rebel, claiming that they don't need a cure because there is nothing wrong with them. It is a stark parallel with real life situations in which LGBTQ+ people are subjected to treatments such as conversion therapy. Manson could therefore be saying that we can't be cured because there isn't anything wrong with us. He could also be saying that what is wrong with us is what makes us human. He admits that we are complicated, and that word implies that there are good aspects to humanity. Near the end of the first verse (probably my favorite part of the song), Manson sings, "In the end, we all end up in a garbage dump, but I'll be the one that's holding your hand." His garbage dump is likely a euphemism for death; he is saying that death doesn't negate the importance of life - that it, in fact, makes life that much more beautiful because it is an opportunity for love to fulfill promises. It's arguably somewhat cliché but also a beautiful line and could possibly be inspired in part by his having lost his father three years ago, an event that deeply impacted Manson emotionally. I just adore this song so much; it is a rare example of a song hitting me upon first listen, as I even got chills and nearly cried when I first heard it. Manson has said that he is very proud of WE ARE CHAOS, referring to it as a masterpiece, and if this first single is any indication, then we are definitely in for a treat!