Evanescence - Evanescence + Halestorm - Live at DCU Center [Thursday, 1/20/22] [Review]

Anyone who knows me likely knows how much I love alternative metal band Evanescence. I have been a huge fan ever since discovering them back in 2003 when I saw the "Bring Me to Life" music video (which recently hit a monumental milestone on YouTube!) on MTV (back when MTV actually lived up to its name and was related to music). I got to see them live in March of 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut when they went on tour to promote their 2006 album The Open Door, and I am so happy that I finally got the chance to see them a second time. (I made a promise to myself that I would once I finally got wheels, and I kept that promise.) This show was once again in a New England state, only this time in Worcester, MA (where I saw HIM on their farewell tour except that was at the Worcester Palladium). The venue was a pretty decent size, and I got there as early as I reasonably could without having to wait outside in the cold for too long (as it was freezing cold outside - pretty close to 0 degrees F if I remember correctly) because I wanted a good spot, and I did manage to get a very good spot; this might have even been the closest that I have ever been to the stage at a concert, and, of course, the fact that I paid a pretty penny to be in the pit didn't hurt. Shortly after I got to my spot in the pit, the opening act came on stage - Lilith Czar. I quickly realized that I had seen her album cover (her album title being Created from Filth and Dust) before and had also heard a couple of the songs that she performed such as "King" and "Anarchy." She was pretty good and had great energy, and I loved how she credited Evanescence and Halestorm (I think prior to "King" which would make sense because it's kind of a feminist anthem) as having helped to smash the glass ceiling for women in rock and metal. Lilith's set was a relatively short one consisting of six songs plus the "Intro Poem" introduction, but shorter sets are typical for opening acts. Some shows (as stated above on the tour poster) featured Plush as the opening act instead, and while I am not all too familiar with them either, I did recently hear one song titled "Hate" which I really liked.

It was not a long wait after Lilith wrapped up with "Anarchy" that Halestorm came on, and while I will say that there is only a small handful of Halestorm songs that I like, they definitely did put on a good show. I love frontwoman Lzzy Hale's wild and chaotic energy, and highlights of their set included "Love Bites (So Do I)," "I Miss the Misery" (which they closed with), and, of course, "Break In." "Break In" was my favorite part of Halestorm's set not only because I love the song - a beautiful and haunting piano ballad in which the speaker is thanking someone for being their rock - but also because Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee came out and joined Lzzy on vocals, which I totally expected would likely happen given that the two have not only done so countless times in the past but also because Halestorm re-recorded the song in the studio with her. (You can watch my video recording of the performance here.) I really liked how they encouraged audience participation when they did "I Miss the Misery," which was one of the main reasons why, as I said, it was one of their set's highlights. I also enjoyed Arejay Hale (Lzzy's brother)'s drum solo which was very impressive (and he was very easy on the eyes too). I overall enjoyed their set, and, as I said, they did put on a good show. With that being said, however, I, as I said, only like a handful of Halestorm's songs. I saw someone say in an Evanescence fan group on Facebook that while they don't hate Halestorm, they didn't love their set when they saw them with Evanescence because Lzzy Hale is a rock star through and through and doesn't have the range or as many facets as Amy Lee does, and I completely agree. (The idea here, of course, is not to pit these two women against each other in any way whatsoever; they're very close friends which is awesome. All that I am saying is that I vastly prefer Evanescence as a band and that I prefer Amy's vocals and style.) I was surprised, however, that Halestorm's set wasn't longer; with Halestorm and Evanescence co-headlining, I expected their sets to be about the same length, but Evanescence's was about twice as long.

After Halestorm finished their set, I heard a lot of people around me complaining that Evanescence was taking a ridiculously long time to come on, but I didn't think so. I totally understand being anxious for who you're ultimately there for to come on (especially since it was a Thursday night which meant that a lot of people had to work the following morning), but it was approximately a half-hour wait which wasn't all that long. I have been to shows at which I waited much longer than that. Anyway, when I first heard The Bitter Truth when it came out last March and listened to the transition between "Artifact / The Turn" and "Broken Pieces Shine," I just knew that that was also how shows would open when they toured for the album, and I was correct. (You can hear both songs together in one track here.) I envisioned it as such: the stage would stay mostly shrouded in darkness with only a little bit of lighting and colors as "Artifact / The Turn" played, the band not yet on stage, and only when "Broken Pieces Shine" started and that incredibly sick guitar riff came would the stage light up fully, revealing the band members and eventually Amy once she started singing the first verse, and I couldn't have been any more on the money. (Amy was at first centered and elevated in the background in shadow before making her full entrance which was very cool.) I just knew that the quiet atmospheric nature of "Artifact / The Turn" while fans anticipated the band to come on stage and then that guitar riff coming in to cut through that and actually get the show started would be a kicka** way to start the show. (Plus, Amy has said before that "Broken Pieces Shine" was essentially written as an anthem for us the fans, so it only made sense to open with it.) That countdown and opening riff at the beginning of "Broken Pieces Shine" was honestly what I was most excited for, and I was not disappointed. Before I continue discussion of the show and some of its highlights, however, I will reveal the set list. There were definitely aspects of the set list that took me by surprise while there were also a couple of aspects that disappointed me, but I will get into all of that shortly.

1. Artifact / The Turn / Broken Pieces Shine
2. Made of Stone
3. Take Cover
4. Going Under
5. Lose Control
6. The Change
7. Lithium
8. Wasted on You
9. The End of the Dream
10. Far from Heaven
11. Better Without You
12. Call Me When You're Sober
13. Imaginary
14. Heavy (with Lzzy Hale)
15. Use My Voice
16. Bring Me to Life
17. My Immortal
18. Blind Belief

Starting with the highlights, "Take Cover," as one would likely expect being familiar with the song, was packed with fierce and raw energy, and it seems to be a favorite of theirs to play live since they actually debuted it live several years ago long before The Bitter Truth was even conceived. There is a part of the song in The Bitter Truth version (that is not in the version that they used to do live) in which Amy sings, "...so come on inside; rest in peace!" When she sings inside, she holds the second i for several seconds in a high pitched wail, one of Amy's most impressive vocal displays thus far in her career in my opinion, and she nailed it perfectly on stage. "Going Under" was also a highlight because it's a song featuring a different vocal style than Lee usually implements, a much lower register in its verses, so it was really cool to see/hear her do that again. The transition from "Lithium" to "Wasted on You" (The Bitter Truth's lead single released a good year or so before the album was) was kind of a cool moment because while I don't know if it was intentional, it made for a pretty cool thematic parallel. In "Lithium," Lee is of course referring to the drug which acts as a mood stabilizer, usually for people who are manic-depressive. "Wasted on You" is also a metaphorical reference to drugs, with Lee telling the addressee of the song that she is wasted on them like she would be a drug. (The first line of the chorus is even "I don't need drugs.") What makes this even more interesting, however, is that on the final night of the tour (which was the night after the show that I went to) in Newark, NJ, the band followed up on "Wasted on You" with "Part of Me" which also makes a metaphorical drug reference ("I need you now like the drug keeping me alive"). Other highlights included "The End of the Dream" (especially since they combined the Synthesis version and the Evanescence version, which was a very pleasant surprise), "Heavy" (a Linkin Park cover - possibly to commemorate Chester Bennington's passing - which involved bringing Lzzy back on stage), "Use My Voice" (mainly because of how Amy involved the audience for the chanting part of the chorus), and "Bring Me to Life" (which was a highlight for me because Amy did Paul McCoy's rapping part - "All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see..." - another pleasant surprise).

One aspect of this show that made it unique for me is how, with it starting with "Artifact / The Turn / Broken Pieces Shine" and then ending with "Blind Belief," it opened and closed the same way as the album that it was promoting. That usually is not the case. When I saw Madonna in 2015, for example, she opened with "Iconic" and closed with "Holiday," even though Rebel Heart opens with "Living for Love" and closes with either "Wash All Over Me" or the title track, depending on the edition. I was also very surprised by the fact that a good number of the older songs that were played, such as "Made of Stone," "Lose Control," "The Change," "The End of the Dream," and "Imaginary," were not singles. Typically, when an artist goes on tour to promote a new album, most of the songs are from the new album (which was not the case - only seven of the set's eighteen songs are from the new album which isn't even half) while the older songs played are former singles, but singles such as "Everybody's Fool," "Sweet Sacrifice," "What You Want," "My Heart Is Broken," etc. were nowhere to be heard. This isn't really a complaint, especially since, if anything, it goes to show that they probably like to mix their set lists up and play what they want to play rather than keep playing the same songs over and over again; it's just a point of surprise for me. The fact that there were several songs from The Bitter Truth not played was a disappointment, however, mainly because I didn't get to hear my favorite song from the new album, the aforementioned "Part of Me." This was definitely a surprise because I remember Amy saying in an interview that (a) the line in the song "drown me in your blinding light" was written specifically about performing live for fans and (b) it was the song from the album that she was most looking forward to playing; however, only certain dates on the tour featured "Part of Me," and mine unfortunately was not one of them. Not even "The Game Is Over" was played, and that is one of the singles from the new album!

I personally would have scrapped older songs such as "The Change" (especially "The Change" because that has always been one of my lesser favorites on the self-titled album) in favor of some more content from The Bitter Truth. Four songs from The Bitter Truth - "The Game Is Over," "Yeah Right" (technically another single albeit a promo single), "Feeding the Dark" (a fan favorite and one of the heaviest tracks - if not the heaviest track - on the album, so that was another surprise), and "Part of Me" were not played, with, as I said, "Part of Me" being the exclusion that disappointed me the most. I also would have loved to have heard them play band versions of "Imperfection" and/or "Hi-Lo," since, with them being the two new songs released as singles from Synthesis, a pretty recent album, it would have made sense to play at least one. With all of that being said, however, I have far more to rave about than I do to complain about and am so, so grateful that I took advantage of the opportunity to see my favorite band a second time, especially since it had been fifteen years since the first time which was far too long. They didn't lose a bit of energy and are still very much in their prime, and the stage was so colorful with really cool graphics and metaphorical images showing on a screen at its rear. Even though I totally expected this because she has been doing it for several years and did it all through the Synthesis tour, a touching moment was definitely when, right before beginning to play "My Immortal," Amy dedicated the song to us and thanked us for being there for her for as long as we have. I also got emotional during the video interlude in between "Far from Heaven" and "Better Without You." A beautiful piano piece (which is apparently appropriately titled "Time Travel" and is from the Donnie Darko score) played during a video that showcased some of the band's memorable moments over the years, and I especially got emotional when a fan was shown at a concert in the past absolutely bawling his eyes out as he sang along to a song. I knew exactly how he felt in that moment because no artist has hit me emotionally like this band has for nearly two decades now, and Evanescence is part of me, now and always.

Evanescence - The Bitter Truth [Review]

Approximately a year or so following the revelation of its title and cover art, American alternative metal band Evanescence (as anyone who knows me knows, my favorite band of all time) finally returns in full swing with its first album of wholly original material, The Bitter Truth, in a decade. The band's sixth album (yeah, sorry, but I can't not count the beautiful and groundbreaking masterpiece that is Origin), it features some of the band's rawest production and lyrically doesn't hold back any punches, telling things like they are as the title of the album would suggest that it does. The albums kicks off rather quietly with a soft, ambient introduction. (Past albums have begun with numbers like "Going Under," "Sweet Sacrifice," and "What You Want," all louder and more energetic songs, with exceptions being Origin and Synthesis.) "Artifact / The Turn," as the title would suggest, is technically two songs in one. Each part is pretty short, leading me to believe that they might have been poems written by frontwoman Amy Lee that were adapted to music. In "Artifact," Lee, over soft trills that sound a bit like they're being played on a xylophone or something similar, sings, "Underneath golden skies, you will always be there. In the mirror, in my eyes, you will always be there." It's definitely befitting of the title of the song because an artifact is, of course, an item created that is of historical significance, and Lee is capturing someone's presence here in these lyrics (a theme that she, in a sense, returns to later in the album). In a recent interview, Amy revealed that "Artifact" was actually recorded on her laptop in a hotel room which is very impressive (not that I am at all surprised). The melody of "Artifact" also reminds me so much of something else, but, try as I might, I can't put my finger on what. The song then takes a turn (see what I did there?), featuring ambient sounds and electronic warbles. Lee, here, sings, "Where do we go now that I have seen the turn? Where do we go now? Find a way to go back, to go back home, to who we are." The final statement there makes this track not only a perfect intro to the album as a whole but also to the first full length song on the album, "Broken Pieces Shine."

"Broken Pieces Shine" is definitely a highlight on The Bitter Truth for me, and I have seen many other Evanescence fans say the same. "Artifact / The Turn" moves gaplessly into it, and, in fact, at the very beginning of "Broken Pieces Shine," you can still hear the echo of Amy's voice singing the final word of the previous track. The song definitely has the energy that you would expect an opener to have - not only an opener to an album but also to a show, and I fully expect "Artifact / The Turn" and "Broken Pieces Shine" to, together, open shows when the band is able to go on tour for the album, especially since Amy has stated that the song is sort of like our (as in Evanescence fans) anthem, and it definitely has an anthemic quality to its big arena sound. Amy Lee has long been a proponent for fighting off the harmful voices in our heads that weigh us down and hold us back by trying to convince us that we're worthless and not good enough, having, for example, said the following during the live Synthesis show that was released to home video: "You ever have that thing like every day at some point during the day where you're totally criticizing yourself and you feel like you can't do what you're doing or you don't belong where you are or you just can't pull it off? Yeah, that voice is a waste of time. That voice in your head is a liar. I just want to say that we have to keep fighting it. That's not a flaw. Those things that you keep telling yourself are a flaw, those things I keep telling myself are flaws, I think I'm starting to realize and I keep having to hammer it in my brain but I know that it's true, they're not flaws. Those are the things about us that make us who we are, so just embrace who you are. You are good enough. You do belong here. We can't waste our lives being afraid to live them." This definitely ties into "The Turn" referring to finding "who we are" and also the theme of "Broken Pieces Shine," which is lyrically about the capability that our imperfections have of being beautiful (a theme similarly explored on the 2017 Synthesis track "Imperfection").

"Broken Pieces Shine" is a welcome return to the band's hard rock / alternative metal sound after the orchestral and electronic soundscape of 2017's Synthesis, which primarily reimagined previous Evanescence tracks as new stripped down, quieter recordings (while also including two new songs and three new instrumental pieces). This album is really our first time hearing Evanescence in their rock and metal element in a very long time, at least via original music. (While they did release a rock song back in 2019, it was a cover of a classic Fleetwood Mac song, not an original Evanescence song.) "Broken Pieces Shine" begins with electronic warbling and a monotonous and muffled male voice counting down: "3, 2, 1, 0." We then get slamming electric guitar and drums, and the best part of the song is definitely the melodically and thematically powerful chorus in which Lee, in a soaring and infectious melody that instantly hooked me upon first listen, asserts, "I'm not fine. I don't know if I will be all right, but I have to try. I know you're with me, so what if we do fall apart, give into all that we are and let all the broken pieces shine?" The deluxe box set edition of The Bitter Truth includes a bonus disc featuring the virtual concert that they did several months ago as well as a cassette tape, side A of which features short outtakes from the recording sessions and side B of which features seven instrumentals. One of the outtakes on side A is titled "BPS #7.1," and its lyrics would suggest that the song originally had a very different meaning, as Amy sings the chorus in that version much differently: "Can you still hear me or is this in my mind? I need you near me. I can't get you out of my head, still singing songs for the dead, baby, 'cause broken gems still shine." (The Evanescence Reference claims that she is saying "broken champs still shine," but I hear "broken gems still shine" which makes a lot more sense.) As I will discuss again later in this review, Amy Lee tragically lost her younger brother Robby three years ago to epilepsy complications, and, as past Evanescence songs such as "Hello" and "Like You" chronicle, she also lost a sister when she was very young, and it seems to me like "Broken Pieces Shine" might have originally been about one or both of them ("still singing songs for the dead").

The Bitter Truth then gives us two songs that we had already heard since they had already been released as singles - "The Game Is Over" (reviewed here) and "Yeah Right" (reviewed here). I won't discuss either of these songs at length here since I have already reviewed them, but I do want to say that "Yeah Right" has really grown on me, and I like it even more than I did when it first came out. I frequently find it stuck in my head and find it to be such an empowering song, and I wish that it had gotten a music video treatment (seeing as how it is the only single that didn't). Like "Broken Pieces Shine," "Feeding the Dark" is another song that I instantly loved upon first listen, in large part because of the nostalgia that it made me feel. Why did it make me feel nostalgic, you ask? Well, it sounds (at least to me) exactly like it could easily fit on Fallen, the band's first major label commercial album - the album that started it all for most Evanescence fans who have been here since the beginning. The song is sonically identical to the overall sound heard on that album, and Lee even vocally delivers it in a similar way. The song's eerie instrumental and Lee's lower register vocals remind me especially of the Fallen track "Haunted." "Feeding the Dark" employs some industrial and nu metal tactics in keeping not only with Fallen but with classic Linkin Park (namely Hybrid Theory and Meteora). Also featured is a relentlessly heavy guitar groove that persists throughout the majority of the song. I believe that it was the album's producer Nick Raskulinecz who said in the recently released documentary Embracing the Bitter Truth that the song is the heaviest song that Evanescence has ever done, and while I do definitely think that it's up there, I wouldn't agree that it's the heaviest song that they have ever done, as I think that tracks such as "Lies," "Whisper," and the original version of "Never Go Back" are heavier in my opinion. I personally interpret its lyrics as being from the perspective of depression, trauma, or mental illness in general - whatever voices in your head are trying to bring you down: "Well, you know that you can't hide," Lee taunts in the powerful chorus, "and you know that you can't lie 'cause I know all your secrets, and I won't let you forget."

Following "Feeding the Dark" are three previously released singles in a row - the lead single "Wasted on You" (reviewed here), "Better Without You" (reviewed here), and "Use My Voice" (reviewed here) - and I do want to point out that I recently found out (from Embracing the Bitter Truth) that "Use My Voice" was originally intended to be the lead single, and I found that interesting because while I knew that "Wasted on You" was not originally intended to be the first single, I didn't know which song was. I am honestly glad that it didn't end up being "Use My Voice" because while I by no means whatsoever hate it, it's probably the lowest point on the album in my opinion. We then get "Take Cover," and this is technically another one that I had already heard, although obviously not this studio version. With slightly different lyrics in a few spots, the band first debuted the song live in 2016, and it, along with "Yeah Right" and "Feeding the Dark," is an outtake (albeit likely completely re-recorded for The Bitter Truth) from the 2011 self-titled album. I have always loved "Take Cover," one of the angriest, most aggressive, and emotionally rawest songs that Evanescence has ever done, and I remember, after hearing songs like "The Game Is Over" and "Use My Voice" which I felt were somewhat similar in tone and energy, speculating that we were perhaps finally going to get a studio version of the song on The Bitter Truth, and I have to give myself credit for speculating correctly. It definitely fits some of the themes on the album and belongs alongside other songs such as "The Game Is Over," "Yeah Right," "Better Without You," and "Use My Voice." Heavy and aggressive with slamming guitar and drums and Lee employing a more aggressive attitude in her tone than she normally does, the song pulls no punches, warning the target to "take cover 'cause... I'm coming to take your world down." We also hear some of, in my opinion, Amy's most impressive vocal work to date when, near the end of the song, she sings, "...so come on in inside." On the word "inside," she, staying at a relatively high pitch, undulates the word for a relatively sustained period of time, and it blows me away every time.

As mentioned earlier, Amy Lee experienced a devastating loss three years ago - the death of her younger brother Robby Lee. Shortly after that happened, she performed a cover of The Beatles' "Across the Universe" at certain shows during the second leg of the Synthesis Tour to honor him, as he was a huge Beatles fan. (He even provided guest vocals for Amy's cover of "Hello Goodbye" on her Dream Too Much album.) I knew then that there was no question that Robby would have at least one spot on the next Evanescence album, and "Far from Heaven" - the only piano ballad on the album - is his spot. (He technically has two spots and potentially has even more, but I will touch upon that later.) "Far from Heaven" is a beautiful piano ballad somewhat reminiscent of previous ballads such as "My Immortal" and "Lost in Paradise," and it did take a little bit of time to grow on me, as it took me some time to find the melody, if that makes sense. Once I did, I immediately realized how beautiful that it is, not to mention heartbreaking. Lee's brother is one of the primary subjects of this song, but it also has a broader theme - depression and grief in general and Amy questioning her faith. With questioning her faith comes questioning what follows death and whether or not we get to be reunited with loved ones who have passed: "What if I can't see your light anymore," Lee questions in the song's celestial chorus, "'cause I've spent too long in the dark? And I'm on my knees without shame begging to believe, but I feel so far from heaven." You can hear the authentic pain and heartbreak in Amy's vocals, especially in two specific parts: (1) in the second verse: "Wake up to a new day, break my heart again. Dreaming makes for sweet escape, but I can't forget." and (2) in the bridge when she calls out, "Is anyone out there? Did you give up on us?" I am not someone of Christian faith myself, but the beauty of this song is that I don't think that you have to be in order to relate to it and appreciate it. Many of us want to believe in a higher power that protects us and comforts us when we're suffering, and I myself was struggling with wanting to believe in that when I went through my own hardship earlier this year.

A common theme among Amy's lyrics throughout the years is the peace and solace that sleep and dreaming offer. "Imaginary," "Secret Door," and "Dream Too Much" are all examples of this, and The Bitter Truth offers up more of the same. As previously mentioned, "Far from Heaven" refers to waking up to a new day and painfully realizing that you have to be reintroduced to your pain and your grief. In the following song on the album, "Part of Me," there is a lyric that potentially refers to the same theme: "Feed my imaginings; don't let a sweet dream die." I honestly, in a few ways, love that "Part of Me" directly follows "Far from Heaven" because it is kind of like a sequel to it. Genius even points out that the song is about recovering from grief and rediscovering the beauty of life. "Part of Me" is quite possibly my favorite song from The Bitter Truth, as difficult as it is to choose a favorite because of how many gems that the album has to offer. It is such an incredibly powerful track both lyrically and melodically, and it's very emotionally empowering. "I will be more than my survival," Lee asserts powerfully in the song's chorus, "own these scars on my heart. Even in dreams, I hear you calling. Breaking the surface, I won't let go. You're part of me." One of the many reasons why I love this song is how many different ways that there are to interpret its meaning, none of which are, I think, mutually exclusive. Amy revealed, for example, that the song is, in part, about us - the fans - that it is we who will always be a part of her. I also firmly believe, however, that, as mentioned prior, it ties into "Far from Heaven." The theme of survival is one that is present on multiple tracks on the album. In "Broken Pieces Shine," for example, she claims that "survival hurts," and here, she asserts that she "will be more than my survival." Is it possible that part of the process of Amy's grief following the loss of her brother was experiencing survivor's guilt? It is a common response to losing a loved one - wondering why death didn't take you instead and wondering what right you have to go on living and experience happiness when your loved one doesn't get that opportunity.

If that is indeed the case, then it puts the meaning behind "Part of Me" in a new context. As previously stated, the song is said to be about Amy recovering from grief, so I don't think that it is a stretch by any means to suggest that her line about survival is referring to survivor's guilt. Lee stating that she "will be more than my survival" is, in a sense, saying that, "Yes, I am alive, but I am done feeling guilty about it. I am going to live my best life." It is such an incredibly powerful statement. The song also potentially ties into "Artifact / The Turn," especially "Artifact." In "Artifact," she quietly sings in the final line, "You will always be there," and here, she sings that "you're part of me now and always." In both cases, she is essentially capturing someone's presence in a song. Another reason why I love "Part of Me" is because of past Evanescence albums of which it reminds me. It sounds a lot like the 2011 self-titled album (reminding me of songs like "Oceans" and "Never Go Back"), but Amy's haunting chanting at the end reminds me of Origin. I, in addition, love how relentlessly heavy that the song is, featuring, for example, a heavy guitar breakdown approximately two-thirds of the way through the song that reminds me a great deal of HIM's 2007 album Venus Doom. The final song (officially - I will get to that shortly) on The Bitter Truth is "Blind Belief," and although Evanescence has definitely ended albums before on high energy (Fallen's "Whisper" and "Imperfection" on Synthesis serving as examples), they frequently end with ballads (such as The Open Door closing with "Good Enough" and the self-titled album ending with either "Swimming Home" or "Secret Door" depending on if you listen to the standard edition or the deluxe edition). When I first listened to the album, I was somewhat disappointed with how the album ends because I felt like it ended kind of abruptly without closure, and it felt like a song was supposed to follow but was missing. I eventually warmed up to it as the album closer, however, especially because of the words on which the album ends - love over all. What a powerful way to end an album!

The album leaked prior to its official release on March 26th, and although I did not listen to any leaks (wanting to wait for the catharsis of the official release date), I remember a fan on Twitter having listened to it and saying that "Blind Belief" reminded them of Flyleaf's 2005 self-titled album, and I can definitely hear where they were coming from. The song is heavy and also brings in some classic Evanescence by opening with trilling piano (playing a melody that guitar soon joins in playing) and incorporating an orchestra into the mix. The song is very optimistic and hopeful and, like "Use My Voice," is likely thematically sociopolitical, hoping for a brighter future in which we see change for the better. "Are you afraid to see that our fathers were wrong?" we are asked in the chorus. The use of the word fathers strongly suggests to me that Evanescence is addressing injustice stemming from institutionalized systems of power such as patriarchy. The song can also possibly be tied back to "Use My Voice" in that both songs likely refer to firearms in a critical way. In "Use My Voice," Amy sings sarcastically, "Gather your friends and wave your gun in my face, but I will use my voice," and in "Blind Belief," she encourages, "Arms of self-sacrifice, lay them down." It's a little less direct in "Blind Belief" as it's more open to interpretation, but I am reminded of In This Moment's song "Lay Your Gun Down," which frontwoman Maria Brink has, at live shows, sang in response to gun violence, and I think that Evanescence is similarly addressing gun violence here, insisting that it needs to stop. "Blind Belief" also, in a way, brings the album full circle in the way that a line potentially parallels a line from "Broken Pieces Shine," where Lee questions, "How can we ever be us, wondering who we can trust?" Here in "Blind Belief," she declares in the first verse that "love begins with us, but we can't be trusted." I don't believe this to be a coincidence. "Broken Pieces Shine" isn't just questioning whether or not we can trust others; it's also questioning whether or not we can trust ourselves.

As previously stated, however, "Blind Belief" is ultimately hopeful and optimistic. Lee may initially argue that "love begins with us, but we can't be trusted," but as I said before, the final line of the song (and of the album) is love over all, indicating that if we put love before everything else - injustice, oppression, violence, hate, etc. - then maybe we can be trusted. This especially rings true given the line in the chorus about how "we hold the key to redemption," and I also love that there is, as is the case with several of the album's tracks, more than one way to read the lyrics. There is the sociopolitical way that I just suggested, but I think that "Far from Heaven," "Part of Me," and "Blind Belief" can also be read almost as a trilogy about grief - with "Blind Belief" encompassing acceptance and moving forward with hope and renewed resilience. As I said, I came to love and appreciate it as the closing track even if I didn't at first. It, officially speaking, closes the album, but there are different editions of the album that feature differing bonus content. The Target edition CD and the Japanese edition CD, as examples, both feature the cover of Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" that Amy Lee and Troy McLawhorn performed last year as well as the band's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" released as a standalone single in 2019 to promote the video game Gears 5. (I especially love the acoustic take on "Cruel Summer.") As I talked about earlier in this review when I discussed "Broken Pieces Shine," there was also a deluxe box set released that featured the album (without, unfortunately, "Cruel Summer" or "The Chain" which meant that diehards like myself who wanted to own all of the tracks had to buy more than one copy of the album), a bonus disc, as I explained, featuring the virtual concert that they streamed from Rock Falcon Studios on December 5th (which includes a cover of Portishead's "Glory Box," making it the second time that Amy has covered a Portishead song) last year as well as a hauntingly gorgeous studio version of "Across the Universe" as a bonus track. (I mentioned earlier that Robby technically has two spots on the album, and this is the other one.)

I also previously mentioned the cassette tape included in the deluxe box set and how side A features snippets of outtakes from the album's recording sessions and side B features seven instrumentals - "The Game Is Over," "Yeah Right," "Use My Voice," "Better Without You," "Wasted on You," "Far from Heaven," and "Blind Belief." (I do wish that "Broken Pieces Shine," "Feeding the Dark," and "Part of Me" instrumentals had been included since they are three of my favorites, but I digress.) Of the outtakes on side A, some of the highlights for me are the intro titled "Wolves," "Avocado Cream" (it's typical of Amy to give songs silly food-related working titles, as "The Only One" was titled "Tuna Afternoon," "Never Go Back" was titled "Orange," and "Part of Me" was titled "Pickle Mustard"), the aforementioned "BPS #7.1," "Teleportation," and "Farther." The Bitter Truth, as I have come to expect from Evanescence over the last two decades, is phenomenal and does not disappoint, although I do have some minor complaints to voice, none of which are serious enough to really make me appreciate this album (which, as is also always the case with Evanescence albums, dropped at a perfect time in my life) any less. Firstly (and I am not the only fan who has voiced this complaint), some of the songs are mixed/produced in such a way that Amy's vocals are drowned out and too quiet, and I believe that I mentioned that in some of my reviews of the singles. This is especially apparent in the verses of "Blind Belief," but it's also a problem in "The Game Is Over" and "Feeding the Dark." With that being said, you can tell that the band was going for a very raw, almost live sound with this album and wanted it to be heavy, so the focus being more centered on the instruments is very likely intentional. Secondly, there are aspects of the tracklisting that I personally would have done a little bit differently. I don't really like the transition between "Feeding the Dark" and "Wasted on You" and think that "Wasted on You" should have been either closer to the beginning of the album or closer to the end. It, to me, doesn't sound right in the middle.

What even is the bitter truth? Well, despite the title of the album and despite Amy's claim in "The Game Is Over" that "there's only one," I think that the title is in reference to more than one truth - the truth that we all die, the truth that life isn't always a fairy-tale, and Amy's own personal truth that she isn't going to let be silenced. One of the overarching themes of The Bitter Truth, for example, is fighting off patriarchal oppression both in the music industry and in the world in general, as can be clearly heard in "Yeah Right," "Better Without You," "Use My Voice," and "Take Cover," and I kind of wish that all of these songs were right next to each other consecutively so that it felt almost like a story arc on the album as you listen from start to finish. Three of them - "Better Without You," "Use My Voice," and "Take Cover" are, but I also feel that "Yeah Right" is part of that saga and that it's interrupted by "Feeding the Dark" and "Wasted on You." I put some thought into how I might structure the tracklisting:

1. Artifact / The Turn
2. Broken Pieces Shine
3. Feeding the Dark
4. The Game Is Over
5. Take Cover
6. Use My Voice
7. Yeah Right
8. Better Without You
9. Wasted on You
10. Far from Heaven
11. Part of Me
12. Blind Belief
    

That, I think, pretty much solves most of the issues that I personally have with the tracklisting, but I once again digress. At the end of the day, the fact remains that my favorite band of all time is back with a vengeance. As I have also seen some other fans comment, I do miss the epic theatrical quality of songs like "Whisper," "Lacrymosa," and "Your Star," but this album definitely offers theatricality in its own way (such as the lulling bells of "Wasted on You" and the music box opening to "Better Without You"). Here is to hoping that it isn't another ten years before we get another original album!

Amy Lee - Dream Too Much [Review]

Most us know Amy Lee as the lead singer of alternative metal band Evanescence, but do all of us know her as the folksy lullaby singer on Dream Too Much? I would venture to guess not. Years ago, Lee was asked about the possibility of ever doing solo work, and she said that she would love to because she doesn't want to be seen as a "one-trick pony," and she has definitely proven that she is anything but. Since Evanescence's most recent album (self-titled) in 2011, Lee has performed bluegrass shows, wrote a film (War Story)'s score, and released an EP containing four cover songs (Portishead's "It's a Fire," U2's "With or Without You," Led Zeppelin's "Going to California," and my favorite of the batch, Chris Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing"). 2014's Aftermath contained not only instrumental music for the aforementioned film but also a few songs, including the 90s-esque electronic club banger "Push the Button." Dream Too Much ventures into even newer territory - a children's album containing folky songs and lullabies. The album, inspired by the birth of Lee's son, Jack Lion Hartzler, is simply adorable, and perhaps mainly because I have never really heard this side of Amy Lee before (the closest that comes to mind is her "Cartoon Network Song" or maybe her cover of "Halfway Down the Stairs"), it feels very fresh and new. The album opens with "Stand by Me," a cover of the classic song originally by Ben E. King. This is one of the many songs on the album that is simply adorable. Featuring background "bum-bum-bum..." harmonizing by Amy's sisters as well as an accompaniment by what sounds like a banjo, this cover is so emotionally uplifting and adorable and serves as a great intro to the album.

The album then moves into the title track, "Dream Too Much," which I guess is technically the album's first single. The track starts with lulling notes that sound like they're played on a xylophone or a keyboard. The song has a really catchy melody and is essentially about how anything can happen in our dreams. Lee tells dream-like, nonsensical stories such as wind blowing at the bottom of the ocean, sleeping muffins, flying sandwiches, jellyfish building towers made of watermelon, etc. What I love about this album is that even though it is a children's album, Amy is well aware that she has a large adult fanbase, and there is consequently something for everyone on this album. "Dream Too Much" is a good example of this, as it has a really great message to which anyone can relate regardless of age. The best example of this can be found in these particular lyrics: "In dreams, you can do anything you want to, and once in a while, you'll have dreams that come true." I think that anyone can relate to this idea - children, teens, young adults, middle-aged adults, the elderly, etc. - that dreams are sometimes goals to which we can aspire. Then comes the shortest track on the album. Running at only thirty-seven seconds long, "Bee and Duck" is a short story sung over animal (bee and duck, of course) sound effects and what sounds like xylophone and piano, a story about a pair of friends (a bee and a duck) whose friendship ends when the duck tries to eat the bee and the bee retaliates by stinging the duck. It's a very simple and rather silly song that's definitely targeted primarily for youngsters.

Tracks 4 and 5 on the album are two of my favorites. The fourth track is "I'm Not Tired," which Amy herself has said is probably the funniest track on the album (and I would agree). She also said that it's her mother's favorite song on the album. It seems to be a song potentially from Jack's perspective, not wanting to go to bed. I think that even adults would love this song. (I know that I do; it's catchy and funny.) We all remember being at an age when going to bed was one of the most terrible things in the world that could happen. We didn't feel tired and wanted to stay up and continue playing with our toys or watching movies or whatever it was that we were doing. Our parent(s) don't have to go to bed until they're tired, we'd think, so why do I? The best part of the song is when Amy sings, "I can count down backwards from a thousand; check it out - 1,000; 999; 998; 997..." It's a catchy tune that will probably get a chuckle or two out of you. The fifth track is titled "Little Bird" and is, as I said, another of my favorites. After the energy of "I'm Not Tired," the speed is brought down considerably on this piano-driven song intended as an ode to the beauty of birds. This song is absolutely beautiful, and even though it's still pretty far removed from Evanescence's material, it is possibly in keeping with Amy's apparent love for birds, as it reminds me of this lyric from the Evanescence song "End of the Dream": "I found a bird closing her eyes one last time, and I wonder if she dreamed like me." Similarly, in "Little Bird," Amy not only admires the beauty of the described birds but also seems to identify with them: "I know your name," she sings.

Tracks 6-8 are all cover songs, so I won't spend a whole lot of time talking about them. "Alice" is another short one (running at only forty-eight seconds long) and is melodically beautiful. Amy sings the old children's nursery rhyme (in what I am pretty sure is her own melody) over the sound of a harp (I always love it when she uses harp), and it's stunningly beautiful, even though I quite honestly don't understand the meaning of the nursery rhyme. (The rhyme is actually sometimes recited as "Gladys, where art thou going?" instead of "Alice...") Is Alice a doll that went down the drain? "Rubber Duckie," which of course is originally by Jim Henson from Sesame Street, is vocally led both by Amy and her father John Lee, and this is such an adorable and uplifting duet. The melody is sung over what I believe is either a banjo or an ukulele; I am honestly not sure (I am a terrible music reviewer, I know). Amy and her father sound so amazing together, and I hope to hear more from them in the future. "Hello Goodbye" is a cover of a classic song by The Beatles, and, as is just about all of the material on this album, it's so adorable. The cover is backed by a fun beat to which you might find yourself bobbing your head as well as guitar, and at least two of Amy's family members make vocal "appearances" on the song; her brother Robby is singing background vocals, and her son Jack says at approximately the 1:10 mark, "Goodbye, goodbye!" I remember Amy saying before the album came out that even Jack could be heard on the album, but she didn't say which song. Well, it's "Hello Goodbye," and it's precious.

"Donkey and Chicken" is similar to "Bee and Duck" in that it tells the story of a friendship between two animals. In this narrative, sung over what I believe is a banjo (the song kind of has a country-like twang to it, which makes sense since it's about farm animals) and a marching band beat, Amy tells the story of a donkey and a chicken who escape from their farmer in order to eat a bunch of ice cream, which results in their getting nauseous and having to sleep on the side of the road instead of going home to their farmer. My favorite part of the song is when the musical accompaniment changes to what sounds like an ice cream truck playing music, and Amy enthusiastically sings, "Ice cream! Ice cream! Sweet, sticky, glorious ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream! Tastiest treat in the world!" One thing that I love about this album is that you can tell that Amy and her family had so much fun making it, and it's very creative. Like "Bee and Duck," though, this song tells a very simple story that's ideal for the really little ones. "The End of the Book," though, is another favorite of mine that has a really sweet story behind it (as do many of the songs on the album). The song is inspired by Jack, as Amy has said that he tends to cry when the book that is being read to him is finished. She responds by telling him that they can read it again. "The end of the book isn't the end of the story. You can imagine anything that you want it to be," Amy starts the song by declaring. Some of the lyrics remind me of the title track because they are also about not being afraid to exercise your imagination. Amy has said that some of the songs included toys such as mallets as instruments, and I think that this might have been one such song.

The eleventh track on Dream Too Much is my favorite song on the album and is the second song to have premiered from the album. "If You're a Star" is quite possibly the most beautiful song that Amy has ever written, and anyone who knows me and understands my love for Amy and Evanescence knows that that is saying a lot. This is a piano-driven lullaby that wonders if stars have any human-like characteristics. "How do you sleep at night if you can never turn out your light?" she asks the stars. "How do you sleep at night if you're a star?" The melody of this song is hauntingly beautiful, and I especially love the part near the end of the song (at the 2:34 mark) when Amy closes the song by playing a snippet of the primary melody on the piano. What makes this song especially beautiful is that a lot of it was improvised by Amy and her husband Josh; they often sing to Jack and make lyrics and melodies up as they go along, and this song was the result of such a session. Dream Too Much then closes with "Goodnight My Love," a cover of a pop song originally released in 1956 by Jesse Belvin. Even though this is a cover, it still has a touching story behind it. Amy said that it was the first song to be record for the album, back when it was simply a family project not necessarily intended to be released for the world to hear. Her father John takes the lead on this one, with Amy harmonizing on background vocals, but this is a song that he sang to her as a child, which makes his singing it ever so meaningful. It's a great closing to an album that is such a beautiful work of art. I expected to love it because I have loved everything that Amy Lee has ever done, but I love it even more than I thought that I would. It's beautiful, creative, heartwarming, and adorable, and it has something for the whole family. Evanescence fans, you'd be foolish to not to give this a chance.

Amy Lee - Aftermath [Review]

As most people who know me are aware, I am a huge fan of Evanescence and have been for eleven years. Evanescence is, hands down, my favorite band, and I don't see that ever changing. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Amy Lee planned to release a solo album. I remember her saying years ago that she would like to do so because she wanted to prove that she is not a one-trick pony (something that this album most certainly proves), but this past summer, she did more than just say that she would like to eventually do so; she revealed the album artwork and tracklisting. I nearly jumped out of my seat with excitement. Aftermath, the final product, functions both as Lee's solo debut as well as the soundtrack to the film War Story, and I also recall Lee saying years ago that it was a dream of hers to eventually score a film, and that is a goal which she has achieved, which is awesome. I have seen many Evanescence fans respond very harshly to Aftermath, saying that it is absolute garbage (which is probably because of how different that most of it is from Evanescence's typical sound), but I am not one of those fans. Evanescence may be my favorite band, but I also love Marina and the Diamonds, Lady Gaga, Madonna, etc., so my taste in music is pretty expansive, and I think that Aftermath is a beautiful work of art that, as previously stated, shows that Amy Lee is capable of successfully pulling off multiple genres of music.

The album opens with "Push the Button," which is the song that I have seen receive the most amount of negative criticism (even though it is my favorite song from the album). The song sounds like a song that you would expect to hear in a scene of a film or television series that takes place in some sort of night club. Lee's moaning sounds are deeply reminiscent of Madonna's early '90s Erotica sound. The song is Madonna meets Annie Lennox, with a dance beat and ethereal vocals. I haven't yet, but I honestly cannot wait to work out to this song. "Push the Button" is the only song on the album with this sound, though, as most of the remainder of the album consists of strings with no vocals, as is the case with "White Out," the second track. This track is only a minute-and-a-half and is actually a bit of a disappointment to me because, although beautiful, it would seem that Amy Lee had absolutely nothing to do with it. If you look at the digital booklet, you will see that the credits for this track credit Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer as the writers and producers, Dave Eggar, Dave Nelson, and Thad DeBrock as the performers, and Chuck Palmer as the mixer. Amy Lee had no involvement with this song according to the credits, so that is a bit of a letdown for me. The track is very slow with light strings that sound very much like an introduction to a film. This track might, in fact, be heard at the beginning of War Story, but I wouldn't know because I haven't seen it yet.

The third track is titled "Remember to Breathe," and although Amy Lee does have some involvement in the track as the mixer and producer, she apparently did not write or perform the track (both of those credits go to Dave Eggar). The track is another very slow and quiet one, with deep strings reverberating for another minute-and-a-half. The track moves very smoothly into the fourth track, titled "Dark Water," a very full-sounding song with Arabic lyrics and chanting. World singer Malika Zarra lends vocals to the song and actually sings most of it, with supporting chanting performed by Lee. The song picks up speed from the previous two tracks, as it is something to which you could dance. "Dark Water" features Arabic lyrics that are an interpretation of a poem that I am assuming was written by Amy, as it is published in the digital booklet of the album. According to Lee, the track, although on Aftermath, was not actually used in War Story. "Between Worlds" is another instrumental piece, this time with Lee featured as both a writer and a performer. It sounds very similar to "White Out" to me, and the melody reminds me of The Open Door (Evanescence's third album). It has a dreamy and wistful sound to it, as does "Drifter," the next piece. "Drifter" features Lee's typical instrument of choice, the piano, and it reminds me of anime. Anime very often features very sad, melancholy music played on piano, and this piece definitely brings to my mind anime such as Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Drifter" moves very smoothly into "Can't Stop What's Coming," one of four tracks to feature vocals. The track begins with piano and moves into a steady and soft beat (that reminds me very much of Massive Attack) and Amy's soaring chanting and lyrics. The song is only slightly over two minutes long and does not feature many lyrics: "Can't stop what's coming. Can't stop what's coming over me. I can't stop what's coming. I dream of falling into you, like sleep, not to feel, just to sleep." "Voice in My Head" is yet another instrumental piece and is like "Drifter" in that it is mostly dominated by piano. It sounds a little ambitious, as I can imagine myself listening to music like "Voice in My Head" while doing something creative such as writing. As the piece progresses, that is exactly what it reminds me of - inspiration causing thoughts and ideas to form. "Lockdown" is the final song on the album. It reminds me of synthpop and almost sounds to me like something The Cure or Depeche Mode might do. This is one of the four songs on the album that I don't think is too far from the usual sound of Evanescence; the electronic sound kind of reminds me of Origin. Lyrically, the song is about someone coping with some sort of trauma, which is not only in keeping with what I know War Story to be about but is also in keeping with the theme of several Evanescence songs. The album concludes with the instrumental piece "After," which, from what I have read, also closes the film. It is a very slow and very sad-sounding piece played on strings, and like "White Out," Lee had no involvement according to the credits.

I would be lying if I said that I don't miss the heavier sound of Evanescence, but I am quite honestly just happy that Lee has released something, something that is, in my opinion, musically and artistically innovative and original. Aftermath, to me, represents the realization of a dream, as, like I stated before, an alternative metal musician set a goal of eventually scoring a film, and she did just that. It is also considered her first solo album, and although I will not go so far as to say that I would wholly dispute that, I will definitely say that it's debatable. It is definitely solo in the sense that it's detached from Evanescence, but Lee worked with several other musicians such as Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, and, as I previously stated, she apparently was not even involved in two of the album's tracks. I really love Aftermath, though, and I find a lot of fans to be responding to it far too harshly. It's fine to have a negative opinion of something released by an artist, even if it's an artist that you really like, but to be disrespectful about it is a different story. Evanescence fans should be respectful of the fact that Lee is breaking out of a shell and is doing her own thing. It is not selfish for an artist to do what makes him or her happy rather than to do what is expected of him or her. My only two complaints are that (a) as I said, I wish that Amy Lee were involved in all of the album's material, and (b) I wish that the album were longer. With only ten tracks, some of which are very short, the album is only thirty minutes long. I am a little bit dismayed by the fact that she has said recently that going into the studio with the rest of Evanescence is not in store for the near future, but at the same time, I am excited to hopefully hear another project from Amy in the (hopefully near) future!