 
When you actually think about it, it’s ridiculous
how much commercial success Evanescence have had
up to this point with this being merely their
their 3rd album. Usually by this point in a bands
career most would just be beginning to break through
and catch a break or 2 but these guys have been
in the spotlight since album number one! The gap
between this and the previous album is a whopping
4 years, that’s a long time to make people
wait for new material and with the line up changing
with each album it’s hard to ever know what
to expect from a new release.
The albums lead single gives a great insight as
to what’s about to come; “What You
Want” features that signature Evanescence
style which is made up with melodic tones with
a light distortion backing and Amy Lee’s
simply remarkable vocals, that sound with a few
experimental tweaks here and there aiding in forward
progression is basically the style you’ll
find present throughout this release. With this
band it’s always been about incredible melodies
backed by powerful musical work which is no different
here as the chorus is extremely melodic with string
arrangements and light distortion accompanying
it. The reason the band is as big as they are
to be quite honest lies solely in the quality
and range that Miss Lee can hit with her voice,
people crave it and inspires them.
I will say though that I feel material from their
past 2 albums had more of an instant love quality
about them that I’ve found this lacks; you
heard songs like “Going Under”, “Bring
Me To Life” or “Call Me When Your
Sober” and you knew you’d play the
absolute crap out of them for the rest of your
life, on this album I can’t really find
a song that I’ve felt the same way about.
Don’t misunderstand me, I genuinely think
the material is fantastic; “My Heart is
Broken”, “Oceans” and especially
“Lost in Paradise” are extraordinary
pieces of music filled with haunting melodies
and fantastic arrangements, I just don’t
connect with it as well or as quickly as I have
done with past work. It’s also worth pointing
out that the last track on the album is quite
troubling; “Swimming Home” see’s
this style roll down a more mainstream road with
a few additions almost causing it to be classified
as a pop track.
To put it bluntly; the album is a beautiful collection
of songs with that distinctive Evanescence style
present in all songs (even if a couple went down
the wrong path), however I do feel that the majority
if not all of the songs could have so much better
if more consideration went into them. Here I believe
lies the reason as to why I haven’t bonded
with this new release as much, the songs are good
but not phenomenal when stacked up against some
of the greats from the back catalogue.
3/5
Review by James Webb
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