Evanescence Fallen

Evanescence: Amy Lee (vocals); Ben Moody (guitar, percussion, programming). Additional personnel: Paul McCoy (vocals); David Hodges (piano, keyboards, programming); Francesco DiCosmo (bass); Josh Freese, Rocky Gray (drums); Zac Baird, Chris Johnson (programming). Evanescence won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. FALLEN was nominated for Album Of The Year and for Best Rock Album. "Bring Me To Life" won for Best Hard Rock Performance. The song was also nominated for Best Rock Song. Picture Tori Amos fronting Nickelback and you'll get an idea of the sound behind Evanescence, an Arkansas quartet whose introduction to the world came via the DAREDEVIL soundtrack. With its debut FALLEN, Evanescence further pushes the envelope on the aforementioned description, with frontwoman Amy Lee pouring her light-yet-strong vocals into the aggro-rock workout "Bring Me to Life" and industrial trip-hop of "My Last Breath." Although guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt leave no riff unplayed on hard-hitting cuts like "Going Under" and "Taking Over Me," Lee brings a nice balance to the table with her gorgeous piano runs, which come to the fore on the very Amos-like "Hello." The perfect balance of hard and soft is met on "Haunted" with its ambient nuance stoked by clattering beats and loops, crunching riffs, and the use of a children's choir. Goth-like in mood yet nu-metal in execution, FALLEN could very well have been where Amos' first group Y Kant Tori Read ended up had they not come along 15 years too soon.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop