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Rating:
Incredible to say. Reviewing an album like this, destined not only for dark music lovers like me but also for a segment of the audience accustomed to the trash circulating on MTV or other similar garbage bins, has proven more difficult than expected. Four months after the release and my immediate purchase of "The Open Door", giving a judgment on Evanescence and their latest effort remains truly challenging for me, perhaps due to the desire to thoroughly assimilate the album before criticizing it freely as many gossiping voices in the music press enjoyed doing upon encountering a product that can be appealing to the masses and that doesn't bear the Iron Maiden signature (mind you, it's impossible to criticize a historic band!). Evanescence have written some of my favorite songs; I could never have deprived myself of listening to their new album, especially considering that among the countless and almost all similar gothic metal bands discovered in recent years, there are few songs that boast reaching emotional peaks comparable to those of "Breathe No More," "Understanding," or "Hello."
I truly didn't know what to expect when I put the disc into the player. If Amy, on the microphones, had long promised us a breath of fresh air, all the new things the band had offered after "Fallen" (the single "Call Me When You're Sober") were imbued with unhealthy air. The listening began, therefore, with some doubts. However, the promises were not denied: the new tracks remain with little or nothing of what we heard in "Fallen".
The changes are noticeable right from the opener "Sweet Sacrifice": the guitars become direct and heavy, bordering on nu-metal. Orchestrations are not in the foreground, they only serve as a complement to the guitars, but this song is destined to remain an isolated episode in the whole. Even regarding the lyrics, we notice a revolution. No more existential dramas, but much more self-confidence: Amy's voice states "fear is only in our minds." And if "Call Me When You're Sober" presents the more "pop" side of the band, the lyrics of this song offer us a splendid depiction of how frustrating a romantic relationship can be at the end of its possibilities for existence. From the third track "Weight of the World", the tones rise; here too, the guitars follow the same scheme as the initial track, but we can find heavy parts followed by calm and reflective sections where we find piano notes reminiscent of a music box sound and an acoustic guitar.
Analogous to what was proposed in "Fallen," one of the highlights is the fourth track. "Lithium" is not, however, a mournful and slow ballad like "My Immortal," but a desperate cry translated into rock music adorned with an elegant dark vein in the elegiac notes of the piano and strings, as well as in Amy's voice, which has improved to scary levels in range and expressiveness. The singer indeed offers operatic hints in parts never excessive and always well dosed in every song of the platter. "Cloud Nine" presents electronic parts and an affected voice, then leads to a truly beautiful chorus and offers us a bridge where piano and guitars duet in syncopated rhythms. "Snow White Queen" is the transposition of Bjork in Evanescence's style. With "Lacrymosa" the passion for operatic choirs and classical music goes beyond the ordinary, even daring to disturb Mozart and his "Requiem," causing shivers down the spine throughout the entire track until the intense final explosion that would even make bands jealous that are much more familiar with classical music (like Nightwish, for example). "Like You" is a beautiful ballad with a romantic flavor imbued with death in which reigns a dark fairy tale atmosphere both in the music and lyrics. "Lose Control" perhaps narrates lost innocence and is irresistibly hypnotic both in the verses where the piano takes the center stage, in the powerful chorus, and in the bridge, until the notes slowly fade away in the closure.
"The Only One" is an invitation not to give up, pain is seen as a common feeling ("we're all suffering, lost and hurt") and, once again, it's Amy's magical piano that gives that extra touch and introduces us to the beautiful "Your Star", yet another perfect synthesis of how far, compared to their past, the band has managed to push themselves, especially concerning lyrical choruses and orchestrations. "All That I'm Living For", with that melancholic string background, its reflective lyrics, and the guitar arpeggio in the verses, would be a perfect song for a soundtrack. In the opening of "Good Enough", played entirely on the piano with the prestigious accompaniment of strings, we perceive a yearning melancholy, which, however, gives room to a wave of deserved optimism with the arrival of Amy's voice creating a real duet with her own instrument, offering us melodies that manage to be as sweet as a dream, like a long-awaited rain gently touching the skin.
Now, I face a realization that, due to the feelings that tied me to "Fallen," I might have forced myself to repress. "The Open Door" is the best among Evanescence's albums. Ben Moody has been defeated, as have the ghosts of the past, namely the excessive but sometimes pointless catchiness, the electronics that never managed to find its ideal placement, the piano unjustly relegated to the background, the sometimes trite and adolescent lyrics, and the static nature of the voice. They may not have a great technical portfolio and construct simple songs from an execution standpoint, but between the rigidity, coldness, and stereotyping of bands where depressed faces marked by tears and romantic feelings steeped in black sometimes purely artificially abounds, Evanescence, with their emotional sincerity, are one of the few groups worthy of success and the right heralds for this genre, which makes strong emotions its own focus.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Sweet Sacrifice (03:06)
It's true, we're all a little insane
but it's so clear
now that I am unchained
Fear is only in our minds
taking over all the time
fear is only in our minds
but it's taking over all the time
You poor sweet innocent thing
dry your eyes and testify
you know you live to break me- don't deny
sweet sacrifice
One day I'm gonna forget your name
and one sweet day,
you're gonna drown in my lost pain
Fear is only in our minds
taking over all the time
fear is only in our minds
but it's taking over all the time
You poor sweet innocent thing
dry your eyes and testify
and oh you love to hate me don't you, honey?
I'm your sacrifice
[I dream in darkness
I sleep to die
erase the silence
erase my life
our burning ashes
blacken the day
a world of nothingness
blow me away]
Do you wonder why you hate?
are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?
You poor sweet innocent thing
dry your eyes and testify
you know you live to break me- don't deny
sweet sacrifice
03 Weight of the World (03:38)
Feels like the weight of the world
Like God in heaven gave me a turn
Don't cling to me, I swear I can't fix you
Still in the dark, can you fix me?
Free fall, free fall
All through life
If you love me
Then let go of me
I won't be held down
By who I used to be
She's nothing to me
Feels like the weight of the world
Like all my screaming has gone unheard
And, oh, I know you don't believe in me
Safe in the dark, how can you see?
Free fall, free fall
All through life
If you love me
Then let go of me
I won't be held down
By who I used to be
If you love me
Then let go of me
I won't be held down
By who I was
If you love me
Then let go of me
I won't be held down
By who I used to be
04 Lithium (03:44)
Lithium- Don't wanna lock me up inside
Lithium- Don't wanna forget how it feels without
Lithium- I wanna stay in love with my sorrow
Oh, but God, I wanna let it go
Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone
Couldn't hide the emptiness, you let it show
Never wanted it to be so cold
Just didn't drink enough to say you love me
I can't hold on to me
Wonder what's wrong with me?
Lithium- Don't wanna lock me up inside
Lithium- Don't wanna forget how it feels without
Lithium- I wanna stay in love with my sorrow
I don't wanna let it lay me down this time
Drown my will to fly
Here in the darkness, I know myself
Can't break free until I let it go
Let me go
Darling, I forgive you after all
Anything is better than to be alone
And in the end I guess I had to fall
Always find my place among the ashes
I can't hold on to me
Wonder what's wrong with me?
Lithium- Don't wanna lock me up inside
Lithium- Don't wanna forget how it feels without
Lithium- Stay in love with you
I'm gonna let it go
05 Cloud Nine (04:22)
If you wanna live, let live
If you wanna go, let go
I'm not afraid to dream, to sleep- sleep forever
I don't need to touch the sky
I just wanna feel that high
And you refuse to lift me
Guess it wasn't real after all
Guess it wasn't real all along
If I fall and all is lost
It's where I belong
If you wanna live, let live
If you wanna go, let go
I'm never gonna be your sweet, sweet surrender
Guess it wasn't real after all
Guess it wasn't real all along
[Chorus]:
If I fall and all is lost
No light to lead the way
Remember that all alone
Is where I belong
In a dream
Will you give your love to me?
Beg my broken heart to beat
Save my life, Change my mind
[Chorus]
06 Snow White Queen (04:23)
Stoplight, lock the door
Don't look back
Undress in the dark
And hide from you, all of you
You'll never know the way your words have haunted me
I can't believe you'd ask these things of me
You don't know me
[Chorus]:
You belong to me, my snow white queen
There's nowhere to run, so let's just get it over
Soon I know you'll see, you're just like me
Don't scream anymore, my love, 'cause all I want is you
Wake up in a dream
Frozen fear
All your hands on me
I can't scream, I can't scream
I can't escape the twisted way you think of me
I feel you in my dreams and I don't sleep
I don't sleep
[Chorus]
I can't save your life
Though nothing I bleed for is more tormenting
I'm losing my mind
And you just stand there and stare as my world divides
[Chorus]
All I want is you (x4)
07 Lacrymosa (03:37)
Out on your own
Cold and alone again
Can this be what you really wanted, baby?
Blame it on me, set your guilt free
Nothing can hold you back now
Now that you're gone
Feel like myself again
Greiving the things I can't repair and willing...
To let you blame it on me
And set your guilt free
I don't wanna hold you back now, love
I can't change who I am
Not this time
I won't lie to keep you near me
And in this short life
There's no time to waste on giving up
My love wasn't enough
And you can blame it on me
And set your guilt free, honey
I don't wanna hold you back now, love
09 Lose Control (04:50)
You don't remember my name
I don't really care
Can we play the game your way?
Can I really lose control?
[Chorus]:
Just once in my life
I think it'd be nice
Just to lose control- just once
(With all the pretty flowers) in the dust
Mary had a lamb
His eyes black as coals
If we play very quiet, my lamb
Mary never has to know
[Chorus]
If I cut you down to a thing I can use
I fear there'll be nothing good left of you
(Just to lose control- just once)
10 The Only One (04:40)
(You know you're not the only one)
When they all come crashing down- midflight
You know you're not the only one
When they're so alone they find a back door out of life
You know you're not the only one
We're all grieving
Lost and bleeding
All our lives
We've been waiting
For someone to call our leader
But all your lies
I'm not believing
Heaven shine a light down on me
So afraid to open your eyes- hypnotized
You know you're not the only one
Never understood this life
And you're right, I don't deserve
But you know I'm not the only one
We're all grieving
Lost and bleeding
All our lives
We've been waiting
For someone to call our leader
But all your lies
I'm not believing
Heaven shine a light down on me
Don't look down
Don't look into the eyes of the world beneath you
Don't look down
You'll fall down
You'll become their sacrifice
Right or wrong
Can't hold on to the fear that I'm lost without you
If I can't feel, I'm not mine
I'm not real
All our lives
We've been waiting
For someone to call our leader
But all your lies
I'm not believing
Heaven shine a light down on me
11 Your Star (04:43)
I can't see your star
I can't see your star
Though I patiently waited, bedside for the death of today
I can't see your star
The mechanical lights of Lisbon frightened it away
[Chorus]:
And I'm alone now
Me and all I stood for
We're wandering now
All in parts and pieces, swim lonely
Find your own way out
I can't see your star
I can't see your star
How can the darkness feel so wrong?
[Chorus]
So far away
It's growing colder without your love
Why can't you feel me
Calling your name?
Can't break the silence
It's breaking me
All my fears
Turn to rage
[Chorus]
13 Good Enough (05:31)
Under your spell again
I can't say no to you
Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly
Now I can't let go of this dream
I can't breathe but I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough
For you
Drink up sweet decadence
I can't say no to you
And I've completely lost myself and I don't mind
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you conquer me completely
Now I can't let go of this dream
Can't believe that I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough
It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good
And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall
Pour real life down on me
'Cause I can't hold on to anything this good enough
Am I good enough for you to love me too?
So take care what you ask of me
'Cause I can't say no
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Other reviews
By Matt7
"The Open Door is the perfect continuation of Fallen, and it almost results in a qualitative copy."
"Amy Lee’s voice sounds great on this album, it will be seen live if she will maintain certain vocalizations...!"
By Il Grande Hallel
The album immediately showcases the band’s unique characteristics right from the first listen: heavy guitar riffs in pure rock/metal style interspersed with keyboards, acoustic pieces, and piano, creating a very gothic atmosphere.
The 13 songs that make up the album are true poems, beautifully sung by the angelic voice of vocalist Amy Lee, who seems to have even improved her style and power compared to the last album.
By cinciu
The element that stands out the most is the musical exploration.
'Call Me When You’re Sober' is now known to everyone, and even if it doesn’t repeat the success of 'Bring Me To Life,' it still achieves considerable success.
By Ophitae
Evanescence is no longer the (fake) dark ones of the past, they are... refined, if I can say so.
'Call Me When You're Sober'... has become too commercial. They could have directly eliminated it from the album.
