Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Evanescence Releases 3rd Album + Amy Lee’s Meet and Greet Session with Fans



I love listening to various types of music and would often consider one song a favorite even without knowing much about the artist. This is true with my experience with Evanescence. I immediately liked “My Immortal” the first time I heard it and transferred the MP3 to my iPod even though I still wasn’t familiar with the band that performed it.

My eldest son, who knows more about music artists than I do, is a fan of Evanescence and was the reason I found myself among the throng of enthusiastic fans during the a meet and greet session in SM Megamall last Sunday. This was held a few hours before the band’s concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that night and was made possible by Polyeast Records, Ovations Productions Manila, and Odyssey Music & Video.


Amy Lee, the vocalist, signed a total of 300 albums bought by fans prior to her arrival. It was hard to take good shots of the stage though. Even if we were in the media pit, the guards manning the front of the stage wouldn’t let us pass them. Still, the crowd patiently stayed, seemingly content to gaze at the pretty girl who was smiling and shaking hands with the lucky 300 who got to go near her.

In line with their first visit in the Philippines, the Grammy Award-winning band released their third studio production and self-titled album EVANESCENCE. This latest compilation of their music follows the multi-platinum, worldwide success of their sophomore effort, The Open Door, after a three-year sabbatical.

The third album is produced by Grammy-winning Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Rush). EVANESCENCE contains the hard-driving anthems and introspective ballads the hard rock group has been known for, and mastered, since their breakout debut in 2003. The first album, Fallen, brought the band to global success, selling more than 17 million copies. It spawned two Top 10 singles, “My Immortal” and “Bring Me to Life”, and two Grammy Awards in 2003. Sales of the first two albums are more than 24 million worldwide.

Now, eight years later, the new 12 tracks demonstrate the growth of the band’s writing style and lyrical content. The latest album is powerful and aggressive, backed by the heavy guitar sound of Terry Balsamo and the pounding drums of Will Hunt. “This album is about us and also our fans. We’re combining the best of Evanescence with some new attitude and we’re just dying to share it,” pronounces Amy Lee.

She describes the first single, “My Heart is Broken”, to be about freedom and which has her signature lyrics and piano playing. Other tracks include “Lost in Paradise”, which Lee shares as “the most intimate song on the album”, and the hard-charging, “What You Want.”


The inherent drama in Evanescence’s music – a kind of audio odyssey that switches from piano-led introspection to hammering guitar – has captured the hearts of music lovers everywhere. The band’s music core, which ranges from beautiful to subtle to aggressive, finds the perfect partner in Lee’s passionate vocals and in lyrics that build connections with listeners who are searching for identity or are struggling with feelings of desire, hope, love, and loss.

EVANESCENCE albums are exclusively available under POLYEAST RECORDS and can be bought from  all Astrovision/Astroplus, Odyssey Music & Video, O Music, Fully Booked, SM Department Stores’ Record Bars and Landmark Department Stores nationwide.


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