Evanescence
From ArticleWorld
The creators of Evanescence Amy Lee and Ben Moody met at a youth camp in Arkansas. They both discovered they shared a love of Jimi Hendrix and Björk, and they began to write songs together. The songs were altered lyrically and musically by Amy Lee, which is the main reason for having the names of both of them in the credits for writing them. Ben Moody was the originator and Amy Lee was the completer.
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Performance Problems
For a period of time they were unable to find other musicians with whom to play. They could not afford to pay for professional assistance, thus they were not able to play in live performances.
However, two songs of theirs, Understanding and Give Unto Me, found their way onto local music charts, and demand for a live show increased. When the band finally did make an appearance, they became one of the most popular acts in their area.
Name
They went through several names, such as Childish Intentions and Stricken, before settled on the name Evanescence. Evanescence means to fade away or dissipate like vapor. Amy loved the name for it was mysterious and dark, and it put a picture in one’s mind, which is what she wanted to do.
Early work
Their first full length CD, Origin is relatively unknown. The band also released two EPs, which are highly sought after by collectors due to their scarcity: the self-titled Evanescence EP of which about 100 copies were made in 1998, and the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP, which was limited to 50 copies in 1999. In 2000 was when Origin was released.
Recycle
Many of their songs that were on the two EPs and the original album were republished on their hit album Fallen. This was not a problem to Amy Lee as she viewed the three prior CDs as just demos and this was the proper way to showcase the music, in the likes of Fallen.
Fallen
Their first major album Fallen has been certified a six time Platinumalbum. It spent over 43 weeks in the Billboard Top 10 and has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. As of April 2005, Fallen is one of only eight albums in the history of the chart to spend a full year in the Billboard Top 50.
Daredevil
Their inclusion in the soundtrack for the action movie Daredevil helped propel both songs My Immortal and Bring Me To Life into widespread popularity and firmly cemented Evanescence within the music scene.
Bring Me to Life garnered recognition for the band at the Grammy Awards of 2004, where the band was given the Best Hard Rock Performance award. Evanescence was also awarded Best New Artist.
Elektra
The previously unreleased song, Breathe No More, was featured in the 2005 soundtrack of the movie Elektra.
Ben's Departure
On October 22, 2003, Moody left the band abruptly in the middle of a European tour. The reasons for his departure were reportedly "creative differences."
In an interview several months later, Amy Lee stated, "We'd gotten to a point that if something didn't change, we wouldn't have been able to make a second record."
Since then, Lee has said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions created within the band. Recently, Moody confessed in an interview that not only does he suffer from bipolar disorder, but that he's kicked a drug and alcohol habit that he was entrenched in during the strife within Evanescence.
He's also mentioned that the song he wrote about his abrupt departure, titled "10/22," was originally penned with him essentially pointing out Lee's flaws. However, Moody has pointed out that in introspection later revealed he was speaking about himself, not her.
Anywhere But Home
Anywhere But Home released in 2004. Evanescence's new lineup released a DVD/CD compilation entitled Anywhere But Home.
The DVD is their live-from-Paris show with several behind-the-scenes features, including shots of the band backstage, signing autographs, and warming up. The CD included a song entitled "Missing" which was previously unreleased. Also on the CD are the songs "Breathe No More" and "Farther Away". They had also included their cover of Korn's "Thoughtless" which they have played at several live shows.
The Open Door and the others
Evanescence is currently working on their second album, titled The Open Door, due for release in the United States on October 3, 2006 and in Australia on September 30, 2006.
The have also had a number of tributes that have been released using the band’s original work and various bands or orchestras have either revamped them or have performed them in a different manner.