Even before the release of their hugely successful Fallen in 2003, Wind-up Records and Evanescence were at odds. At the time, there was a question as to whether a female-fronted rock band could break into the charts. There were certainly other women in rock\u2014Lacuna Coil<\/a> emerged on the US scene in 2002 with their record Comalies, but they weren\u2019t the norm. After Evanescence signed with the label, they were asked to hire a full-time male vocalist to include on their songs for Fallen. The thought was that it would make the material more marketable; it should be noted that \u201cHeaven\u2019s a Lie\u201d, Lacuna Coil\u2019s break-in single, had male vocals on it.<\/p>\n The Open Door by Evanescence<\/a><\/p>\n Ultimately, Lee and Ben Moody said no, but the label pushed back. Their funding was pulled, they were released from their contract, and they drove home to Little Rock, Arkansas. Fortunately, Wind-Up changed their mind and offered a compromise: Add a male vocalist to the lead single, \u201cBring Me to Life\u201d. Lee was opposed to it, but the band conceded. The song was pitched for the fight-scene soundtrack of Mark Steven Johnson\u2019s 2003 superhero movie, Daredevil<\/a>. Lee went on to write the lyrics, and Paul McCoy stepped in to fill the role.<\/p>\n Amy Lee<\/a> explained that she feared fans would hear this first single, the band\u2019s first impression of sorts, and think that the entire project was similar, which it isn\u2019t. She feared it would come across as a trick, with the lead single not representative of the album as a whole. While this was likely true for some, their second single, \u201cGoing Under\u201d, also performed well, and Fallen went on to sell over 17 million copies.<\/p>\n After the success of Fallen and some of the internal turmoil that followed, there were high expectations for the follow-up record. As before, this issue of art versus business came to a head. This time, however, Evanescence was fully Lee\u2019s band; she had total creative control and made the album she wanted. The resulting The Open Door shows the evolution of Evanescence, leaning more towards classical with homemade sounds and more experimentation. This also meant, to the ears of label executives, that it was less radio-friendly than the Grammy-winning Fallen.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s father, John Lee, wrote in his article, \u201cWaiting for the Door to Open\u201d:<\/p>\n They recorded about seventeen tracks (If I remember right) and then had to fly to New York for the big meeting around the conference table with the higher-ups at Wind-up Records. This is where the executives hear the \u2018product\u2019 for the first time. Naturally, they are only looking at it as a \u2018potential\u2019 marketable product. It\u2019s such an uncomfortable gathering. Try to imagine that it\u2019s 1970 and you are sitting at the dinner table playing your new Led Zepplin album for your parents at high volume levels in an effort to get them to like it.<\/p>\n Now, here\u2019s a 24-year-old young lady in a room filled with middle-aged folks who are going to \u2018critique\u2019 a Rock album and decide which cuts to include. Terry Balsamo went along with Lee to that meeting to lend moral support. The initial meeting turned out badly. Lee called home and was very disappointed. Wind-up did not like the new material. They didn\u2019t hear the \u2018hit\u2019 and they were considering scrapping the whole thing and making the band start over.<\/p>\n This was certainly not the news an artist wants to hear. It would appear that Wind-Up\u2019s greatest reservation about The Open Door was its lack of radio singles, with no \u201cBring Me to Life\u201d 2.0 to capitalize on. In the same article, John Lee writes of a response to one of the songs, \u201cWhen I heard a very early, simple version of \u2018Call Me When You\u2019re Sober\u2019, I said to Amy, \u2018There\u2019s your Radio hit\u2019, and she thought so, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, label executives thought otherwise. John Lee also states that the song was never really intended for the record, though, based on other interviews, that is not an isolated incident. \u201cLost in Paradise\u201d was not originally intended for the self-titled LP, either. Fortunately for the fans, Lee believed in what she created and fought for it. Her father continues in his article:<\/p>\n I asked, \u2018Are you guys happy with the songs?.\u2019 Amy was adamant! She said it was a wonderful piece of art and she was very pleased with it. She liked it even better than the first one. I suggested that she fight for the album. Middle-aged New Yorkers don\u2019t know a damn thing about what\u2019s a hit and what\u2019s not. If they did, all of their acts would be successful. If I was the executive sitting across the table from two young artists who think like many of today\u2019s young people, who just sold millions of albums, earned multiple Grammy awards, and made me a ton of money, I\u2019d defer to them. How they (the band) felt about it would be much more important than my opinion. But, we are talking about big bucks here. Everyone has an opinion. I recommended that she remind the head honcho that she wasn\u2019t writing the album for him, but for a younger demographic. So, back she went to New York. This time she would not be denied. She was very passionate during that meeting and said that she had tears in her eyes when she stood up and boldly let them know that they (the older execs) weren\u2019t supposed to \u2018get it.\u2019 She said, \u2018It\u2019s not written for you and if you can\u2019t relate to it, then that\u2019s perfect. You aren\u2019t supposed to relate to it!\u2019 Apparently, she was pretty persuasive. They gave the green-light to move forward with the album. What a great feeling for the band.<\/p>\n It was a great feeling for the fans, too, though it wasn\u2019t talked about much at the time\u2014and understandably so. Evanescence was under a three-album contract with Wind-up Records and still had another album to record with them. It makes sense that Lee wouldn\u2019t want to speak ill of the suits publicly, since she would have to continue working with them on the next project.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Open Door did deliver, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 in its first week. \u201cCall Me When You\u2019re Sober\u201d, released as the first single, peaked at number 10 on the\u00a0Billboard\u00a0Hot 100, and\u00a0sold over six million copies. While not Fallen numbers, they\u2019re certainly nothing to scoff at.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the commercial success of both Fallen and The Open Door, all while holding to Amy Lee\u2019s artistic vision (particularly on The Open Door, where she maintained full creative control), one would think that she would have earned the label\u2019s trust. The numbers would indicate that people enjoyed listening\u2014and buying\u2014the music she makes. Unfortunately, this was not the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moving forward, tensions seemed to rise. First, there was the break. Presumably, the label would have wanted an Evanescence record every couple of years; however, after touring wrapped up for The Open Door at the end of 2007, Lee stepped away to take some time for herself. She also got married that year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amy Lee\u2019s Artistry Forged in the Ruins<\/p>\n What happened next is purely speculative. In September of 2008, Lee released a cover of \u201cSally\u2019s Song\u201d for the Nightmare Revisited project, which featured new recordings of the soundtrack to Henry Selick\u2019s 1993 stop-motion animation film,\u00a0The Nightmare Before Christmas,\u00a0covered by various artists. In an interview with Spin the following month, she spoke of new songs and a potential solo album:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI need to show that I\u2019m more than a one-trick pony. I\u2019m writing here at the house by myself, and it\u2019s been really good. But I\u2019d really like to do something different next. [The new songs] are definitely different. I feel like I\u2019m going back to my really old roots. They have more of my folky and Celtic influence than ever before. And it\u2019s not all sad \u2014 it\u2019s nothing I would categorize as Evanescence.\u201d<\/p>\n In the same interview, she spoke of wanting to score films. This came up again in an interview with The Gauntlet later that month, when asked about what music was coming next, a solo project or Evanescence: \u201cI don\u2019t know what is happening. I am at a point where I don\u2019t know what is next: a solo project or a film.\u201d Later in the same interview, she was asked if the crediting of \u201cSally\u2019s Song\u201d (Amy Lee instead of Evanescence) was a way to launch her solo career.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that. I don\u2019t know if I am going to do that. It is a possibility in my life that it might go that way. It is kind of natural with the way everything has gone with the band. It wasn\u2019t to make a statement though. It was all me. It is hard to say what Evanescence is per se. It is Terry and Tim now but the other guys have changed so recently. They knew it was a gig on the road and they knew they had to get another gig when it was over. Terry is having a blast playing in a band with the bass player from Limp Bizkit.<\/p>\n In a lot of ways, it is the same as the last time. Between Fallen and The Open Door everybody went their separate ways. Then Terry and I wrote the record, pulled the band back together and made the record and toured. It isn\u2019t like we all live in a house together and write all the time and play video games. This song came to me and it was something I was passionate about. I did the arrangement and the instruments and it wasn\u2019t in anyway an Evanescence collaboration. I didn\u2019t want it to be false. I didn\u2019t want to call it Evanescence and capitalize on that because everyone knows that name.<\/p>\n Lee seems to waffle between the possibilities, perhaps unsure of what was to come. As for Wind-up Records\u2019 take on the matter, the last line of the quote above says it all. Evanescence has name recognition\u2014Evanescence sells records. The label would hardly be thrilled to have the next Evanescence record put on hold while its members pursue solo projects.<\/p>\n Perhaps that was communicated, pressure was applied, or maybe Amy Lee simply changed course. Whatever the case, there was a shift. In a string of interviews in late 2009, coinciding with a festival Evanescence was playing at in Brazil, she spoke about the next Evanescence record. \u201cThe sound of the new tracks is a little more electronic, with several beats and programming and less guitars.\u201d<\/p>\n She gave more interviews in late February and March of 2010, confirming that the new album would be more electro-pop, drawing inspiration from Massive Attack<\/a>, Bj\u00f6rk<\/a>, and Portishead<\/a>. Much of the new album was written with Will \u201cScience\u201d Hunt, with additional writing from Terry Balsamo and Tim McCord. Steve Lillywhite was the producer; he reached out to Wind-up expressing an interest in working with Lee and Evanescence, and the two hit it off. There was also a confirmation that the folky, Celtic-inspired songs were not being used; this was a new project.<\/p>\n Things seemed to be proceeding well\u2014with the exception of a studio fire, where Hunt disregarded fire safety protocols by running back in to save a hard drive. However, on 19 April 2010, Lee posted the following for Evanescence fans:<\/p>\n I wanted to let you guys know that we\u2019ve decided to take a little time out of the studio to work more on the music. There is more that I want to do and I want to make this album the best it can possibly be, so I\u2019m not going to rush it. It means too much to me. Taking a breath, digging deeper into myself, and moving forward with even more strength than before. Like I\u2019ve always said, good things take time!\u00a0\ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ll keep you posted, talk to you soon\u2026<\/p>\n A few months later, Amy Lee announced that the band was no longer in the studio. In February 2011, she announced that Evanescence was back together and working on a new album\u2014the previous project had been scrapped. Lillywhite was out; Nick Raskulinecz was in. The messaging going forward was that it would not be a \u201ctechno album\u201d but a band effort, and the few songs from the Lillywhite sessions that ended up on the self-titled album were reworked.<\/p>\n So, what happened? Snippets were released on social media during the Lillywhite sessions, and fans were excited about the direction of the new material. Hunt sat for a few interviews and said:<\/p>\n Honestly, I think it\u2019s amazing. I think she\u2019s taken some real big risks. As artists, I think it\u2019s important that we challenge ourselves to find new ground. If you look at any band in history who\u2019s done really well, they continue to reinvent themselves and be relevant. It\u2019s always going to sound like Evanescence, \u2018cause it\u2019s Amy Lee singing, but the vehicle for that voice can be different and still be Evanescence. I think people are gonna be pleasantly surprised, because all the really cool elements, the things people love about the Evanescence of the past are still there. But there are new colors in the pattern. There\u2019s a lot of cool new things going on, both electronically and futuristically. I think she\u2019s doing something that\u2019s very special and hasn\u2019t been done before. I\u2019m a supporter, I think it\u2019s killer. It\u2019s really good.<\/p>\n Lee also expressed her excitement about the new material and Evanescence\u2019s evolving sound, saying she never wanted \u201cto make the same album twice\u201d. The latter bit was likely directly at the band\u2019s disagreements with the label, and it seems that the \u201creal big risks\u201d were too much for Wind-up. At the time, Lee stated that it was her decision to pull the plug. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t coming together right,\u201d and \u201cSteve wasn\u2019t the right fit.\u201d In the same interview, she expressed her concerns as to whether another Evanescence record would even happen\u2014and perhaps it wouldn\u2019t have, if not for the band pulling together. She said:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never felt so supported by my band members. We\u2019ve really relied on each other. And everyone being a part of this album, from the ground up, is an entirely new approach for us. There\u2019s nobody that\u2019s just coming in to play guitar. Everybody\u2019s invested. We\u2019re more truly a band now than ever before.<\/p>\n Evanescence\u2019s third, self-titled album really was a band effort, and it was released\u2014not without drama, but more on that later. Shortly after its release in November of 2011, Balsamo gave an interview, saying of the switch, \u201cthe label wanted the full-on regular Evanescence album\u201d. Later, in 2013, Steve expanded, \u201cWhat happened was a few people lost their nerve. I don\u2019t even think it was [Amy]. It was people at the record company who really had no other band. They were thinking more in terms of the commerce rather than the art.\u201d<\/p>\n After the self-titled release and Evanescence\u2019s departure from Wind-up Records, more came to light; there was no reason to hide the truth of what happened. Of the executives at Wind-up, Lee said to Loudwire in 2015, \u201cthe suits had a change of heart during a frustrating recording process, and I was told that none of the songs I\u2019d been pouring my heart into for a year, in any form, were good enough \u2014 time to start over.\u201d<\/p>\n It seems this time, unlike with The Open Door, Amy Lee was unable to persuade them. The electropop, Bj\u00f6rk-inspired record was dead, much to the dismay of fans like myself. That\u2019s not even to say that the self-titled album is bad\u2014it\u2019s a solid album, certainly their heaviest rock record, definitely the angriest, with good reason\u2014and carries one of my all-time favorite songs, \u201cLost in Paradise\u201d. That is to say, Lee was not able to release the album she wanted to. Lee, the artist who had made millions of dollars for the label by this point, with a proven track record of writing good music that fans loved and bought, touring the world, and winning Grammys, was unable to continue growing and evolving her sound in the direction she wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amy Lee prioritizes her art. With Fallen, there were some compromises on the lead single, but Evanescence otherwise held their ground. In the case of The Open Door, Lee fought for her art, and the label likely took what it assumed was a risk\u2014one that paid off. With the third, self-titled record, it seems the label was far less concerned with the artistry, and Lee was forced to make something new and beautiful out of a devastating situation.<\/p>\n Works Cited<\/p>\n Baccigaluppi, J. \u201cSteve Lillywhite: U2, Peter Gabriel, XTC\u201d. Tape On. 2013.<\/p>\n Boyd, S. A., & McCammon, S. \u201cAmy Lee, Co-Founder of Evanescence, Is Ready To Tell Her \u2018Bitter Truth’\u201d. NPR. 2021.<\/p>\n Childers, C. \u201cWatch Amy Lee Cover Chris Isaak\u2019s \u2018Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing’\u201d. Loudwire. (n.d.)<\/p>\n \u201cExclusive: Evanescence Vocalist Amy Lee Talks About Shows in Brazil and Reveals Details About the Group\u2019s Next Album\u201d. Virgula. 2009.<\/p>\n Fisher, J. \u201cEvanescence Interview\u201d. The Guantlet. 2008.<\/p>\n Florino, R. \u201cEvanescence is Back\u201d. Artist Direct. 2010.<\/p>\n Goodman, W. \u201cEvanescence\u2019s Amy Lee: \u2018It\u2019s Not All Sad’\u201d. Spin. 2008.<\/p>\n Goodman, W. \u201cExclusive: Amy Lee on the New Evanescence Album\u201d. Spin. 2010.<\/p>\n Goodman, W. \u201cAmy Lee Talks Evanescence\u2019s Comeback LP\u201d. Spin. 2011.<\/p>\n Lee, A. Amy\u2019s new blog on EvClub. EvClub. 20 April 2010.<\/p>\n Lee, A. \u201cWhat\u2019s up\u201d. EvThreads. 21 June 2010.<\/p>\n Lee, A. \u201cUpdate!\u201d EvThreads. 26 February 2011.<\/p>\n Lee, A. 2011. EvThreads. 4 April 2011.<\/p>\n Lee, J. \u201cDaddy Lee\u2019s Evanescence article\u201d. 6 December 2006.<\/p>\n Montgomery, J.. \u201cEvanescence\u2019s \u2018Lost In Paradise\u2019: Hear A Preview Now!\u201d MTV News. 2011.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell, K. \u201cEvanescence Reveal Details of Risky New Album\u201d. Spin. 2010.<\/p>\n Phil, M. \u201cEvanfadead of Mayhem Society. Et c\u00e6tera\u201d. Radio Metal. 2010.<\/p>\n Semon, C. S. \u201cEvanescence\u2019s queen of young rockers spellbinding at Palladium\u201d. Telegram & Gazette. 2011.<\/p>\n Titus, C. \u201cAmy Lee: New Evanescence Album Is \u2018Much More of a Band Collaboration’\u201d. Billboard. 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI had to fight really hard for what I wanted.\u201d Amy Lee of Evanescence said in a 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-383153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Evanescence](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Evanescence-Amy-Lee-Fallen-promo-Frank-Veronsky-2002-1024x768.jpg\" "\\"When")
Fallen promotional photo by Frank Veronsky (2002)Evanescence Fell Upward<\/p>\n