Actually, so much drama followed Evanescence that it's hardly the same band anymore. Certainly, pivotal songwriter/guitarist Ben Moody is no longer with the band, leaving not long after Fallen had become an international success, and sometime after that, they lost their bassist leaving behind Amy Lee as the indisputable leader of the band. She always was the face, voice and spirit of the band anyway dominating so that it often seemed that she was named Evanescence and not fronting a band called that but by the time the group finally released their longawaited second album The Open Door in October 2006, there was no question that it was her band, no questions asked, and she has learned well from the success of Fallen. Pushed to the background are the Toriisms that constituted a good chunk of the debut they're saved for the brooding affirmation of a closer, "Good Enough" and the churning "Lithium" which most certainly is not a cover of Nirvana's classic (that song never mentioned its title, this repeats it incessantly) and in their place are epic gothic rock (not quite the same thing as gothrock, mind you) that made Lee rock's leading witchy woman of the new millennium. And she doesn't hesitate to dig into the turmoil surrounding the band, since this truly is all about her she may artfully avoid the ugliness surrounding the lawsuit against her manager who she's alleged of sexual harassment, but she takes a few swipes against Moody, while hitting her semifamous ex Shawn Morgan of Seether directly with "Call Me When You're Sober" as blunt a dismissal as they come. To hear her tell it, she not only doesn't need anybody, she's better on her own.
Yet artists aren't always the best judge of their own work, and Lee could use somebody to help sculpt her sound into songs, the way she did when Moody was around. Not that she's flailing about necessarily "Call Me When You're Sober" not only has structure, it has hooks and momentum but far too often The Open Door is a muddle of affections, always lead by Lee's soaring voice, often supported by heavy processed guitars, usually dressed in atmospheric synths, sometimes gussied up with ludicrous vocal choirs, with the occasional toy piano thrown into the mix. Sonically, it captures the Evanescence mythos better and more consistently than the first after all, Lee now has no apologies of being the thinking man's numetal chick, not after she's a star but without the songs, it doesn't resonate. These are the all the tracks provided in The Open Door album :
- Sweet Sacrifice
- Call Me When You're Sober
- Weight of The World
- Lithium
- Cloud Nine
- Snow White Queen
- Lacrymosa
- Like You
- Lose Control
- Only One
- Your Star
- All That I'm Living For
- Good Enough
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