Evanescence’s just released fourth album Synthesis — out via BMG in the United States and Sony in Europe/Australia — has debuted as the #1 Rock Album in the United States —the #4 best-selling album overall–and at #8 on the Top 200 album charts. In its debut week, Synthesis reached #1 on the iTunes Rock and Alternative charts in over 40 countries worldwide. [Official Website]
Get your copy of Evanescence’s new release here!
Evanescence’s “Synthesis” sold 34,000 equivalent album units in the week ending November 16, according to Nielsen Music, to land at position No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Of that sum, 30,000 were in traditional album sales. The set is a reimagining of some of Evanescence’s best-loved songs — as well as a couple of new ones. “Synthesis” is Evanescence’s first album since its 2011 self-titled release, which debuted at No. 1. The new album is the group’s fourth top 10 effort, following “Evanescence”, “The Open Door” (No. 1 in 2006) and “Fallen” (No. 3, 2003).
In support of “Synthesis”, Evanescence — lead singer-songwriter and pianist Amy Lee, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Troy McLawhorn and guitarist/background vocalist Jen Majura — is currently in the midst of its extensive “Synthesis Live” headlining tour of North America. “Synthesis Live” features Lee and the band embedded with a live 28-piece orchestra and electronic programming, delivering a transcendent experience.
Living up to its name, “Synthesis” is a combination of organic and synthesized sounds featuring Lee’s virtuosic singing and piano playing, supported by her band and a full symphony orchestra performing arrangements by longtime collaborator, orchestra arranger and composer David Campbell as well as an array of electronic music programming and effects engineered by the band, co-producer William Hunt and programmer/mixer Damian Taylor (BJÖRK, THE KILLERS, ARCADE FIRE). The album features two new EVANESCENCE songs: the first single “Imperfection” and “Hi-Lo”, the latter of which includes a guest performance by famed violinist Lindsey Stirling.
Lee told Forbes about the fan response to the “Synthesis Live” tour: “I think our fans like it a lot. It’s a way to experience this music, for them and for us, in a different way. We’ve been playing the straight-up original versions of our songs for many years now. So to have an opportunity to go to a different venue for most of these shows, go to a concert hall, sit down and listen to it, it’s a lot more like going to a show, like going to a movie, than going to a rock concert where you’re gonna jump up and down and make noise. There are parts that are very intimate before it goes big and epic and 28 orchestral musicians are going off. So it’s a very personal experience. The reaction I’ve seen has been really good, but it’s definitely different. It feels still weird to us on stage, we’re getting completely used to it. It’s definitely not a rock and roll show, but I think it’s really special and I’m absolutely positive I’m gonna remember these performances and this very special experience for the rest of my life.” [Source]
Photo credit: P.R. Brown
Just Announced – Evanescence is giving away a few exclusive Synthesis merch bundles! Enter Here: http://smarturl.it/SynthesisGiveaway
– One (1) Exclusive Signed Merch Pack from Evanescence including:
– One (1) ‘Imperfection’ Tee
– One (1) ‘Synthesis’ Journal
– One (1) ‘Synthesis’ Hoodie
– One (1) Signed ‘Synthesis’ CD
Amy Lee spoke to Forbes about the fan response to the band’s “Synthesis Live” tour, which features a reimagining of some of Evanescence’s best-loved songs with the spotlight on full orchestra, electronics combined with the band and her virtuoso piano and voice.
“I think our fans like it a lot,” she said. “It’s a way to experience this music, for them and for us, in a different way. We’ve been playing the straight-up original versions of our songs for many years now. So to have an opportunity to go to a different venue for most of these shows, go to a concert hall, sit down and listen to it, it’s a lot more like going to a show, like going to a movie, than going to a rock concert where you’re gonna jump up and down and make noise. There are parts that are very intimate before it goes big and epic and 28 orchestral musicians are going off. So it’s a very personal experience. The reaction I’ve seen has been really good, but it’s definitely different. It feels still weird to us on stage, we’re getting completely used to it. It’s definitely not a rock and roll show, but I think it’s really special and I’m absolutely positive I’m gonna remember these performances and this very special experience for the rest of my life.”
Asked if she sees herself wanting to write more orchestral works or film scores after completing the “Synthesis Live” tour, Lee said: “It’s kind of the other way, that’s what I’ve been doing. Between the last EVANESCENCE record and now I’ve been doing a lot of stuff on the side, doing the more film soundtrack score world and working more in that way just to please myself. I enjoy doing it very much. And this is me being a little less intimidated by that and ready and brave enough to kind of mess with our music. So I just wanted to because it felt good. There’s really no big plan. It’s really expensive, it’s probably not smart marketing wise. I had a creative idea and it felt good so we did it. I really like contrast. I really like extremes. So it’s cool to be able to take this this total contrast from European metal festivals we were playing this summer and then go totally full orchestra concert halls later in the year. It feels really good to me, so I’m just saying whatever comes from us next and what this means for our trajectory I don’t know that it means going deeper into this world. I think this is just a really cool moment in time.”
The “Synthesis” album was released on November 10. The effort features full orchestration in a completely synthetic world of beats and sounds, with help from arranger and composer David Campbell.
“Synthesis” contains two new EVANESCENCE songs in addition to fan favorites re-recorded with a live orchestra and electronica.
The “Synthesis Live” tour launched on October 14 on the West Coast.
Source: Evanescence’s Amy Lee Says ‘Synthesis Live’ Tour Is ‘Really Special’ – Blabbermouth.net
Listen and share Evanescence’s new album, Synthesis, on @Spotify! http://hyperurl.co/ev_spotify
In the final episode of “Inside Synthesis”, peek into the process of making Amy Lee’s @SteinwayAndSons piano.
Loudwire Review: Orchestras and rock/metal music have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship. From entire genres like symphonic metal to collaborations such as Metallica’s S&M, Dream Theater’s Score and Deep Purple’s Concerto For Group and Orchestra, utilizing an orchestra can add a whole different dimension to a band’s sound.
Unlike many of these collaborations that are live albums, Evanescence’s Synthesis is a studio record consisting of orchestral versions of earlier material along with two new tracks. While a band like Metallica working with an orchestra might raise some eyebrows, it makes perfect sense for Evanescence. Their music is dramatic and dynamic, and they’ve utilized classical elements on previous albums.
Vocalist Amy Lee says, “These songs all have a life beyond the initial studio recordings, so it was really satisfying to go back and sing them as a 35-year-old as opposed to a 20-year-old (some of them). To be able to incorporate some of those elements that have developed over years of playing them live, and to show ways I’ve grown as well was a beautiful opportunity. I had to not only make each these new versions better in some way, but also preserve the core of what made the initial performance so great. I really challenged myself.”
As to the songs they selected to give the orchestral treatment, there are some of the hits from their three albums, but many are not. One I wish they would have done is “Going Under.” It’s interesting to hear “Bring Me to Life” as a classical track without the male rap parts. “My Immortal” and “Lost in Paradise” are a couple other of their well-known songs that are included in this set.
Some of the songs that work best in this format are lesser-known tracks like the heartfelt “Imaginary” from Fallen and The Open Door‘s “Lacrymosa,” which features a great performance from Lee that goes from reserved to all out belting. Her performance throughout is outstanding, with her powerful pipes never overshadowed by the orchestra.
The two new songs are the subdued “Hi-Lo” that features a guest appearance from violinist Lindsey Stirling and the album closer “Imperfection.” The latter has been released as a single, and its classical base has a lot of EDM and hip-hop influences.
Lee says, “’Imperfection’ is the most important song on the album for me. The song had to fit into our body of work, but at the same time, be a classic in its own right. When the lyrics started pouring out of me, I realized it was speaking to all those people we’ve been losing through depression and suicide. I sang it from the perspective of the person left behind. It’s a plea to fight for your life, and that we all need each other as humans.”
The production on the album (handled by Lee and Will Hunt) is excellent. It’s grandiose and bombastic in parts, quiet and subdued in others, and working with so many instruments when recording and mixing an album is tricky. Evanescence are currently on tour playing the album with an orchestra, and having had the chance to see them, this reviewer highly recommends checking it out. As dynamic and compelling as Synthesis is on record, it’s even more so live, especially with Lee’s charismatic performance. Read Full Review!
Evanescence will be playing at the Foxwoods Resort Casino tonight! Get your tickets! http://bit.ly/2ynzhGE! They will be live streaming the opening of the show TONIGHT right on their Facebook beginning at 8:45 PM EST!
It only took a few songs to see just how humble Evanescence’s frontwoman Amy Lee truly is. After belting out a completely re-imagined version of “Bring Me to Life,” the 2003 Billboard nu metal hit from the band’s debut album “Fallen,” Ms. Lee took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Regaining composure,” she said, while sitting at the piano on stage at Heinz Hall on Monday night. As organic globular shapes floated in the background, she crooned some of the gentlest lines of the song. “Breathe into me and make me real,” she sung, before moving into a chaotic storm of a chorus, dramatized by a full orchestra rather than just electric guitars. The strings and brass complemented syncopated drumming before Ms. Lee finished the song.
The lights faded to black over her long, dark hair and billowing, floor-length black gown. Despite nearly a decade and a half of touring, the vocalist still deeply emoted while on stage, as if she were singing to herself in her own bedroom. As part of Evanescence’s Synthesis tour, previewing the band’s fourth album after a brief hiatus, the band played mostly past hits from their three existing albums, re-envisioning them for an orchestra.
What may have been as subjectively depressing as Green Day’s 2009 foray into opera was actually a delight — while Ms. Lee and her bandmates shared the stage with a 28-piece ensemble, her voice emerged as the most noteworthy instrument. It was enough to make you wonder whether she was a rock star or an opera star.
“It’s honestly one of my oldest dreams to play in the orchestra,” Ms. Lee said. “So thank you for giving me that opportunity.” In songs like “End of the Dream” and “Your Star,” the classical instruments were met with electronic beats and audibly alluring sound effects, including crackles, noises like chains dragging against the floor and some eerie effects that sounded nearly ghoulish. [Source]
EVANESCENCE’s Amy Lee spoke to Australia’s News.com.au about her decision to re-record the band’s old material with a full orchestra and heavy electronics for the “Synthesis” album. The disc, which is due on November 10, includes a re-imagining of the group’s breakthrough 2003 hit “Bring Me To Life” without the guest rap by vocalist Paul McCoy.
“God bless the rap, it’s part of what got us on the radio, I guess,” Lee said. “At least according to all the rules of radio that I don’t agree with or understand. The rap wasn’t part of our original idea or sound, it was a compromise in many ways. So to be able to go back to the original vision for the song was great.”
According to Amy, “The recording of a song that ends being the one you hear the most through history is usually when the song was just freshly written. You’re still learning it yourself and getting used to what the notes are and how the parts go,” she said. “That’s true for ‘Bring Me To Life‘, for sure. After doing it live for so long, there’s different vocal choices I’ve made and different things we got to use in this version.”
Fourteen years after “Bring Me To Life” was released, Lee says she “forgets” the rap’s there in the original version of the song. “At the time it was a big issue, it was our first single,” she said. “I wanted people to understand who we were. That’s a struggle you always fight as an artist. If we only had the one hit, if no one ever heard from us again, then nobody would understand who we were. We’ve made it past that point, so the rap doesn’t make me angry anymore. I’m so glad to put a new version out there without the rap, though.”
“Synthesis” features full orchestration in a completely synthetic world of beats and sounds, with help from arranger and composer David Campbell. The disc contains two new EVANESCENCE songs in addition to fan favorites re-recorded with a live orchestra and electronica.
“Synthesis” includes a guest performance by famed violinist Lindsey Stirling on “Hi-Lo”, one of the new tracks on the album.
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