It was probably inevitable that after Fallen, their major-label debut, propelled Evanescence to sales of nearly 14 million albums worldwide, that a series of other bands would emerge cut from essentially the same template of female-fronted metallic power pop combining spiritual lyrics with gothic imagery.
The inherent drama in Evanescence’s music which derives from their marriage of rock, goth and classical is also clearly apparent in the music made by Flyleaf, where dual guitars trade orchestral riffs that seesaw from soaring to searing and singer Lacey’s vocals build into beauty from pain. Their second album, Memento Mori, links together 13 tracks to form a sort of parable:
"Every track is like another chapter of the story. In my head it feels like a movie. The story becomes a parable for important life lessons we’ve learned over the years. After coming through these life and death experiences, we have learned to be more grateful and purposeful with the time we are given. We want to pass the torch at the end during ‘Arise.’ Perhaps someone will come away from the story and be more grateful and purposeful with their own life and the world will change for the better."
Emo band Paramore have more of a pop-punk sound but have increasingly taken their imagery into similar territory to Evanescence and Flyleaf. Lead singer, Hayley Williams, has said of the songs on their most recent album:
"I was like, 'This isn't a feel-good song, because I'm writing about something I'm going through right now, and it's still painful.' And I confused that with actually not liking the songs, when actually I was prouder of them than I've ever been before. They're heavier emotions for me... I'm still going through some of this stuff, and these songs are really healing to me."
Paramore decided to name the record brand new eyes because of the allusion to seeing things from a whole new perspective, "Just trying to let go of whatever we might have struggled with the past and just see each other in a new way," explained Williams.
The newest band in this vein take us right back to the beginning. We Are The Fallen is comprised of the original members of multi-platinum trailblazing band Evanescence, guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt along with drummer Rocky Gray, with enigmatic American Idol finalist Carly Smithson powering the vocal reins of the new group. Respected touring and studio bassist Marty O’Brien (Disturbed and Static-X, among others) rounds out the iconic five-some.
The energetic creative engine behind the launch of Evanescence, Moody and the other members of We Are The Fallen found a true partner in Smithson, who always envisioned a band environment as her dream move following Idol. Ben Moody who co-founded the band, was a principal writer of the 15-million selling debut, Fallen, departed Evanescence in 2003. Since that time, he has enjoyed a prolific career as a producer and songwriter. When asked about the formation of We Are The Fallen, he shared, “I am finally home.” Singer Smithson added, “As an artist I have never been happer. Creatively, musically visually, and on a comedic level we are united and together on the same page. We are a family.”
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We Are The Fallen - Bury Me Alive.
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