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| The Open Door | 
 enlarge | Artist: Evanescence
Label: Wind-Up
Category: Music
List Price: $18.97
Buy New: $7.90
You Save: $11.07 (58%)
New (50) Used (34) Collectible (1) from $6.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  472 reviews
Sales Rank: 464
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5 x 0.4
MPN: 31202
UPC: 601501312021
EAN: 0601501312021
ASIN: B000FTWB7G
Release Date: October 3, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new, factory sealed, in our warehouse, and ships right now.
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| Customer Reviews:
 They still have the heart, but lost the soul October 3, 2006
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Words fail me on this CD, but not in a bad way. With so many expectations arising from their hugely selling CD "Fallen", and with the turmoil that came with Ben Moody leaving the band, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this CD. After listening to it a few times over the last couple of days, I'm still not sure what to expect. The first thing that hits me is the fact that this is clearly the Amy Lee show now. There are no male backup vocals, not that there were many before, but the beauty of songs like Anywhere was the dichotomy of Amy's voice with David Hodge's was what made the song. Now this almost feels like Amy Lee and the Evanescences. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.
Now, on to the music. I wish I could say I was an old school fan who listened to them before they got big, but that would be a lie. I first heard of them through the Daredevil soundtrack, got Fallen when it came out, and was very impressed. There was so many layers and so much depth, yes it was MASSIVELY overproduced, but in reality, what isn't these days? I then went back and through the magic of the internet, acquired Origin and their early EPs, and the change between their early stuff and Fallen was incredible. It was barely even the same band. Gone were simple little songs dealing with their lives (Exodus, Solitude), and in were grandiose songs with Christian allusions (let's not kid each other here, if you think there's not Christian overtones to their songs, listen to Hello or the latin part - well really the whole song - of Whisper). They were both good, but clearly two different bands.
Now, why all the background? Because I think it's good to know where a review comes from. I've heard most, if not all, of the songs the band has created. Now, on to The Open Door. This CD still has some huge songs, lots of strings, lots of layering of vocals, but it just doesn't seem to have the same feel as their previous works. This CD is much more personal, and deals with issues that I'm assuming Amy was dealing with (I don't know anything about their personal lives, and I don't care about their personal lives), but the subject matter is much different here. The prime example of that is Call Me When You're Sober, the first single. This is a nice song, but it has the feel of any other radio-friendly single. It has the pounding guitars, the meandering piano, all topped off with Amy's unique voice. This is an intensely personal song, but it just doesn't fit with the old Evanescence sound. That can be used to describe much of this CD.
In all of the songs on here, the one that truly stands out is Lacrymosa which takes one of the most powerful pieces of music ever (Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem, if you haven't heard Requiem, go buy it). The latin lyrics ("Lacrimosa dies illa" - Tearful that day) add so much depth to the song, but I can't help but feel that this song has a distinct resemblance to one of their unreleased songs called Anything for You. It has the same feel, the huge opera, and if you take away the techno beat in Anything for You, you have this song. That's not a bad thing, since that is an unreleased song, but simply an observation. There are a few other songs that really stand out on here too, Cloud Nine, with the pounding guitars and the orchestration that leads into the bridge, really quite a good song. Their ballads are quite nice as well, this is getting to be too long of a review.
Anyway, this CD, it's good, but not stunning. It will keep most of their "new" fans happy, although my guess is that most of their fans from the olden days, those from Arkansas who saw them before they were anything, are long since gone. This band has gone through many changes through the years, and this is just another one of those changes. When I'd heard Ben left, I din't have much hope for this CD, when you lose your main songwriter, there is naturally going to be changes. Amy and group really do try, but there's just not the feeling that I get listening to the old songs, like you're listening to something special. This just feels more run of the mill, interesting, but nothing to write home about. But hey, what do I know?
 A definite let-down... October 4, 2006
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
For me, this album was an indefinite let-down. I have listened to it a few times and I can't seem to force myself to like it, and I shouldn't have to. The first two CDs were amazing and full of emotion. As for this album, I cannot say the same thing. It does not have enough of anything. Not enough emotion really and not enough melody. Amy's voice overpowers every instrument played, and I don't necessarily think it good. You can't really feel the advanced guitar solos in here or those amazing vocals. It almost sounds like she's on crack for half of the songs. I think her voice gets on my nerves now and I just don't feel that the songs are deep. The only decent song on here is the "Weight of the World", although I even had to listen to that a few times before I thought it was okay. This is an okay album, and not something I really feel is worth my 10 bucks. Most people will argue it is less commercial and different since Ben Moody left, but I think he was a vital part of the song writing process which this album apparently lacks. Most of the songs are slow melancholy piano candlelit songs to me with high pitched female vocals, and nothing more.
Something's lacking.... October 4, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I'm underwhlemed by this album overall. The guitar chords sound too heavy to me, like Amy is straining to sing above them. And the band hasn't tried very hard to break out of the mold they made for themselves; a lot of the songs sound an awful lot like their old ones. And I think the lyrics for most of the songs are very trite.
That being said, it's still nice to hear new stuff from Evanescence. I do love "Lacrymosa" because I've always had a thing for Mozart's Requiem, and they intigrated the old Lacrimosa into their song nicely. And I really, really like "Good Enough"-- something about it touches me deeply, and I've always preferred their acoustic stuff anyway. Personally I think Amy Lee should ditch the rest of the band, grab a piano, and start a solo career aimed towards an older audience.
 And now we can breathe a sigh of relief. October 6, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
When Evanescence fans found out about Ben Moody, half of the creative team that developed the earth-shattering Fallen album, had left the band, we were very nervous as to the future of the group. Not only were we worried it would never feel the same with a different band member, but we wondered if the band would never come up with comparable material for their next album and fall into obscurity. However, Amy Lee explained that she and Ben were butting heads because he wanted the band to have a more accessible sound, and she wanted the band to go in a much more creative direction. Obviously, she was telling the absolute truth. This album boldly steps out of the neat, organized box that Fallen had established.
In The Open Door, Amy Lee has not only managed to outdo her previous lyrics, but she has also continued in the direction she promised she would: continuing to explore the sounds of classical music and integrating them into metal. Many artists claim to have "classical influence" in their albums because they put in a string orchestra here, a chorus there, but do not truly understand that classical music is about much more than instrumentation. Amy, however, shows that she is seriously committed to showcasing the advanced harmonies and melodies that are usually exclusive to more sophisticated types of music. The Open Door is certainly no accessible listen. It takes very musically mature ears to be able to appreciate this masterpiece of an album. Dissonances are used to make consonances sound all the more beautiful, the chord progressions and sonorities are much more daring, and the use of the orchestra and chorus is astounding.
Simply put, Evanescence has just made musical history. This album shows that the band lives and breathes the statement made in "Everybody's Fool". This album will surely never top the sales of their debut album, and that's a good thing. The quality of one's audience is far superior to the quantity.
A good CD, but different than Fallen October 11, 2006
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
This CD is not truly a "sequel" to Fallen. It's something new and different.
In short, this CD is worth a listen but departs from the sound of Fallen in several ways. You'll get lots of hard-rock guitars, but you won't get as many haunting vocals or nuanced lyrics.
First, some of the songs have fallen into overly-simple lyrics or guitar riffs. The opening track, for example, consists of little more than two parts of a chorus and a "verse" in-between that itself repeats. The guitar parts themselves have also been simplified on several tracks, so you'll get some basic sounding guitar jams in-between vocals.
On the positive side, Amy Lee does some new things vocally, switching from a predominantly haunting and melodic sound in Fallen to more aggressive tones. There are some lingering haunt-based lyrics, however, including Snow White Queen and Like You. All things said, I prefer the haunting songs.
Finally, the lyrics have changed some as well. You won't get as many metaphor-filled, visual paintings (like on Fallen). You'll get some, but generally many songs are more direct ("you only call me when you're sober").
In sum, I enjoy the CD quite a lot. However, I prefer Evanescence's prior CD Fallen for it's generally more rich vocal tones and clever lyrics. If you are going to buy this, I suggest you first preview several of the songs on Amazon.com or another website.
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