Review – Evanescence – What You Want
Posted in Reviews on August 11th, 2011 by marsariesEvanescence
What You Want
Big Country called and they want their intro back! I know people are going to bitch about this not being metal, or hard rock. Certainly at the time that they released their breakthrough album The Fallen no one had made it big with their sound. Yes I realize bands like Lacuna Coil came first, but the Italian band has yet to release anything that has become remotely as big as that Evanescence album. What they do nowadays is a given as thousands of clones have sprouted up in the past ten years. But looking back in time they were the first band of their style to really make it doing this type of hard rock/metal.
By the time the Ben Moodyless follow up The Open Door came out five years ago, a lot of other bands has swallowed up a lot of the market Evanescence possessed. A lot of these bands are doing the same today, regurgitating songs that remotely sound like tracks off The Fallen. Couple that with the band needing to prove themselves to an extent, the constant bickering between singer Amy Lee and Moody, then the constant bickering between Lee and Seether frontman Shaun Morgan (who is the subject of the leadoff single Call Me When You’re Sober), things just soured for me really quick. I just want to hear some good music, could care less about their personal issues, and in my opinion the follow up missed that infectiousness, that it factor that The Fallen had. Maybe the lyrics where more personal, and the songs where more intricate, but they were far less entertaining for me.
Fast forward to this track, I honestly was not expecting anything from the band. I figured why not, let me listen and see, I’m not expecting much, so it really doesn’t matter if it is any good or not. The track surprised me, aside from the Big Country intro there are aspects of the song that make me think back to The Fallen, yet there are new aspects brought to the table, and that infectious chorus that was missing throughout The Open Door. What was also missing was Terrry Balsalmo’s giant riffs that made Cold such a radio rock stalwart years ago. They are here on this track. Maybe there was such a conscious effort to separate them from Moody that they neglected to realize what got them to the dance initially, or what made a certain member a valuable asset. I’m all for evolution, and change, and what not, but there comes a point where you just alienate the listening audience. That’s what The Open Door did to me.
I know this is just a small glimpse of the album. But it sure seems like a good step forward for the band. Check it out if you’re remotely a fan of the band, or any of the clones that sprouted up after them.
Rated: B+
