The Open Door

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The second album from Evanescence, The Open Door sees this Arkansas, Little Rock quintet build on the metal melodrama and ambitious, Wagnerian operatics that saw former single "Bring Me To Life" top the UK chart for five weeks. The departure of co-founder Ben Moody, who reportedly left the band in 2003 to tackle an alcohol problem, means The Open Door is very much the work of singer/pianist Amy Lee. Fusing gothic, supernatural imagery with affairs of the heart, songs like "Lithium" and "Call Me When You're Sober" - a break-up number that makes like a Halloween Alanis Morisette, all girl-done-wrong sentiments ("Don't cry to me/If you loved me you would be here with me") and dramatic metal chug – sound every bit as huge as the stand-outs on their predecessor. As on Fallen, their 2003 debut, Evanescence pull the neat trick of blending rock heaviness with chart-friendly anthemicism (little wonder the band claim the mighty Meatloaf as an early inspiration). But some interesting moments come when Evanescence ease off on the metal histrionics, however - "Lacrymosa" delves a little deeper into classical composition, a trip-hop paced number featuring the strains of a string orchestra and the sombre chorus of an opera line. --Louis Pattison