Hello, hello remember me?: Evanescence returns with a self-titled album

It's been almost six years since their last album so it wasn't surprising that Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee would scream "Hello, hello, do you remember me?" in the chorus of the opening track of their new self-titled album.  In fact, the first cut pretty much set the mood for the entire album.  This is Evanescence and they're back even if it's only Amy that's basically left of the original members.

This new turnover must have led to the somewhat new sound of some of the tracks, leading me to believe that Amy must have asked some of her new band mates to help in the songwriting.  There are no hard driving anthems like "Bring Me to Life" but it seemed that "rock hard" was the order of the day.  So rock hard the band did.  So hard that in some tracks, the guitars drowned the orchestral strings the band is known for.  Those of us who love Amy's soaring, breathy vocals, however, have plenty of cuts to listen to and like.  In fact, this was put to full use in the ballads, including the last bonus cut (I am using the de luxe version for this blog), "The Secret Door."  Not to mention the angst filled lyrics that sometimes border (at least some of the songs) in melodrama.  Also, many of the songs have lyrics that   focus, if not obsess on death and the afterlife.  Evanescence is a goth band after all.

The album is Evanescence through and through which could be both good and bad.  Bad for those who wanted to hear something new from them. For fans like me who want to hear more of their signature sound, this is one good album to get reacquainted with the band and their music that we love.

You can download the De Luxe version of Evanescence from iTunes.