EVANESCENCE: THE OPEN DOOR

SCORE: 95/100

Evanescence's sophomore album carries on the sounds from their debut with more of Amy Lee's stunning vocal performances alongside striking metal instrumentation. Lee is the star of the show, with her striking high vocals creating a contrast from the heavy instrumentals to create an album that is equal parts heavy and blissful.

It isn't quite as gothic as their debut and it certainly isn't as memorable; but these things don't drag the album down - they make it stand out in the band's discography. This album is yet another lap of victory for the band following their incredible (and hard to top) debut album, and the sound of this album provides exactly what one would want from the band.

The performances throughout this album are absolutely gorgeous, with the instruments and Amy Lee's vocals coming together into one massive heavy metal spectacle. Amy Lee having full creative control over this album led to a new, reinvented Evanescence - where her role as frontwoman was amplified to the highest degree through her vocal croons and artistic direction that brought this album to the high it came to.

From stunningly heavy instrumental performances to high notes that seem suited for an opera, 'The Open Door' provides yet another refreshing glimpse into Evanescence - this album opening a door towards their next project if they play their cards right, making it a must-hear for any fans of the band's sound. The slower songs with heavy guitar and drum work along with the straight-heavy songs allow for this album to feel fluid and lively; a refreshing album that uses its runtime wisely at every turn.

Each and every track shifts gears into new territories, with a huge sense of variety while still keeping a coherent and consistent sound and grounded pacing throughout the album's 54-minute runtime, 'The Open Door' is an album that might just be better than one might expect. Despite some mixed reception in more recent times, the album holds up incredibly well and provides everything that one could possibly want from an Evanescence album.

Despite not having particular standout tracks to some degree - the album makes itself known due to the fact that every song has a consistent level of quality. The songs are all incredible; making it hard for their to be selections that stick out from the crowd of 13. Keeping the album switching between different sounds and levels of experimentation make this album wickedly enjoyable, and this is one I'm glad I got around to.

This album is an incredible example of symphonic metal at its highest points, and it feels like an incredible introduction to the genre for those who don't know where to start. The orchestral elements of this project are absolutely stunning, and 'Lacrymosa' is a song I would recommend to absolutely anybody. There is a massively refreshing sense of originality and enjoyability about this album - and for right now, I give it a higher applause than their debut (mainly because I haven't listened to their debut in years, and I need to re-listen to it to adjust my score accordingly).

'The Open Door' is an absolute triumph for Evanescence, and the compositions within this album are truly mesmerizing. The soundscapes are truly worth sitting to marvel at for a while, and the overall structure of this album explodes into something massively impressive.

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