Evanescence are a staple when it comes to early 2000’s emo/rock anthems. Fans of the genre and casual listeners alike all around the world could easily come together in harmony and belt the chorus for the band’s 2003 opus, Bring Me to Life. Everyone knows that song.

They have successfully engrained themselves in rock and metal culture as titans, regardless of what certain people’s opinions. With that being said, a new single from them is most definitely welcome, especially one as gripping as The Game is Over.

Evanescence’s latest offering, on the surface, is a metal anthem. It’s far more blatantly heavier in its instrumentality than most of the band’s discography, but Amy Lee’s soaring vocals ground the tone in the group’s classic feel from their other efforts. The band toy with modulations quite a lot with the progression, confusing the listener with major and minor turnarounds quite intensely. That subversions of expectations make this single all the more special, especially since Lee’s harmonies accentuate those changes so beautifully. The soaring chorus feels like a war cry from the alternative veterans, accompanied by the band’s brilliant combination of traditional metal elements and industrial, electronic sounds, something that’s been present in the band’s sound for the entirety of their career.

Something about the musicality of the composition reminds me of Tool, particularly their song Forty-Six & 2 off their 1996 masterpiece AEnima. The overall theme and tone have that soft-yet-hard-groove, almost middle-eastern vibe. Rather than sounding like an imitation, however, The Game is Over sounds more like a love letter to their inspiration. This track is fresh enough that the similarities between the two songs aren’t terribly obvious upon someone’s first listen. The low tuned guitars also add so much to the heavy metal atmosphere, another similarity between this song and Tool’s offerings.

Evanescence proved once more that they are still going strong two decades into their career, far from being rooted in the success they had at the beginning of their musical journey. The Game is Over is a fantastic offering, and will truly excite anyone for their upcoming album, The Bitter Truth.

 rock 

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.