To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic album Fallen, Evanescence is releasing a deluxe remastered edition of the entire album. Ted Jensen, who worked as a sound engineer on the original releases, also did the remastering. Now, I came into this review thinking I would have to plead with people hungry to revive their nostalgia to have a listen. I want to do that also, but it turns out Evanescence still has a very active crowd of 14.3 million monthly listeners (on Spotify only).

I remember hearing the iconic songs from this album like "Bring Me To Life," "Going Under," "My Immortal," and many more at the same time as I was watching YouTube tutorials on how to achieve goals in my favorite video games. Just the name Evanescence brings back memories of hot chocolate, cozy Christmas computer time—free associations.

The remaster on these tracks is not in any way meant to revolutionize the way they sound. The purpose is more like having a reason to bring them back to life for a little bit. Towards the end of the album, we also see some remastered demos and deep cuts. You can find all of this material online already, but now you have the deep cuts and demos in one and the same place. Might be handy!

The genre that Fallen fits into is often explained as symphonic rock/metal. Some examples of other bands who explore the same sounds are Within Temptation, Nightwish, and Lacuna Coil. This iconic album marks the break of Evanescence into the mainstream. The standout track is “Bring me to Life,” which became a huge hit on release, contributing a lot to the overall success of the album. "Bring Me to Life," which featured Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, was playing in the ears of every 6-18 year old at the time with a computer. The song was also featured as the soundtrack to the film Daredevil, which increased its popularity even further. The band’s lineup at the time consisted of Amy Lee (vocals, piano), Ben Moody (guitar), David Hodges (piano, keyboards), John LeCompt (guitar), Will Boyd (bass), and Rocky Gray (drums).

Amy Lee mentioned that her own emotional experiences had a big influence on the lyrical content of Fallen. In many cases, I would guess that the writing and singing of the lyrics were a cathartic process for Amy Lee. “Bring Me to Life” is about the desire for emotional connection and awakening. “My Immortal” is about the pain of loss and the enduring impact it can have on a person. In a lot of cases, writers have made themselves experts at creating imaginary scenarios and emotional lyrics. While this is a commendable skill in and of itself, it is also cool to have an album where the lyrics actually stem from real experience directly from the artist themselves.

Overall, I think it is nice to listen through these songs again because it reminds me of a time when things were simpler. The release itself is not a masterpiece because nobody involved expected it to be and because it already had its time. We can go back and listen to these songs we heard as kids and look at them with completely new eyes. Whether you have become an absolute audio freak, focusing on the intricate details of the sonic picture, or if you are a lyrics/story enthusiast who loves interpreting lyrics, there is something new to discover here. Like when watching a complete classic movie such as LOTR or Harry Potter, I often find myself noticing little new things each time I watch. Definitely worth a listen!

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!