Evanescence Soar Through Majestic Set in Massachusetts

When Amy Lee of Evanescence hits the stage, she’s a one woman wrecking ball of energy, raw emotion, and unparalleled vocals. When you bolster Lee's presence with the rest of the group (Troy McLawhorn on guitar, Terry Balsamo on lead guitar, Tim McCord on bass, and Will Hunt on drums), the true vision of the band starts to take shape; Lee’s voice settling in to the wall of beautiful sound that builds around her soaring and majestic vocals, fitting together like perfectly crafted gothic puzzle pieces.

With the new album ‘Evanescence’ now out after a five year wait since the band's last disc, Evanescence recently hit the road on a short tour run in support. Much to fans delight, the band hit up some smaller more intimate venues. Fans waited in line for hours for their chance of getting up close and personal with Lee and Evanescence at their Friday night (Oct. 28) show at The Palladium in Worcester, Mass, including a trio of girls who made it to the front row with a sign that read “we slept here” -- proving the never-ending love and support their fan base has for the band, even after years between releases.

Evanescence kicked off their set with the first single, ‘What You Want,' from the new self-titled album. The up-tempo, high energy rocker set the night off on a high note and Lee didn’t miss a one -- note that is. Her vocal prowess is something that’s hard to believe is possible until you witness it live. What one might chalk up as studio trickery is played out note by glorious note. The way she’s able to harness the power of her voice and control it at will is nothing short of amazing and it’s clear to see why she’s one of modern rock’s leading ladies. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could match Lee note for note in any genre.

From their first single, the band went right into their smash hit ‘Going Under’ with its chugging bass line and demonic guitars, it sent the the crowd into pure oblivion. Looking around, fans seemed to be lost in the song, and Lee seemed to disappear within her emotions as well further showing why fans are drawn to the band; it’s truly a shared experience.

The majority of the set list focused around the new album including ‘The Other Side,’ ‘Made of Stone,’ ‘My Heart Is Broken,’ ‘Oceans’ and ‘Never Go Back.’ One of the highlights of the new material was when a baby grand piano appeared into the fold and Lee took over for for a heartfelt rendition of ‘Lost in Paradise,’ one of the most personal songs on ‘Evanescence.’

It’s within these more intimate moments that we are able to imagine Amy Lee as a solo artist, much in the vein of Tori Amos or her beloved Bjork, but then the band chimes in and everything that’s special about Evanescence hits you in the face like a ton of bricks and you realize that Lee is right where she is meant to be when fronting Evanescence.

It was not all new music that fueled the set, ‘Call Me When You’re Sober’ and ‘Bring Me to Life’ made appearancesduring the night and they closed out the show with a three song encore that included ‘Never Go Back,’ ‘Your Star’ and, of course, ‘My Immortal.”

Evanescence and Lee really seem thrive when the juxtaposition of soft, brooding, ballads are placed back to back with all-out rockers showing their diversity and ability to quickly shift from one extreme to the other while the songs maintain their integrity and passion. Throughout their 75-minute, 17-song show the band took the audience through a revolving door of emotions from highs and lows, love and hate, truth and lies, trust and betrayal and more than anything else a sense of personal empowerment.

Check Out Our Gallery of Photos From Evanescence's Oct. 28 Show