Singer, songwriter, and pianist Amy Lee joined with guitarist Ben Moody in 1995 to form the contemporary rock band Evanescence. From the deep south of Little Rock, Arkansas, Amy Lee unleashed her dark, gothic tone on the piano that paved the way for Evanescence to climb the charts in modern rock culture.

Evanescence

I feel like I'm going back to my really old roots. They have more of my folk and Celtic influence than ever before. And it's not all sad -it's nothing I would categorize as Evanescence.

Singer, songwriter, and pianist Amy Lee joined with guitarist Ben Moody in 1995 to form the contemporary rock band Evanescence. From the deep south of Little Rock, Arkansas, Amy Lee unleashed her dark, gothic tone on the piano that paved the way for Evanescence to climb the charts in modern rock culture.

Southern Roots Not Southern Rock

Interestingly, Lee met Moody while working at a youth camp during the summer of 1994. Moody overheard Lee playing a Meat Loaf song on the camp piano and felt the need to approach her. After playing together for a short time, Moody and Lee released four songs on singles, one of which, Immortal, gained national attention through radio broadcast.

Instruments of Success

Their first album, Origin, was released in 2000 although Lee insists this was not an actual album but a simple demo release that was sent to numerous record labels before being signed by Wind-up Records. In more than one interview, Lee says that the album is sub-par and was recorded on a track recorder in apartments and attics or wherever they could find a place to play. This album remains relatively unknown by most, possibly because their next album, Fallen, was almost an overnight success story. Not only did Fallen embolden their position within the U.S. but it awarded them an international spotlight as an emerging gothic rock group on its upward ascent. Along with their growing success, in 2004 they were honored at the Grammy Awards winning Best New Artist as well as Best Hard Rock Performance.

Moving Forward

After their Grammy acclamation, the group began to focus on the release of a new full set, The Open Door. Unfortunately, the growing demands of fame coupled with the health problems of Terry Balsamo, who suffered a stroke; put a kink in their plans. During this time, Lee also fired their manager, all of which delayed the album release. However, once released, The Open Door, like Fallen, was an instant success and debuted at the top of the charts internationally. Within one week, the album had sold over one million copies throughout the world.

During this time Evanescence also began filming videos for their record release singles. Paul Fedor, a music video director who had previously worked with groups such as Marilyn Manson and Seether, helped the band create their first music video of Lithium, which was the second single off of the album The Open Door. Although Wind-up records wanted All That I'm Living For as their next single release, the fans though otherwise and demanded it to be Sweet Sacrifice, a hard hitting instrumental that begins with grinding power chords leading into Lee's upper reaching vocals. Some songs off of this album are available as a free music download or at least for internet screening.

House Cleaning

After the release of The Open Door, apparently Lee felt that the group was in need of a change. Two changes to be exact. In May of 2007, guitarist John LeCompt stated that he was fired from the band Evanescence for reasons that have yet to be determined. LeCompt contended that there were no warnings or pre-notions of these actions and that Lee simply called him on his cell phone instructing him that he was no longer a member of the troupe. During this same time, drummer Rocky Gray decided to leave the band voluntarily, also offering no specific reasons for his departure. Replacements have gone unnamed over the last couple of years although this has not stopped Evanescence from touring and recording.

Lee Finds Love

During the taping of a Live @ Much episode in January of 2007, Lee shockingly announced her engagement to a friend of many years, John Hartzler. Interestingly, Lee noted that the songs Good Enough and Bring Me to Life were created out of inspiration provided by Hartzler. The couple quickly wed just four months after their announced engagement and Amy Lee officially became Amy Lee Hartzler.

Present Day

As of the present, Evanescence consists of a three member group including Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo, and Tim McCord. Currently, Evanescence has set a release for a third album in 2010. They are also still doing touring at music festivals and the occasional music club although they still have not found permanent members for the open positions of guitarist and drummer.

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