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EDIT (11/8/23): i decided to include basically everything else ev has done because why not.
i'm bored so i figured i'd give my personal ranking and opinions on every single thing evanescence has done (including live albums, pre-fallen material, lost whispers, synthesis all the pre-fallen demos and outtakes that didn't technically make it onto anything (that'll all be grouped together btw), tbt disc 2 and tbt evolution, the fallen anniversary bonus tracks (ONLY counting the bonus tracks and not the remastered main album) as well as the chain cover.
the only exclusions are covers they've only done live and never actually released whether it be a studio recording or official live album release (zero, dirty diana, etc), broken record demo snippets/leaked demo snippets because there's no full versions available, your love due to there being no decent quality versions available, and that little song amy sang in portuguese during the 2023 brazil shows also due to there being no studio recording nor official live recording releases (yet!) or even a title for it). my ranking might change so keep an eye out for future edits or entries.
* disclaimer: these are MY opinions on the albums and i don't want them to be taken as fact. if you have your own opinions, leave a comment, i'd love to hear your thoughts! but be respectful. hate comments towards me, the band, or other people in the comments will get deleted.
1. the open door
obviously. zero skips, a beautiful mixture of metal and classical, and the biggest, most elegant middle finger to former evanescence guitarist co founder and abusive control freak ben moody, as well as the band's record label at the time wind-up records (who nearly made them scrap this album until amy fought like hell to let them release it) and amy's ex boyfriend and seether frontman shaun morgan (although i do have problems with amy making call me when you're sober about his alcoholism. if shaun did do something to amy {which sounds likely considering she felt the need to write a song about him} then she should've focused on that rather than his addiction.). every time i listen to tod it almost feels like a brand new experience; there's lots of small details in the background that i didn't catch the last thousand times i've listened to it. they created something that was pretty experimental for a mainstream band during that time, and while it didn't reach the same success that fallen did, it was, in my opinion, far better in terms of lyricism, sound, and message and it was beautiful to see what the band could do without ben limiting them and trying to make them a commercial band.
2. synthesis
people are gonna hate me for this but idc stay mad. synthesis is a beautiful, raw remake album that features no guitars, but an orchestra mixed with mesmerizing synths that all work perfectly with amy's voice. i've never heard anything quite like this before and i'm so glad it happened. this was a passion project that amy wanted to do ever since the band was working on their self-titled album, and man did it not disappoint! i actually had the pleasure of seeing evanescence during the synthesis tour, and it was absolutely a unique experience and it added a new layer of beauty to the album. while many fans complained that this album wasn't rock or that the other members just sat there doing nothing or whatever, the band was more than happy to let amy go through with this and they did have their part in the making of the album (hell, jen majura learned how to play the theremin solely for synthesis). it's the perfect album for laying in bed and feeling both everything and nothing at once, just staying in the moment and letting amy's rich, powerful voice wash away your pain and worries in an ocean of strings and synths.
3. fallen
usually you'd see this at the top of everyone lists, but oh well lmao. i went back and listened to the full thing again recently and without the pressure of not wanting to sound like every other ev fan, i can say that i love it and it's still an incredible album that deserved the attention it got, and it's not my favorite nor least favorite, and that's okay. this album, while still trying to aim for that commercial feel that ben wanted, still stood out as something drastically different than what was popular with rock and metal at the time, which is part of the reason why fallen was such a hit. like with many other fans, bring me to life was my first true exposure to this band (serious thanks to the internet for turning it into a meme i would've probably never got into metal without bmtl becoming a joke) and it holds a lot of nostalgia and memories to me. it's always such a treat to listen to it and scream-sing all the lyrics.
3. evanescence
this is not a typo, this is a tie
with fallen! this was their comeback album after going on their first
hiatus and they brought forth a bit of a newer and more mature sound
than fallen/tod. this album features more synths than their previous
albums and the guitars are real nice and heavy; it made me appreciate
synths more, especially in rock/metal. they experimented with the harp a
little bit with the closing track swimming home, which is absolutely
gorgeous and never fails to make me cry. this album it honestly what
made me fall in love with evanescence (and also what got me into
writing), and i tend to forget that sometimes. i think it deserves more
love than i previously gave it. downsides to this album are mostly based
on the mixing (this was their first album with producer nick
raskulinecz who personally i don't think his mixing style works with ev
or really a lot of the bands he's worked with, but the two deftones
albums he did were really good). sometimes the guitars drowned
everything out, other times it's amy's voice drowning everything else
out. other than that, fantastic album, definitely recommend.
3. mystary ep
tbh i don't even know if this
counts considering it's a "fallen sampler" which is why this is tied with fallen itself on a technicality.
the ep is literally just four tracks from fallen + farther away which ended up being a fallen bside.
they aren't even demos, they're literally just the fallen versions.
not much to say about it just listen to fallen lmao.
4. lost whispers
one
word: underrated. i know it's literally just a compilation of b-sides
and stuff, but there's a LOT of hidden gems and deep cuts that deserve
recognition! a lot of these songs deserved to be on the main tracklists,
especially if you don't mind and a new way to bleed. i like the
reworked version of even in death from origin, but tbh i prefer the
original. overall, it's a cool compilation album and i wish it had a CD
release, i'd love to have it for my collection.
5. the bitter truth
this is their latest album and hoooo boy, the anticipation for this album was real. i was seeing amy on the news doing interview after interview promoting tbt and teasing us with what to expect. i like how there was a bit of every ev album in tbt, ranging from the tearful piano ballad far from heaven that featured these low, haunting strings that felt reminiscent of fallen, to the dark feel of feeding the dark that felt like a modern version of lose control off of the open door, to the blend of heavy guitars and synths throughout the album that we got in their self-titled record, there was something for every evanescence fan in it (and yes, even the pre-fallen fans that like that raw, unpolished feel that the album opener artifact/the turn showcased) and it was AWESOME to see live. the reason why it ended up being my least favorite main album is due to the fact that i just don't listen to it that much. there's only 3 songs i keep on heavy rotation (take cover, yeah right, feeding the dark) and other than taht i don't really actively have a desire to listen to any other songs on there. like, for the most part if a song from it happens to randomly play, i'll listen to it, but i don't keep them in a lot of playlists or anything. also, this album has one of the only two ev songs i'll ever skip, which is use my voice (the other being exodus, a pre-fallen song). don't get me wrong, i love the message behind it and i'm glad ev is getting more politically involved especially with what's been happening these days, and the song had a lot of potential due to the fact that it features lzzy hale from halestorm, taylor momsen from the pretty reckless, sharon den adel from within temptation and many more, but the thing is, that potential was absolutely wasted. you can literally only hear amy in the song despite the huge list of features (it's like the chain cover all over again i'm so pissed), plus it just... sounds like it was made for a commercial. sound, lyrics, the watered down message, all of it, it just doesn't sound like evanescence at all. blind belief was the better political song they made imo, it sounds like ev and it addresses specific issues such as the confederate statues thing ("let icons fall") and what i assume is gay rights ("love over all", they made pride shirts with that lyric on it :3). so yeah, alright album, solidish comeback just nothing much to write home about.
6. origin
time to go back in time a bit.
this was the demo album ev sent out to labels back in 2000, which
contains soon to be beloved fallen tracks, a bit of reworked songs from
their previous eps, and raw material that never saw the light of day
past that album. while many (including amy herself sometimes) tend to
write it off as unpolished, edgy, cringey demos, you could hear their
potential and i personally enjoy the raw and dramatic side of it. i
really like that album's version of imaginary, i think they should've
kept the old chorus in the fallen version.
7. evanescence ep
what can i say, i like the classics. this is the band's first ever release from 1998 when amy and ben were teenagers, so while the lyrics and sound are not quite at the level the band was at when they made their official debut, their core (for lack of a better word) essence is still there and it still hits as hard as any of their current releases do. it's cool hearing their humble beginnings knowing what they have evolved into today. points off for exodus, but understanding is a top three ev song for me so i'll let it slide.
7. sound asleep ep
this was ev's second ever
release all the way back from 1999 and it's tied with evanescence ep due to it having not one, but TWO versions of understanding (original ev ep version and a new version). other than that i kinda forget it exists.
7. other pre-fallen demos/outtakes
ok these were leaked online in 2002 i think? and a lot of these are demos of songs that ended up on fallen, as well as other stuff like a rewritten version of lies that absolutely RIPS btw. not much to say other than they're pretty cool and demo 2 of bring me to life is so awesome.
8. synthesis live
i'm not much of a live album person which is why it's kinda low but holy shit man, listen to it, or better yet watch it, it's STUNNING. i wish they kept playing some of the non synthesis tracks when they did the summer 2018 leg of the tour (aka when i saw them) especially their synthesis version of weight of the world (which also isn't on this album), but hey maybe next time if they ever do something like that again. this really solidifies the fact that synthesis is very much a must see live sort of thing, it's just so beautiful to hear in concert. it's on the lower side because again, not much of a live album person and i just don't listen to it all that much, but if you're a fan of live albums you'll love this!
8. anywhere but home
this is the live album they did in 2004 and again, i'm not really one for live albums so it's tied with synth live. amy's voice was definitely not at the level it's at now when shes performing live, but that's mainly bc this was the band's first tour, she was running around and not giving herself enough time to breathe properly, she still didn't have much of a proper vocal technique down yet, and this was towards the end of a long, exhausting tour and it was clear that she was getting worn out vocally and needed a rest. i love their cover of thoughtless though, that's what got me into korn and nu metal in general, so i'll keep it from being below synth live for that. also, the behind the scenes bit in the dvd is fucking hilarious, they're such goofballs.
9. fallen anniversary bonus tracks
well. amy told us to expect nothing. we got remastered demo versions of going under, bring me to life (at least it's demo 2) and my immortal and live versions of those three, remastered fallen bsides and... that's it really. a lot of us thought they'd pull out at LEAST stuff like lies or anywhere, and there was that small glimmer of hope that there would be actually never before heard pre-fallen material (like not even in the 2002 leaks). but y'know, it's hard to expect a lot from this band these days lol. i'm glad they even did anything at all honestly, and i'm hoping to get the deluxe boxset with the cassette player for my birthday.
10. the bitter truth disc 2
this is like another live album pretty much. it's the rock falcon sessions plus the live cruel summer cover and their across the universe cover. it's alright, i like the glory box cover, but i'm just not one for live stuff and i regularly forget that this exists despite having it on cd lol.
11. the chain cover
okay they really need to stop working with nick oh my god. the cover had a lot of potential and it was cool at first, but in the part where the entire band is singing you can literally only hear amy and will (or whoever is doing the "running in the shadows" whispery part, i think it's will). i was REALLY disappointed with that especially since i found out that troy (or was it tim?? my memory is fuzzy but i think it was troy) can sing when ev posted a video of him singing his part on an instagram story. the outfits they had in the video were cool thought but you can barely see anything in all that fog and weird lighting.
11. the bitter truth evolution
idk why i'm including this lmao it's just a cassette that came with the tbt boxset that has snippets of demos and recordings of them messing around in the studio during the production of the album. it's actually really cool but it's last because, well, it's not really anything haha. you can find the full thing on youtube, it's kind of a listen to it once or twice because it's a cool thing they did and it gives you insight on how the tracks sounded in the early stages of production, but not something you actively listen to over and over.
alright, i'm pretty sure that's everything. this took me like two hours so please leave a comment with your opinions on my list or your very own ranking, and let me know if you want me to do things like this in the future with other bands or with album tracklists and stuff. this was pretty fun :)
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rionka
i really enjoyed these reviews! thank you.