First there was the Daredevil soundtrack, a good collection nudged into borderline great territory by track nine, "Bring Me To Life". So impressive was this song that I had to resist the urge to fast-forward to seventeen, Evanescence's other contribution "My Immortal", instead listening to the preceding seven tunes in anxious anticipation. Almost immediately, I cajoled my friendly record label publicist into mailing me an advance copy of Fallen, where I executed a jig of joy upon leaving the post office (Kind of a cross between the Snoopy dance and an inebriated fat guy waving his shirt above his head, if you're interested).

Two days later, Kimmie says to me, "Is Evanescence from Arkansas?"
"I meant to tell you! Yes, they ARE from Arkansas!"
"How is that POSSIBLE?" she insisted.
"Got me," I replied, still chuckling, "Predictably enough, their press release says they realized their style of music would never fit in, so they had to leave."
"Oh yeah," Kimmie snorted derisively, "Never would've guessed that."

Evanescence is dark and moody, somewhat goth without pretensions or bad fashion sense, and overwhelming to the auditory nerves. Amy Lee's vocals project like the mournful wailing of the mythical Sirens, or the woman keeping vigil on the Widow's walk, the relentless salt-spray reflecting her inaudible grief for her sea-faring husband that will never return. The instrumentation is epic, almost operatic, swelling with the power of classical composers, movie and theater scores, and resurrected successfully in the rock genre only by the elusive Jim Steinman. (Coincidentally enough, the core of the band, Ben and Amy, met at a youth camp while Amy was playing "I Would Do Anything For Love" on the piano).

Naturally, some folks tossed Lacuna Coil's name in the ring when I raved about this album, calling to mind the unfortunate position female vocalist's find themselves. A selective group, they're immediately compared, pitted against each other for what is seemingly a niche market, when reality is far different. Lacuna Coil is more traditionally metal, the instrumentation being more aggressive while the vocals howl like wind through tree branches. Evanescence, while appealing to Lacuna Coil's fans and perhaps a number of headbangers, is more accessible to mainstream audiences with its haunting back-up chants and rich emotive rhythms.

Ironically enough, while in the midst of penning this review, I sat down to tape an internet radio program with some friends on M4 Radio.

"Who was that on Letterman the other night?" one asked.
"That was Evanescence." I replied.
"Man, they were fucking incredible!"
Yeah, I know.

www.evanescence.com