Evanescence biography
Evanescence was founded by Amy Lee and Ben Moody in the mid-nineties. The two met in a youth camp when they were both teenagers, after Ben noticed Amy playing the Meatloaf song "I'd Do Anything For Love" on a piano in the corner. Within weeks they were writing songs together.
Originally, they couldn't afford to pay musicians to perform live more than a few times a year. Two demos — Evanescence and Sound Asleep — saw very limited releases, sold at the band's rare live performances. One of Evanescence's first songs was "Understanding", a so-called 'gothic rock anthem' that got a lot of radio play from the local rock station.
'Origin' was their first full length release, with the lineup consisting of Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges. However, due to a lack of resources by their then record label, Big-Wig, it never got more than 2500 prints. Evanescence instead decided to use the album as a demo disc that they sent to bigger record labels. Eventually, Wind Up Records snapped them up.
Evanescence went to Los Angeles to record 'Fallen', with producer Dave Fortman. One of the songs recorded was "Bring Me To Life", and it featured guest vocals by labelmate Paul McCoy of band 12 Stones. The song — which featured heavily on the Daredevil soundtrack — was released as a single prior to Fallen's release. The single reached #1 in the UK and the top 10 in the US.
David Hodges left the band in December 2002 to further his career in Christian music. Fallen was released worldwide in March 2003, and it quickly went to the Billboard top 10, where it stayed for several months. It is currently certified 6x Platinum, having sold over 12 million copies worldwide and has been nominated for numerous awards.
In October 2003, Moody left Evanescence. The relationship between Lee and Moody had not been good for some time, and both of them decided that it would be best for the band if he left. Evanescence recruited former Cold guitarist Terry Balsamo as his replacement.
In 2004, Evanescence were nominated for five Grammy awards — Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song (Bring Me To Life) and Best Hard Rock Performance (Bring Me to Life) — of which they won two: Best New Artist (much to the distress of fellow nominee, rapper 50-Cent) and Best Hard Rock Performance for Bring Me To Life.
In November of that year, Evanescence released a live album and DVD, entitled 'Anywhere But Home', featuring a complete live recording of their Zenith, Paris performance.
In 2006, bassist Will Boyd left the band and was replaced by Tim McCord, formerly of Revolution Smile. The belated follow-up studio album to Fallen, titled 'The Open Door', is set for release some time this decade. Apparently.