By Gabriela Acosta, MWN
Evanescence is ready to present its new album dubbed ‘The Bitter Truth.’ The band’s first original LP in 10 years shows a renewed Amy Lee, who became a mom and is facing difficult times. The singer talked with Metro about the record, inspired by struggle, loss and overcoming the dark and harsh realities of the 21st century.
The band returns to its roots, as it can be heard in the first singles called ‘Use My Voice,’ ‘Wasted On You’ and ‘The Game Is Over,’ which are loaded with drama and the powerful voice of Amy Lee.
What inspired ‘The Bitter Truth’?
It took us over a year to finish this record, but it had been a decade since we had released an album with new and unreleased songs. Everything fit together like a puzzle. The album is who we are, it’s bits of us, it’s the essence of Evanescence and I’m sure you will like it because it’s very eclectic.
Did you feel pressure from the industry to release a new album?
Music is not something we have to do for business. I’m very creative and I have my time to bring out what’s inside me. All the members of the band have gone through very difficult times, that’s why we have this need to communicate; so this was the best time to release this material, despite the pandemic.
Did the difficult moments have an impact on ‘The Bitter Truth’?
When we set out to make our new album, we had no idea of the pain and hardship the world would soon face. While the planet was suffering from the tragedies of COVID-19, racial injustice and economic turmoil, my band and I were dealing with the aftermath of our own losses, the unexpected passing of my brother, the sudden loss of a family member of Tim McCord (our bassist), and the virtual loss of our guitarist, Jen Majura, who has been literally stuck in Germany, unable to travel to record with us in person in the studio.
You are showing your personal life in a video for the first time…
We did the ‘Wasted On You’ video in the middle of the pandemic because we were constrained by the situation. It’s the first time we showed our homes and families to connect with our fans on that level. And it was a nice experience. I have a really powerful group of musicians behind me, so there is just mutual respect and a lot of energy that is really crucial in creating and performing our music.
What is your view on the current state of the music industry?
It changed since we started, but here are pluses and minuses. I feel like we are lucky that we built roots from our fandom when things were different. The upside is that it’s easier to make music. I can connect online with my fans, that’s what I’m really grateful for.
How does it feel to release an album that you can’t play live?
That’s the only thing we’re missing. Right now we would be getting ready to tour, that’s always the next step after you put out a record. Everyone is hungry for live shows, so are we. We might do streaming, there are already plans for that, I can’t announce it yet, but we are working on it.
Are you concerned about the role of women in rock?
I’m struggling with this question because you know it’s always been there, but now it’s a trending topic. Why do we have to talk about being women? Why can’t we just be like everybody else and not be labeled by gender, color or whatever? There’s a lot of awareness about a lot of different people and issues. I don’t want you to think that a woman in a rock band is just imitating a male band, because that’s not the case.
