Stoakes’ Song of the Week
Today we are continuing our Nu Metal November, this band are quite simply stunning and I have recently found out are touring with ‘Within Temptation’ next year. Now that folks, will be a hot ticket! I’m talking of course about Evanescence. It would be impossible to not include Amy Lee and co in a list of great Nu Metal bands, despite a lot of people saying they are ‘more than that’.
But which song. That is the problem, so many good songs and believe me, I struggled… But, this one I think is the most Nu Metal song that they do! Taken from their first album, Fallen, this is ‘Bring me to Life’
According to Lee, “Bring Me to Life” has several meanings and inspirations; its subjects are an incident in a restaurant, open-mindedness, and waking up to the things which are missing in the protagonist’s life. Lee later revealed that the song was inspired by her long-time friend and husband Josh Hartzler.
The song received critical acclaim, topping the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and Italy. It charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries including the United States, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand. “Bring Me to Life” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and twice platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
The lyrics of the song have been interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ, which helped the song to chart on the Christian rock charts. However, the band wanted to distance themselves from the Christian rock genre. In April 2003, Wind-up Records chairman, Alan Meltzer, wrote to Christian radio and retail outlets to explain that, despite the “…spiritual underpinning that ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community”, Evanescence are “…a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment.” Therefore, he wrote, Wind-Up “…strongly feels that they no longer belong in Christian markets.
That being said, the album propelled the group into the stratosphere. Evanescence soon became one of the biggest acts of the noughties. Fallen sold over 17 million copies world wide, which for a debut album, isn’t too shabby!
Evanescence, despite having numerous line up changes and hiatus’ have announced a world tour next year and I for one, cant wait!
