The band is named after the word evanescence which is usually defined as "the act or state of vanishing". They went
through several names before deciding on evanescence including Childish Intentions or Stricken. Originally
considered by many to be part of the Christian rock scene — and for a short time promoted in Christian stores — the band, however, made it explicitly clear they
do not want to be considered a Christian rock band. Shortly thereafter, Christian stores removed Evanescence from their shelves.
Evanescence's debut single "Bring Me To Life" was a global hit for the band and reached #5 on the American Billboard Hot 100. It was included in the soundtrack for the action movie Daredevil, along with their even more popular "My Immortal," and garnered recognition for the band at the Grammy Awards of 2004: The single was awarded Best Hard Rock Performance, and Evanescence was awarded Best New Artist.
Their first full length album, Origin (released in 2000), is relatively unknown. The Band also released two EPs in 1998 and 1999 which are difficult to find, and thus highly sought after by collectors. Not atypical, Origin and the EPs contain
demo versions of some of the songs on their first major-label album. In fact, the recording of "My Immortal" found on Fallen can also be found on Origin, minus a handful of additional instrumental accompaniments. However, Lee herself does
not consider the record to be an actual album; rather, she considers it merely a bundle of demo songs (some of which she says
are not done properly) that was sent to record companies. Only 2500 copies of this record were ever made, and it is thus not
generally available in record stores. In response, Lee encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the Internet
during an interview.
(Among them you may find the first version of My Immortal (their third Fallen single), which features only the voice of the 16 year old Amy and a piano. It is often labeled as the 'Piano - Vocal' version
over the Internet.)
The group was founded by Lee and former lead guitarist Ben Moody. The two met at a youth camp in Arkansas, where Moody heard Lee playing "(I'd Do) Anything For Love" by Meat Loaf on the piano. They discovered they shared a love of Jimi Hendrix and Björk, and they began to write songs together (First was Solitude (by Amy Lee), followed by Understanding (by Ben
Moody), Give Unto Me (by Amy Lee) and the forth song ever written by them was My Immotal (by Ben Moody), the
songs were altered lyrically and musically by both Amy and Ben, which is the reason for having the names of both of them in
the credits for writing them). For some time they were unable to find other musicians to play with, and did not have the funds
to pay for professional assistance, thus they were unable to play live shows. However, a song of theirs entitled "Understanding"
found its way onto local music charts, and demand for a live show increased. When the band finally did make an appearance,
they became one of the most popular acts in the area.
In October 2003, Moody left the band abruptly in the middle of a European tour. The reasons for his departure are reportedly
due to "creative differences." In an interview several months later [1], Lee said "we'd gotten to a point that if something didn't change, we wouldn't have been able to make a second record." Since
then, Lee has said it was almost a relief that he left because of tensions created within the band. Terry Balsamo, from Cold joined the band, replacing Moody.
Evanescence is currently working on their second album, rumored to be ready for release in late 2005. Amy Lee, in an interview,
has stated that the first single from this album will be called 'Prisoner For A Long Day'. Another song, rumored to be on
the album, is the to-be-renamed song called "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"--a reference to her abusive ex-boyfriend, who
served as inspiration for her songwriting (most notably "Going Under"). It has been said that "Even In Death", track 7 on
the previously released album, Origin will be remade and be rereleased on this album.
