The goth-inspired Arkansas rock band Evanescence,
with its Linkin Park-meets-Tori Amos sound backed by chugging guitars, easily made it to the top of the charts in 2003 with
its Wind-Up Entertainment debut album, Fallen.
Amy Lee and guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody
formed the band at the end of the '90s after meeting in their early teens during a "youth camp," Moody said in a statement.
"I heard Amy playing Meat Loaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love' at the piano. So I went over to meet her, and she started singing
for me. I was pretty much blown away, so I suckered her into joining a band with me."
As a duo, Evanescence
didn't perform live, instead opting to release EPs and the full-length Origin. Lee told the BBC that Evanescence was mastering
demos in Memphis, TN, when she and the band were discovered by producer Pete Matthews. He shopped the songs to record companies
in New York, and Evanescence eventually landed a contract with Wind-Up Entertainment, the home of Creed.
The soundtrack to the 2003 Ben Affleck action
movie Daredevil brought success to Evanescence. The begging "Bring Me to Life," which appeared on the soundtrack along with
the ballad "My Immortal," became a hit. Paul McCoy, of labelmates 12 Stones, raps on "Bring Me to Life," which originated
as a piano ballad. It proved to be a head start to Evanescence's future hit album Fallen, produced by Dave Fortman (Boy Sets
Fire, Superjoint Ritual) and released in March 2003.
Evanescence ran head first into controversy
promoting Fallen. Originally, it was released in the Christian and secular markets; however, the band's use of profanity during
an interview with Rolling Stone prompted its label, Wind-Up Records, to recall Fallen from Christian stores.
Ironically, 12 Stones is also labeled Christian.
Fallen surpassed double platinum, making the Top Ten in the United States, including the Top Contemporary Christian Albums
chart, the Top Five in Canada, and number one in the United Kingdom. Live, the duo fills out its lineup with John LeCompt
on guitar and Rocky Gray on drums.
