Amy Lee shows ‘way around the human heart’
‘Urgent mission’ of album songs saved Evanescence lead
Not long ago, it almost seemed like curtains for Evanescence. The Grammy-winning gothic rock band fronted by Amy Lee had seen several members cycle in and out, citing personal and creative differences. And there were a spate of lawsuits between the band, its manager and label Wind-Up Records. Then, after Lee made a jailbreak of sorts, and with a new lineup rerecorded the band’s greatest hits in a 2017 symphonic album titled “Synthesis,” came the 2018 death of Lee’s brother Robby, who had suffered from severe epilepsy.
But Lee and Evanescence’s current members used the pandemic shutdowns as an opportunity to write the band’s first record in 10 years, “The Bitter Truth.”
“I want to show the way around the human heart,” says Lee. “With music, you can explore every dimension of it in ways words cannot express.”
Lee, 39, was a classically trained pianist in Arkansas before Evanescence, which began with a heavy dose of drama. Though the band’s 2003 debut, “Fallen,” would become the fifth-bestselling album in the 21st century, its everlasting first single, “Bring Me to Life,” was considered for airplay only once Lee, then a rare young woman in hard rock, was vocally chaperoned by singer Paul McCoy of nu metal group 12 Stones.
“If there’s one thing that I have fought for in my own personal life and in my career, it’s the right to use my voice,” says Lee, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. “Nobody’s going to take that from me.”
Over the last two decades, Lee has
helped light the path for many young women in music.
This interview with Lee has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What did it take for you to finally start “The Bitter Truth”?
A: We got together (in 2019) to record this Fleetwood Mac cover — “The Chain” — and it set everything off. We scheduled a European tour with (Dutch metal band) Within Temptation last March. So in January, we went to (producer) Nick Raskulinecz in Nashville, who did our self-titled album, and put down four tracks. ... Then the tour was canceled, so we went on lockdown and decided (2020) was going to be our creative year.
Q: How did you pull it together during the pandemic?
A: Well, we’re from all over the world: Troy McLawhorn (guitarist) is in Atlanta. Will Hunt (drummer) is in Orlando. Tim McCord (bassist) is in Sacramento. And Jen Majura, our newest member and second guitarist, is in Germany. Because of travel restrictions, I haven’t seen her in person since the pandemic hit. We started working remotely, but by the end of July, I sent buses across both coasts to pick up the guys. We all got tests and stayed bubbled up in an Airbnb for about six weeks. Having limited time, my only way out was by nailing the songs. So it became this really urgent mission, and it saved me last year.
Q: Much of “The Bitter Truth” is proper metal, with these electronic twists and balladic turns Evanescence is known for. How do you retain that core sound,
despite changing band members?
A: Every album we’ve done has had a slightly different lineup. We’ve had only one swap out since the last album from 10 years ago. But it matters, because Terry (Balsamo, former lead guitarist) and I were the primary writers during his time in the band; now it’s more of a group effort. I don’t think (bandmates) are expendable; they add more personality to the music. When you open your hearts up to each other and create something together, you should hear that. I hear Jen on this album, even though she was stuck in Germany. Troy and Nick would spend hours on the wildest, weirdest sounds, and I’d be falling asleep — then wake up like “Wow!” In all those little details, that’s where you get the character.
Q: When you titled your record “The Bitter Truth,” what came to mind?
A: There are things lurking in everyone that we don’t want to admit. The longer you wait to admit it, and the more you try to push it down, the more it consumes you. Inside, I was holding so much grief for the last two years. And in the outside world ... there’s so much pain, there’s so much injustice, there’s so much loss. We can’t fix it by posting “Oh, that’s terrible” on Twitter and going on with our lives. We have to admit that we are broken before we can heal.
Q: Many young pop artists have cited you as an influence — rapper Doja Cat paid homage to your band in her performance of “Say So” at the Europe Music Awards. … Do you feel a connection with this new wave of women in pop?
A: That’s very kind! You know, I have been very inspired by so many women …
Some of the things you see in me, in my mind, I’m doing my version of Portishead, or Bjork, or even someone like Erykah Badu.
Q: You were the rare woman in a metal band, who then won Grammys in 2004 for best new artist and hard rock performance. What were your first Grammys like?
A: My experience, like most things, was totally complicated. As fascinating as it was, rubbing elbows with people we’d only seen on TV — the guy I started the band with had left and was not on good terms. I knew everybody was thinking I couldn’t do it on my own. I had so much to prove, and it didn’t feel like people around me were on my side. My brother was sick at home, and I could have been there with my family, (though they) were very supportive. It was as much of a struggle as it was this incredible lightning-in-a-bottle moment.
Q: That’s a lot to hold when you should be celebrating!
A: We felt like kids who snuck in and weren’t allowed to eat the chocolatecovered strawberries. When they called our name, I thought, “Is this a mistake? Does everybody hate me?” Looking back on it, I’m so proud we won. I just didn’t feel totally supported.
Feeling broken inside and having to put forward that sales-pitch face like, “Everything’s fine! Buy our album! We’re here to stay!” I had to pull off the mask. I can’t pretend anything but my real self, because that real self is in the music. That’s why so many people all over the world connect to it. Brutal honesty, even when it doesn’t put me in the perfect light, is the key.