Evanescence Members, 'American Idol' Smithson Debut New Band
It Happened Last Night
We Are the Fallen / Photo by Devin DeHaven
America, meet your new goth rock queen: pale and plangent-voiced ex-American Idol star Carly Smithson, who has joined with three former members of Evanescence -- including co-founder/principal songwriter Ben Moody -- to form a new band, We Are the Fallen. Hey, say what you want about Moody, at least he has a type -- when it comes to frontwomen.
After a 2003 falling out with Evanescence's raven-haired, iron-fisted singer Amy Lee, Moody, the chief songwriter behind the band's 15 million-selling Fallen, spent half the decade working with high-profile collaborators including Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, and American Idol stars Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry. So it's no surprise that Moody has recruited the hard-rocking Idol fan fave Smithson to front the band.
On Monday, before an invite-only audience of 100 friends and family, press, and record executives, the newly formed outfit played two songs: a cover of Evanescence's " Going Under" and new original tune "Bury Me Alive," which is currently available as a free download at wearethefallen.com.
Evanescence fans will find much to like in the new song, with Moody and company relying on bone-chipping power chords, Cro-Magnon drums, and huge hooks. And Smithson -- dressed like a guest at a funeral for a character from Twilight in black boots, lace tights, skirt, jacket, and midnight blue eye shadow -- neatly fit the aesthetic, belting gloomy lyrics about self-destruction on "Bury Me Alive," a heavy, atmospheric rocker spiked with Moody's deafening guitar pyrotechnics.
Ex-Evanescence axeman John Lecompt and drummer Rocky Gray joined with new bassist Marty O'Brien in a rumbling rhythm section that surged to a chaotic chorus as Smithson lamented a lover and the "nightmare you've become." "I've watched you die / It's too late to save you this time / You've buried me alive," she howled.
Hot Topic stores should place their t-shirt orders now.
Before the performance, Moody explained how Smithson joined the band: "We didn't want a singer to just hit the high notes, we wanted someone to be part of our family. From watching her sing, I knew she had charisma…. even if I've never seen American Idol. She's friends with my roommate, and one night we spent four and a half hours in the middle of the night talking about music and shows. Afterwards, I called up the guys and we made some changes."
Visibly flattered, the 2008 sixth place Idol finisher added: "I thought it was rad!"
The group is currently label-less and has no idea when the debut will drop. But they plan to release one song per month for digital purchase, while touring.
16 Comments
Click here to comment- Posted By Anonymous
03.08.10 6:39 AM
Ben Moody is a musician. He helped make the success of Evanescence, so how can you disregard his attempts at a new band? He writes music. That's what he does. You don't just give up on your passion because you had some failures.
I think Bury Me Alive is the sound that Evanescence should have continued to create. I mean, that's what I would have rather heard, music like their first album, because that's what attracted me to the band in the first place. But Amy felt she wanted to experiment in other ways, which is very cool, I respect that, but the second album just wasn't for ME. I did like it, but not as much as the first, and it was a completely different sound and feel to me.
That said, how can you say Ben is copying Evanescence? Ben WAS Evanescence (just as much as Amy). He didn't just help write lyrics, he wrote the instrumentals too. He's just keeping true to his original sound and what he had intended to continue.
What I don't like is the way Carly sings. She sings very well, but I think it could sound better if she wasn't trying too hard. I can't really explain it, I just don't like it. Sometimes she has it perfectly, and sometimes she sounds like she's trying to copy Amy, or sounds like a dude. No offense. If she made her vocals her own, I'm sure this band wouldn't be known as an Evanescence "copycat" but We Are The Fallen.
Instrumentals are TITS, singing could use less Amy-influence. LESS.
lol Scott Stapp.
- Posted By Vincenzo
03.06.10 9:00 PM
Ben Moody is an idiot. He made this band 'cause his money is running out and he knows that Evanescence formula sells and he never accepted his departure from the band at the height of success.
It would be more decent if he forgot Evanescence and move on with something original and innovative.
Amy is not worried 'cause Evanescence is already above it all, making musical progress and won't make a "new Fallen" just to sell records. This is past! It's outdated! It's saturated!
Let them play the "Fallen" songs. They will be forever a copy!
- Posted By Anonymous
03.06.10 2:25 PM
moody just wanted to find someone that look and kinda sounded like Amy lee just to be a asshole. He could have went a new way and got a male singer but know he had to get a female singer that looks like Amy wtf is up with that! Also if they are something new and not a copy of evanescence then why the hell are they covering ev songs
- Posted By 100% Evanescence supporter
09.26.09 10:14 AM
They will never make it, Carley is just another singer out there trying to copy someone who's way better in every way. They will never get it as far as Evanescence. and i've heard 'going under ' with Carley singing it, NOT THAT GREAT, she couldn't even hit the notes properly. Im soo sick of people trying to copy everyone else, what ever happened to being original. Rock on Amy Lee!!! the queen of rock, can NOT be replaced.
- Posted By j3s2b3w
06.23.09 7:38 PM
why can SPIN write about Evanescent+American Idol bands but not TH despite my frequent begging? And I know the SPIN staff sees my frequent begging because my comments are deleted sometimes.
03.10.10 1:08 AM
Neither Evanescence nor this band is anything "gothic rock." That's an insult to the culture and the music. You tools whining about Fallen verses Open Door should've been around when we were talking about ORIGIN verses Fallen. Their demo songs were once dark compositions of filtered, ringing guitars and young, inspired goth-esque romanticism (and even then, both Amy and Ben said they were nothing of the sort). But soon, Amy was MTV fodder and the $ole purpo$e of their career wa$ revealed.
Ben and the rest of these jerkoffs are trying to sell an image -- an oversaturated, overblown carcass of something that was ALREADY a parody. Goth is dead, and I don't mean the good kind of dead. Amy Lee is at least expressing herself, but at the end of the day, she's a "modern rock" artist -- like Nickelback. Good for her. She's doing what she wants: making $$$$ongs. Nonetheless, I'm sure her sycophantic fans will call it as brilliant as Mozart (didn't she recently sample him or something?).
The music industry is garbage. Goth culture was supposed to subvert this kind of atrocity, but Capitalism made sure that you teeny-goffers never know that. Play on, you kids... but don't kid yourselves for too long. It's a formula -- it has been long before you were born, and will be long after you die.
Plus, the music just sucks. Smithson is BLATANTLY OBVIOUSLY trying to fit a mold. Much sadder than Evanescence's leech-like fan army that probably never knew what "Lies" was are these kids trying to justify this lame little puppy with borderline lies, themselves.
"Hey now, hey now, now... sing this corrosion to me."
Edward Cullen confided in me before he ran out of breath that he finds none of you actually attractive. You should really stop trying so hard.