Evanescence - Anywhere But Home
Performance
Production
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Evanescence - Anywhere But Home
Performance
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When I first began hearing Evanescence's epic debut single "Bring Me To Life" on the radio, all over MTV, and while Ben Affleck was flying across the screen in a red Daredevil suit, I was first inclined to dismiss them as just another cheesy nu-metal band, who just so happens to be fronted by some gothic high priestess who can belt out the opera-meets-metal vocals with the best of them. But, damn if that adrenalin pumping song hasn't become permanently ingrained in my head - ask my wife how annoying it is to hear me scream that rap-metal chorus "wake me up...I can't wake up...SAAAAVE ME!" every time I play the damn song. The rest of the song's parent album, Fallen, has also proven to be just as infectious, going on to sell nearly 15 million albums worldwide, and helping the band win the Best New Artist Grammy. The priestess in question is non other than singer, pianist, and songwriter Amy Lee, who founded Evanescence in 1998 with guitarist Ben Moody, and she has been a breath of fresh air in this male-dominated world of rock/metal vocalists. Sure there are plenty of superb female singers out there, especially in the prog-rock arena, but not since Ann Wilson of Heart, or Pat Benatar, have we seen such a great frontwoman arise from the more commercial side of the tracks. With "Bring Me To Life", Lee brilliantly showcases her powerful vocal range, along with some of the subtle nuances of a Tory Amos. That is a pretty unique combination. Anywhere But Home was recorded on May 25th, 2004 at The Zenith in Paris, France and featured new guitarist Terry Balsamo, who replaced founding band member Ben Moody after he abruptly quit the band during their 2003 European tour in support of Fallen. The setlist is essentially Fallen live, with "Hello" being the only song absent. A couple of the band's older songs, "Farther Away" and "Breathe No More" are also dusted off, and they even turn in a pretty rocking cover of Korn's "Thoughtless", which I actually like better than the original. They open the show and really bang you over the head with two of their heaviest songs, "Haunted" and "Going Under". I had high hopes for the direction of this video seeing that it was done by famed music video director Hamish Hamilton, who did such a superb job on some of Peter Gabriel, U2, and Whitesnake's videos, but unfortunately he decided to turn this one into an MTV-style video with frantic-paced camera editing that takes away much of the live atmosphere. There are some moments that are filmed exceptionally well though, like when he pulls back and takes in the entire stage letting you breath in the entire light show during some of the most intense segments, or when he closes in on a band member from down in the crowd. Since I first heard the "Fallen" album, I had wondered how Amy's voice would hold up live. She has such an intense delivery, and really hits some high notes, so she would either have to have some genuinely powerful pipes, or a lot of studio wizardry was involved. This concert shows that it is a little bit of both, but mostly the former. Her live vocals are much more raw than on the albums, and she struggles to stay on key at times, but I think much of it can be attributed to her being a little out of breath from gyrating all over the stage during most of the performances. Where she really impresses is during the softer segments such as when she sits at the piano for some gorgeous acoustic versions of "Breathe No More", and "My Immortal". Aside from some of Hamish Hamilton's production missteps the picture is presented in widescreen format and looks very good. The video is generally very sharp and the colors are vivid. The audio mix, on the other hand, is terrible. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and PCM stereo mixes are provided and they both sound muddy, and lack any real instrument separation. The bass is mixed very loud, the guitars are missing in action, and Amy's vocals sound like they were recorded from any microphone other than the one she was singing into. The center channel was not even active during the surround mix. Very disappointing. Extra features include four excellent music videos for "My Immortal", "Everybody's Fool", "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under". These are some very well-produced and entertaining videos. About 50-minutes worth of behind-the-scenes footage is also included which provides and intimate look at the band as they ham it up for the cameras and generally enjoy life on the road during their world tour. One of the best moments has to be during a drunken karaoke party where Shaun Morgan of the band Seether, and Amy's boyfriend at the time, screeches her parts, and Amy's personal assistant Beth sings the rap parts to "Bring Me To Life". Anywhere But Home proves that Evanescence have still got a little work to do before they are to be considered legitimate headlining contenders on the arena stage. Then again, how many bands are with only one album under their belt? This video comes as a standard DVD package, or as part of a dual CD/DVD package. The CD also includes the previously unreleased studio track "Missing", a beautiful ballad that was axed from the Fallen album. You can also hear it played over the DVD credits. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - April 2007 |
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Set List |
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Running Time: 57 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - November 2004 |