I wonder if they'll do another Live DVD ? Would be awsome (even more if they release their third (fourth if you consider Origin an Album) album in 3 years...) And maybe those who didn't like the layered voices and the distortions will like the live performance more...

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I think TOd is more experimental and less comercial than Fallen. I like the "industrial" parts as The Only One or Snow White Queen. The piano is the best of the album. All the elements are better mix. The only one intro is so funny xD

finaly, The Open Door is better album than Fallen, I think

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~ Evanescence Hispanic Fan Site ~

Personally, I've had The Other Door on pretty much constant play for the last four days and it has really grown on me. The key for me was taking a really close listen to the lyrics, especially on songs like Good Enough and Lithium.

The other thing that was helpful for me was to approach this as an Amy Lee solo album. I have to say, if there is one thing I'm most disappointed about this whole ordeal since Ben left is that they didn't retire the Evanescence name until the fates decide that a reunion was possible -- that's not something that I realized until hearing this music. Not the end of the world, of course, but I can't help but thinking that if this album was called Amy Lee: The Open Door and they moved even farther away from the Evanescence sound, it'd make things much more approachable by foregrounding the fact that this is a personal account of Amy's blossoming independence, if you will.

I also think that a few of these songs just need more work -- a trait pretty typical of sophomore offerings, really. You spend your whole life developing the material on your debut and then you get a year or two to come up with the material for the followup, so that's to be expected, I guess, but a little disappointing because Evanescence materialized out of nowhere with such a well-developed back catalogue. (If I only had Fallen as a reference point, I doubt I would be disappointed by this album -- but then again, if I only had Fallen as a reference point, I wouldn't be here.)

So I'm coming around, but I can't escape the feeling that The Open Door is half-cooked as an album. But I can't wait to see how this material is treated live because with a more thoughtful sequencing and a neccessarily more bare presentation, this could be really good, if not great.

i managed to get the TOD for myself.....but i cannot bring myself to listen to the whole thing just yet.
half the fun of a new album is the anticipation of waiting until the release date! maybe i'm strange i cannot wait to buy it and put it in my car right away.
obviously i've heard CMWYS...and i pre ordered the single off of amazon....Sept 19th!!!! and i love it...it's different, but i believe that artists need to grow and change...i would be bored with another fallen. who wants to listen to the same thing over and over...not i
i did listen to lacrymosa though....i had already heard some of it from TOD commercial on MTV2....and i loved it! it was actually better than i thought from my first impression.
so i dunno what i'm gonna do! maybe i'll give myself one song per week until the album comes out, and then i'll have some surprise on oct 3rd....that would be about 4 songs, because we have 4 weeks, and that would give me 9 new ones on the release day. that could be good? so tell me people ( ), what 4 songs should i listen to (if i can handle only listening to 4 songs!)? i definately don't want to listen to sweet sacrifice because its the first song.
so you all may think i'm nuts....and maybe i am....but i appreciate all your opinions and advice!

I honestly think TOD is a great album. I love it. The first time i heard it i was half asleep cause it was three o clock in the morning but the second i got it on headphones i went into a whole diff world and really impressed by what Ev. did.

The only complain i have is i think the guitar in this album could have been a little more emphasized. Like on fallen the guitar caught my attention more. I liked the guitars the best on Cloud Nine (not saying it sucks cause it does rock terry and john rock).

Ne ways TOD freakin rocks and im more than happy with it

oh also i loved how Amy experimented with her volcals it gave the album and extra dose of badassness haha .

I *Alexandra* will promise to respect other people's opinions and not bash them or get overly crazy. I promise not to be a fangirl/fanboy or a total hater and post my opinions in and MATURE manner.

I've always wanted to do an oath like that.

So... *deep breath*

I'm just in love with this album right now. It took a few listens to get used to the new Ev sound, but they've accomplished their goal, at least with me. I have to admit that I had a few "wtf?" moments during the first play of TOD, but I knew one thing: that I would grow to like this record. It all felt so new, so refreshing. It IS a lot more experimental and non-commercial than Fallen, and that's what attracted me. They didn't just release "Fallen: The Sequel", this is The Open Door. And as long as people listen to it with an open mind (and not expecting anything PRECISE from it), it will grow up on many.

I love the influences from so many different genres than they used to play. Classical pieces, jazz/bluesy vocals, and the part that I love the most, the whole industrial/raw feel of the guitarwork. And I personally find the drumming on Weight Of The World to be simply "OSM!", as a fanboi/girl would put it.

When I first heard CMWYS, I liked it, but after a few (a few more, I had it on repeat 2 days straight ) listens, I got tired of it. So when the thought of the possibility of the whole album sounding kind of like that, I imagined I'd be greatly disappointed. But maaan, was I in for a surprise. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the only songs I was able to get were Sweet Sacrifice, Weight Of The World and Lithium the day the album became available for the wide public. And I loved each of those 3 pieces. From that moment on, I KNEW The Open Door would not be a letdown. I looped those songs over and over again, and couldn't get enough. The next day, I got the whole album, and I've been in an Ev trance ever since. A day doesn't go by without me listening to the album at least twice. And it doesn't seem like I'll be getting tired of it too soon. It's like falling in love with the band all over again.

The lyrics cover such a wide range of subjects, and many of them are empowering, with an almost "fuck-you" attitude to them. I prefer that kind of view on life much more than the self-loathing lyrics on Fallen. Those were good in their own right, but I love how they're continuously evolving.

The instruments just blend in so well, they create an enchanting atmosphere, and just sustain Amy so wonderfully. And the vocals aren't shabby at all, Amy goes beyond limits in ways I never could've imagined before.

The songs are all different, each bringing in a new element to the table, catching you off guard. Unlike some members here, I never rushed to think how this song might sound, or what that song might be about. So when it all came to me, it was the best musical experience ever.

I am truly satisfied with TOD and will surely buy it when it's released. \m/

...this has to be the longest post I've ever made

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I have a reputation beyond repute. Shizzle.

You know, I hadn't even fully considered it quite like that before. I really agree with your whole post, but that just really stood out for me. *cookies for less-obsessed-over band members!*

O...M...G....no fuckin' way! That's sacrilege! I'm just gonna have to report you to Amy so she can throw lightning bolts of power and godliness at you. Be afraid, sinner, be very afraid.


I feel the need to repeat my undying love for this album, and it only gets better with every listen. I'm almost afraid to continue listening to it so much, just because I don't want to wear it out. I even love Your Star by now.

The only think that bugs me about the album is how Lose Control is right after Like You. Like You is so powerful and sad, and just a really, really outstanding track, then directly followed by something that makes you think of Paris Hilton's sex video. The ordering on those two doesn't do Like You justice. I love Lose Control, too, but I think the theme/sound almost insults Like You.

It's a minor thing that I got over, but it just didn't seem right. Other than that, even the very few I complained about in previous posts I've come to love.

I don't want to classify myself as a fangirl who loves everything Amy/Evanescence does just because it's Evanescence that did it, but it really feels like I end up genuinely loving whatever they do no matter what. They're just that good.

Edit: For everyone saying it's an Amy Lee solo album, I have mixed feelings. It certainly is mostly Amy who did this album and had the most control over it. She even refers to it as "my album" from time to time. And it's definately far more about Amy than anyone else.

But on the other hand, John and Terry DID write a chunk of it. I think they're just really similar to Amy in personality and writing style, so it blends in with what Amy does on her own. Just be mindful of that.

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I *RJ* will promise to respect other people's opinions and not bash them or get overly crazy. I promise not to be a fangirl/fanboy or a total hater and post my opinions in and MATURE manner.

OK, a lot of you have already heard the album but I've decided to wait since the album release is only 1 month away.

Actually, it's a bit too early to write this... but anyway:
(note to self: don't listen to it now, or you wouldn't get anything written.)

Musically, tod is just bigger than the other albums... it takes longer to get used to the sound, which is both complex and simple, but nearly always demanding... eg. the opening of cmwys, which is just a few notes every few seconds along with the vocals. It needs much higher attention and also more short-time memory to follow such a thing than any repeating riff (to give you an image, the melody of my immortal is not only catchy 'cos it's catchy, it's also repeated all over... if you miss one note during one repeat, your brain will hear it on the next repeat and back-interpret it into the previous repetition so that in overall you heard the melody and the song get's automatically a kind of more - uniform is the wrong and right word - sound (yes, I think too much about music perception. Blame Stockhausen and maybe Björk for that.).). The only musical/melodical similarity I could find was the opening of your star to the overall melody of silbermond's symphonie... I would be quite surprised, though, if amy had ever listened to that song as well as that in your star the melody kind of breaks itself and then repeats, whereas symphonie is a real ballad. Freaky coincedence.

In that, it's just a much bigger task and much less (if the other albums ever were) easy listening. You can hear it in the background if you're lucky enough for the sound to not catch your attention... 'cos that's the point where you won't be able to get your attention off it. At least with me its either 100% or 0% attention, in contrast to eg. Haunted, which right now plays in the background and still allows me to write this. So much about catchyness vs. catchyness.

The song order definately makes perfect sense and it's also that one leads to the other... I noticed that, and at that moment knew why, but don't ask me now. The only song that seems to be a bit out of line seems to be All that I'm living for... Parts of the vocals (you know which I mean, I guess) remind me of the guano apes... don't ask me what song, they've long ago fallen into disgrace over here (my mind, that is). Makes me speculate that this song is an answer to some of their music, like with Coldplay's <insert song title> (the lines are "you don't have to be alone" and "your heavy heart is made of stone") and manowar's Heart of steel.

On a completely different scale, it's the album that's most easily to "cuddle" into... Meaning that you don't listen to the music, you also don't listen to yourself, actually you don't listen or pay attention to anything, it's just akin to - as I said - cuddling. On that scale, it ranks above blackmail's bliss, please, but far below klee's unsterblich... to give you comparisons that won't help most of you at all. It's basically en par with the broken social scene albums that are not called feel good lost, that might tell you more. I'm still surprised to see it on that scale, 'cos it also ranks among muse and uickap, in the way that it has the potential to build up pressure that squeezes your head together (think "Hate this and I love you"), literally felt, and those are likely to be the two most opposite categories I have.

I definately won't say that it's unambiguous... Not in the sense that it would be really unclear what the songs are about, but in the sense that there are multiple ways the same interpretation can be interpreted... as an example I refuse to accept that good enough is a happy song, even on ev's scale, as it has the potential to get you very thoughtfull in a sad and/or desperate way (there just aren't words to describe it) if you happen to ask yourself what good enough means or why one would ask such a question to oneself. And why amy sounds much happier singing "But God I want to let it go" than singing "I feel good enough". The tone, btw, in which she sings "god" being my favorite word ever sung. Wish I could do it like that, and it alone is a reason to buy the album. Second is the high-pitched version of "time" in "Fear is only in our minds, but it's taking over all the time". Kind of sarcastic (can't find a better word), that one.

Maybe one could say that tod has the same relationship to fallen that origin of symmetry has to black holes and revelations, just that unlike with muse tod is the later album. Releasing Fallen after tod would be much stranger, I want to say. In a very strange way it's a similar progression as from Björk's Homogenic to Médulla, which are, actually, completely uncomparable.

What I like very much are the situations (I recall one now, don't ask me where) where a melody breaks distortion in the background instead of having distortion breaking the melody. Those among others are the opportunities to nearly completely re-discover a song.

Now I try to say how much ev this album is, and I will utterly fail: The other 40 ev songs are generally more my immortal style (and most only know 11 of them, shame on you ), while these 13 are generally more whisper and going under-style. And both at the same time.

I think I've reached the point where everybody had to listen to it to follow, so I'm going to stop after saying that it's the greatest new album I listenened to after Médulla.

Ok here's a topic for discussion:

At this point, we realize that fans opinions are all over the place, but how do we think critics will rate this album? I see it going one of two ways- either "edgier and sexier than Fallen" or "an incoherent mess."

Not that I necessarily agree with the latter (I love ToD).

I truly hope this album finds critical and commercial success