STACK #158 Dec 2017

MUSIC NEWS

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TOURING 11/02 - 16/02

Read the full interview online at stack.com.au

EVANESCENCE We asked Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee all about the band's new album Synthesis - a collection of re-recordings (and two new tracks) of some of the alt-rock group's most beloved songs, rearranged with full orchestra. For the full Q&A, visit stack.com.au.

Well, part of my choices for this were about goosing the songs that had string arrangements that I already loved – it was a way to give them a chance to shine through. We didn’t scrap the old arrangements, we just made them... more. Added to them, repeated favourite moments, just really put them on a pedestal. So I knew I wanted to do Lacrymosa again and just give the sonic space to hear it all. But the brass section packs a huge punch and adds this cinematic, 'larger than life' heaviness to things. That was kind of a surprise to me. David Campbell is all about brass and I’m usually really tentative about it. My view of what it can do has totally changed! It makes things massive when it’s done right. And actually losing the choir was something I had been wanting to do. I love choir, I’m a choir nerd – but the famous Mozart strings of this song are so heavy, so sad and so powerful, and I feel like sometimes when you hear a choir that’s what you naturally listen to above the rest. I think it’s natural for our ears to hone in on human voices. So this version lets that weight really sink in, in a way that actually seems understated at times because you don’t have the big choir in your face. What have you learned about orchestras you perhaps didn’t know before, in terms of how a band of that size logistically operates when it comes to rehearsing and touring and so on? Oh, it’s totally different. Soundcheck rehearsal begins at 5. Not 5:01 – 5! And if you’re in the

Evanescence is how your music changes from major to minor in unexpected ways; it gives it this malevolent beauty. I hear it on the new track Hi-Lo . Do you think about this sort of theory when you’re writing? That major/minor switch is one of my favourite little musical moves. Nine Inch Nails and Danny Elfman both do that move very well. Quite a few little song beginnings were tossed around before I finally committed to the groove that became Imperfection . What got me excited was the verse rhythm plus that major to minor back and forth. Hi-Lo ’s chorus is another place where that vocal melody lands on that major third when you’re not expecting it – I feel like it just gives my soul what it really wants when it’s used right. You’ve said you wanted to do the full orchestral re-imagining, “not just strings” – because strings are obviously already a big part of your music.Which other section of the orchestra were you most excited to get working with? I really love bells. Chimes, glockenspiel, vibraphone, all kinds! It was really awesome to feature so many different mallet instruments. Lithium has at least four different bells on it – it creates a very magical feeling. With a track like Lacrymosa , which was already so enormous (its string parts, and particularly its huge choral vocals), how did you approach augmenting or remaking it with the orchestra?

It’s amazing how so many of the orchestral instruments on the album sound like they were always supposed to be there, and the electronic beats have a very industrial feel, which fits with the Evanescence style beautifully.Were many of these elements already imagined in your mind before you started this project? Thank you! Yes, actually. I didn’t know what the whole thing would sound like when we were done; there is so much detail that was created as we went. But honestly, this is more like the way I hear our music in my head. Some of the decisions you’ve made here with arrangements, do they reflect ways that you’ve developed the tracks during their lives as parts of your live setlist? Yes. Not in the obvious ways. Our usual live show is very much about amplifying and energizing things to make a non-stop, heavy rock show. We add parts to build drama, make four bars into eight and add a drum solo, go straight from one song to the next. But this project isn’t feeding that need – it’s meant to be experienced in a different way. The things that I was able to add into these new versions that stemmed from the songs' live growth over time is mainly about vocal performance. That little extra note in the bridge of Bring Me To Life (“only you...”) is a good example. That’s been something I do live when I’m really enjoying the moment and want to push further.

middle of the song when it’s time to stop, the song stops! It’s kind of hilarious. Also I learned that following the conductor is not what I always thought – her hands landing on the beat, like dancing. It’s more like she tells you what to do a fraction of a second before you do it. So everyone arriving together is tricky for me! I’m used to headbanging! ZKR

Synthesis by Evanescence is out now via Sony.

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