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Amy Lee finally found her match musically in every way with the new self-titled Evanescence album. The current lineup of the band fits her perfectly and producer Nick Raskulinecz translates the dark and broody music into something more energetic and bright. It’s still Evanescence and the songs sound as such, but they don’t border along modern rock meets Phantom of the Opera anymore. According to Lee, this album is the most band-involved album that the group has ever made and the album reflects that. The mix doesn’t drown out everything but the vocals and you can hear strong guitar work at every turn. There’s only one real soft ballad song (the brilliant “Lost in Paradise”) and everything else is somewhat aggressive as far as this particular band goes. Lee’s vocals of course soar on every track here), that’s pretty much what Evanescence is about, but this time that’s not all there is to enjoy. Raskulinecz fit all the pieces together perfectly and Lee and Evanescence used their years off to write great music. There are a few moments where some of the songs are too similar and drown each other out but there are also several huge moments on this record that will win over an audience. This feels like the most enjoyable/complete listen that the band has put out and the four bonus tracks on the deluxe version are different from the album and play like true bonus tracks. This album isn’t amazing and awe-inspiring but it’s a great release, and look for Evanescence to be able to tour on it for a long time to come.