Nearly as many line-up changes as Sugababes. Hmm, gives me an idea…
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[5.86]
Brad Shoup: MVP goes to Will Hunt for his steady pummel. A modern-rock drummer’s chair barely has time to get moist any more, but between club gigs, Hunt’s staked out just a little more territory for Evanescence. His kickdrum work in particular adds heft to Amy Lee’s emotive wallclimbing. The “down” descent is a little trite but melodically splendid, and while I’d love for Evanescence to play up the toms and rhythmic vocals, I dunno if the world is ready for a Michael Bay’d Siouxsie and the Banshees
[6]
Pete Baran: I always thought of Evanescence as the rock band equivalent of TV series Charmed, and on this evidence the shouty bloke was the Shannen Doherty of the group. It’s nice to think they have been ploughing this singular furrow since their breakout hit, and also makes me realise that superhero films don’t have pop songs in them any more. All of which is short hand for saying I was a little distracted when listening to “What You Want,” and thus will happily peg this as being a) big in Bulgaria, and b) what you want if you like this kind of thing.
[3]
Al Shipley: Evanescence have always been shamelessly pop, but they’ve never done anything with a tempo and hook that feel almost clubby, like it started as a demo for a teen starlet before being retrofitted to their arena goth aesthetic. And despite, or perhaps because of this, the song works for me, if not as much as earlier Evanescence singles.
[7]
Jer Fairall: I spent the last five years missing them about as much I missed the Red Hot Chilli Peppers during the same period (read: not at all), but this comeback single is surprisingly not bad, placing more emphasis on melody and forward momentum than on Amy Lee’s glass-shattering vocal histrionics. There’s a nice little piano arpeggio on the bridge that barely registers amid the crashing noise, a bit that charms me solely for being so subtle a touch for so unsubtle a band, but I still cannot ever see myself listening to this for a minute longer than I absolutely had to.
[5]
Iain Mew: I can’t remember when the last time I thought about Evanescence was, so it came as a bit of a surprise that they are still going, but even more of a surprise that this is actually rather good! There’s a lot of urgency to it, some good crushing riffs interspersed effectively with synth-rock and piano/strings bits to keep it interesting and Amy Lee is clearly having a lot of fun playing the bad guy and singing ridiculous things like “Hello, hello, it’s only me infecting everything you love.”
[7]
Edward Okulicz: Evanescence have never been about nuance and subtlety, nor wild changes in direction. So it’s a bit of a surprise to hear the usual heavy guitars and pianos completely upstaged by some fairly pounding drumming. When Amy Lee broods over the chorus, it’s almost too many elements of intensity on top of each other. But it just about comes together.
[6]
Alfred Soto: What the bloody hell is this — Patty “The Warrior” Smyth singing aSpeak Now castoff? The results are impressive: never has Evanescence’s grand gothic corn gotten so muscular an arrangement.
[7]