Probably one of my most anticipated album of the year. Ive been a huge fan ever since I heard "Bring Me To Life." Went through their back catalog and bought "Origin" from thier first label. I got over a 100 of thier songs on my computer mostly demo and songs that never made the "Fallen" album. I thought "Fallen" was an amazing album as well, but I tend to listen to the demo of it more because there are a couple songs that I like that didnt make the album. I was also totally bummed out when Ben Moody and Amy Lee decided to go their seperate ways. I was kinda skeptical about this album only because it would be without Ben. So this is my review of "The Open Door" on my first listen through, lets hope its not a major release sophmore slump.
01 - Sweet Sacrifice - It definatly starts off heavier than "Fallen." Its not as melodic as I would hope for, its more hard riffs than anything. There is a piano that comes in every once in awhile but its barely heard. Theres something about the way Amy sings the verse thats sorta annoying, I think its the way she holds her notes. It actually sounds like a bad copy of Lacuna Coil.
02 - Call Me When Your Sober - Their first single, Im sure you've heard it if your a fan. The song sorta grows on you, I didnt like it at first only because it was a bit different than what I was expecting. Its not a song I would skip on the album tho.
03 - Weight Of The World - Again, another heavier song thats more on heavy riffs than melodies. Amy sings in a low voice like Going Under's beginning. Other than the chorus, this song isnt all that impressive.
04 - Lithium - Its a slow song, sounding a bit like "Hello" at the beginning and the unreleased "Forgive Me" towardsa the end. Its just Amy and a piano at the start but the band later kicks in. The ending is great, Amy's voice really shinces through. First really good song Ive heard on the album.
05 - Cloud Nine - The start is a bit strange. Its a weird wah-wah effect from the guitar with Amy coming in with distorted vocals. It might make you wanna skip it, but hold on, the song actually gets better. The wah-wah doesnt go throughout the song so thats good. Theres just alot of Amy singing at the top of her lungs.
06 - Snow White Queen - It opens up with sound effects thats like "Haunted." The drum patterns starts in very Industrial like, with Amy crooning along over it. The chorus is almost too much like "Haunted." The strings that kick in towards the end are really cool.
07 - Lacrymosa - The song I most wanted to hear on this album since I heard it used on their promo videos. And honestly it is the best song Ive heard so far. The only song Ive heard thus that has the kind of sound I was hoping for on this album. Beautifully rough mixture of classical, rock and gothic music. The choir vocals on this song sounds so awesome too. The ending is great, I wish this song was a little longer!!
08 - Like You - It starts off slow, with Amy, piano and a guitar that sounds like its building towards a big explosion. But that doesn't come just yet because the song stays slow and soft when the chorus comes in. It starts to get a little louder and more disorted as the song progress and finally kicks in towards the end. Was it worth the anticipation? Not really because their just simple chords being played. Bummer.
09 - Lose Control - Start with Amy humming along with a piano, with her voice coming in, distorted, again. Honestly this is the worst song on the album. Nothing mix well togeter, they go from slow to hard making it sound like they took 2 songs and cut and pasted them together. Granted theres a 40 second part of the song where Amy just goes "Ahh, Ahh" that sounds cool but its not worth listening to 3:30 mins of the song before hearing it.
10 - The Only One - Another song with industrial type of drum patterns. Hard drums with soft pianos over it. Starts out a bit like "Missing." I wish Amy's vocals were a little louder, because she sounds great on this song. Guitars begins and the song starts to play out like it was a Ben Moody written song. They must have gone through "Fallen"s trash barrel for this one. Best song on the album!
11 - Your Star - And another song that sounds like something I was hoping for. The soft piano, strings and guitars mesh nicely. I wish Amy would do a little less of her deep voice. The guitars start to get a little crazy and the choir voice kicks in...OOOHHHH! Definatly another song grabbed out of the "Fallen" trash barrel. Seriously did Ben come back?
12 - All That Im Living for - What happened? Why did this album suddenly decide to become really good after 10 songs in? Other than the chorus, where Amy sounds really annoying, this song is good. Nice slow fast pace going with good strings.
13 - Good Enough - The opening was originally suppose to be on the Chronicle of Narnia movie soundtrack but it never made the cut because it was "too dark." Its a really slow song like "My Immortal." Its good enough. (Sorry for the pun, im not funny...
)This was my first impression, Ill be listening to it again later today but from what Ive heard just now...they need Ben!! Terry Balsamo brings too much of what sounds like left over Cold stuff. It doesnt really mesh well with Amy's vocals. It sounds like they tried to go with a harder sound and alittle less on the classical influenced sound. Which fails. The only good songs on the album sounds like they were written 3 years ago for "Fallen." Come on Ben and Amy, make up and make a better album than this!!
Rating: 7/10
