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The Open Door is Evanescence's second studio album. It was released on September 25, 2006 in Poland, September 30th in Australia and October 3rd in North America.[1] The album was recorded at The Record Plant in Hollywood, California,[2] and mixed at Ocean Way Studios in March of 2006.[3][4] It has since sold more than 5 million copies worldwide,[5] with 2.1 million copies sold in the US alone.[6]
The album was leaked to the public on September 4, 2006; 21 days before its release. The Open Door debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 447,000 copies; this is the band's first number one on this chart (Fallen peaked at number 3).[7] Internationally, The Open Door peaked at number one in five countries, including Australia and Germany, and the top ten in 20 countries. The album also peaked at number one on the European Top 100 Albums chart.
Call Me When You're Sober was released on August 15, 2006 as the first single off the album; it peaked at number 10 at the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Lithium was released as the second single from the album on December 8 and it went on to peak at number 24 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The third single, Sweet Sacrifice, was released on May 25, 2007 to Germany and Austria. It peaked at number 24 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; this is higher than Lithium's peak on that chart, which was 39. Good Enough was released as the fourth commercial single but didn't make any music chart.
The digital version of the album was made available for pre-order on August 15, 2006, on iTunes. The pre-order, if bought before October 3, 2006, included an interview with Amy Lee and a bonus track titled The Last Song I'm Wasting on You.
Amy revealed in an interview with MTV News in December 2003 that they were ready to go back to the studio once the Fallen Tour ended. She said that everybody would be going to their home to write new material, and then they would regroup and see what could be done with the material.[8] In a November 2004 interview, she said that she writes by herself first, and she then shows the material to the people she's working with.[9] In March 2005, she indicated the new music was "creepy, it's kind of sexy, it's groovy [...] It's sort of Portishead, A Perfect Circle, bands that take more artistic freedom", linking it to Portishead in terms of "weird, sultry vibe."[10]
[Terry and I] have been writing together for the past couple of weeks. We're working really well together. I'm just very excited because [the new songs] already have a new sound. It still sounds like the Evanescence everybody knows, but at the same time it's going in a new direction, and I love that direction.[9]
The album was written in 18 months,[11][12] and Amy learned how to use Pro Tools to engineer demos.[13] She wrote the musical and lyrical parts, and Terry would come up with the guitar and basslines along with Amy.[14] The two would "sit in a room and jam".[15] Terry became her new songwriting partner, and she found him open minded and "laid-back",[15][16] being supportive of her musical ideas.[17] Lyrically, the songs are more direct, personal and confessional,[18][19][20] because Amy was "sick of hiding behind metaphors."[21]
The recording of the album began in September 2005.[22] The writing and recording of the album was slow for several reasons, primarily Terry suffering a stroke in November 2005,[23] Amy's lawsuit against the former manager,[24] and her wanting to take her time making the album.[25][12][26] The strings and choir were recorded at Bastyr University and Capitol Studios respectively.[2] The university's chapel was chosen for the acoustics,[27] with a 22-piece string section led and arranged by David Campbell.[12][28]
Some of Amy's lyrical topics on the album were her break-up with Shaun Morgan,[29] her relationship with the fans and the band,[30] standing up for herself,[31] her relationship with the passing of her three-year-old sister,[26], a stalker,[32] and finding love.[29] Musically, Amy had creative freedom, which she regained after Ben's departure.[33][27] She used B-3 organ in the background of almost every song,[34] an instrument that she wasn't able to use on Fallen because Ben didn't like it.[35] She incorporated her classical influence into the album[33] and did a lot of experimentation.[36]
Experimentation included sampling an old typewriter in a song to make a drum beat,[37][38] using a music box and toy piano that she had kept since childhood in Weight of the World,[39] incorporating homemade sounds in the music,[38] and building Lacrymosa around the Lacrimosa sequence of Mozart's Requiem, Amy's favorite piece,[12] because she recalled listening to the original as a teenager and fantasizing about "making it metal".[40]
Amy revealed that with Fallen some of the songs sounded like she "was trying to prove [herself] and establish what [they] were and [their] sound".[41] She further said, "I was trapped having to feel a certain way. But with the new record, I sort of went with everything. I am not afraid to feel happy sometimes, and I think there's moments on the album with sensuality, which is really fun and beautiful, instead of the last time, where I felt like I was only getting out part of me. This record embraces the whole me".[41]
In June 2006 (four months before the album's release), Amy posted on EvBoard.com:
I hope you all love the record, I know I do, but just one tip about it- each song really has a life of its own. It would be impossible to judge the record on one song alone. Some are much heavier than we've ever been before, some more soulful, some more fun- the only word that really describes all of them is "more." ...as I'm reading this I still think its all meaningless without hearing the album. Just be open minded, because I wasn't aiming to give people what they expect.[42]
Amy came up with the album title after two months of writing.[43] Amy referred to the album's title during an interview:
I feel like I've got that out of my system. I'm happy. I feel good now. I feel free. That's why the album is called The Open Door because I feel like all the doors in my life I pushed open, and now I can do whatever I want.[26]
The title is meant to represent an open door to the future, the realization that everything that happens to us depends on what we want to happen.[44]
In an interview with Billboard, she discussed the lyrical content on the album:
I feel like this album comes from a place that is not so hopeless. The first album, I was talking about the hard stuff, but I was also wallowing in it. I wasn’t strong enough to take a stand and say no in a lot of situations. [...] The lyrics on the new album are looking for the answers, looking for the solutions, looking for happiness. It’s not, “I’m miserable, end of song.” It’s more, “I’m miserable, and what do I have to do to work this out and get out of this bad situation.”[15]
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the album's release, Amy was interviewed by Kerrang! and talked about the album:
What I remember most about The Open Door - what really lives in my heart - it was a break-up record with more than just a dude in a relationship. It was a breaking up with a lot of things and a lot of people. More than it being about that for me - about some relationship - I hear myself singing for freedom, and standing up for myself instead of being a broken little girl sitting in the corner, crying about how hard life is, which you can hear a little bit of on Fallen. It’s me standing up and taking control.[31]
Promotion
Evanescence promoted The Open Door and its singles in several performances and appearances across the world. Before the release of the album, Amy and John performed in several acoustic shows, including AOL Sessions in August 2006, and VH1 next month. "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Bring Me to Life" were performed at the 2006 Mexican MTV Video Music Awards on October 19.[45] On December 14, the band performed "Lithium" at The Late Show with David Letterman.[46] Evanescence put on a private performance for Yahoo! Nissan Live Sets on November 12, 2007, also taking part in a Q&A with fans who attended the concert.[47]
Singles
Amy Lee performing in April 2007.
"Call Me When You're Sober" was first released as a digital single on August 15, 2006.[48] A CD single was later released in September.[49] The song went on to peak at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[50] Internationally, "Call Me When You're Sober" peaked in the top 10 in 12 countries, including Canada[51] and the UK.[52] An accompanying music video directed by Marc Webb filmed in Hollywood, California was released on August 7, 2006. "Lithium" was released digitally on December 8,[53] and a CD single was later released in the UK on January 8, 2007.[54] An accompanying music video was directed by Paul Fedor[55] and released in late November. The third single off the album, "Sweet Sacrifice", was released physically on May 25, 2007 to Germany only.[56] Physical releases elsewhere were scheduled for May 8, but the shipments were cancelled.[57] The accompanying music video was directed P. R. Brown and released on April 5.[58]
"Weight of the World" was released as a radio single to the country of Colombia only in October 2007.[59] "Good Enough" was originally supposed to be released on November 16,[60] but it was pushed to December 14.[61] The single was later cancelled. The song didn't reach any music charts. An accompanying music video, directed by Mark Webb and Rich Lee, was released on September 10.[62]
Tour
The Open Door Tour was Evanescence's second concert tour which lasted from October 2006 to December 2007. The tour kicked off with a concert at Toronto, Canada on October 5, 2006,[45][63] followed by concerts at Montreal on October 6, Boston on October 7, and New York on October 9.[45][63][64] The band continued performing concerts in North America for October.[45][63] The band later started performing in Europe in November, before going back to the US in 2007 to play in large venues.[45][63] In the United States and Europe, Evanescence was supported by Revelation Theory,[65] and in Canada the band was supported by The Black Maria[66] and Stone Sour.[67]
It's been two years since we stopped touring. So it's been awhile, and I'm a little nervous, but I'm mostly just excited. By the end of touring the last time, we were just dying to write more songs and play some new material. So, by now, after all the recording and writing and creating, we're just ready to get back out there and play it and see how it goes again.
The tour continued with the band playing places in Canada, Japan, and Australia in January and February 2007, and later returning to the US on March 16.[68] The band later left the US to tour in South America, starting with a concert in Chile on April 12.[68] The band later performed some concerts in South Africa,[68] and again later returned to the US.[69] The band played at the PinkPop festival in Holland on May 28[70] and the Rock am Ring festival on June 3,[71] followed by concerts in Russia, Greece, Turkey.[70] They ended the second leg of the tour with a concert at the Amphi in Ra'anana, Israel, on June 26, 2007.[72] Evanescence co-headlined the 2007 Family Values Tour with Korn, starting with a concert in St. Louis on July 20,[70] and ending on September 2. The band later embarked on the last leg of the tour in Mexico and the US, beginning with Florida on October 23.[73] During this time, the band started performing songs such as "Lose Control", "Missing" and "Understanding".[74][75] The tour ended with a concert at Rhode Island on December 8.[73]
Above each lyric, there are different images. They are analogous to the lyrics, as this is the art purpose. It should be noted that these are fan interpretations.
Digital Art for LithiumDigital Art for LacrymosaDigital Art for Like You
Sweet Sacrifice: a moth, like butterflies, represents what is called "You poor sweet innocent thing." In the psychological symbols[77] of dreaming, the butterfly represents freedom, like in "Now that I'm unchained"; in the Christian symbolism, the butterfly is on the one hand resurrection and immortality and, on the other, empty vanity and triviality, due to its short life and beauty. The meaning of the butterfly is, however, on its metamorphosis, from egg to caterpillar and from chrysalis, stuck in strict death, to insect with wings and shining colors turned to the sunlight. So in the antiquity, it was already a symbol of the soul, because it doesn't end with death. The part of the song that represents this whole symbolism is at the end, when Amy sings "I dream in the darkness, I sleep to die, Erase the silence, Erase my life, Our burning ashes blacken the day, A world of nothingness blow me away."
Call Me When You're Sober: there is a honeypot ant, which gathers honeydew from scale insects and psyllids (jumping plant lice) and feed it to other workers at a later date. They are highly valued source of sugar for the Aborigines of central Australia. It can be connected to the addiction and the necessity of the other person in the song.
Weight of the World and Lithium: in those lyrics, an umbrella reminds of protection, something that doesn't let other things touch us, like in the parts "Like all my screaming has gone unheard" and "If you love me, then let go of me" from "Weight of the World" and "Don't wanna lock me up inside" and "Can't break free until I let it go - let me go" from "Lithium". The umbrella reminds of Mary Poppins, who used it to fly "Freefall, freefall, all through life." In "Lithium", the digital version has a bug on it, like the one in the insert of the US radio single.
Cloud Nine: there is a bird, analogous to freedom and linked to the parts "If you want to live, let live" and "I just want to feel that high."
Snow White Queen: according to the inspiration for the song, a cage fences the unique bird. There is adoring and illness in the lyrics - "There's nowhere to run", "Soon I know you'll see you're just like me" and "Don't scream anymore, my love, 'cause all I want is you."
Lacrymosa and Like You: There are no symbols for these songs on the album. For the digital version of The Open Door, the "Lacrymosa" and "Like You" lyrics have special images too. They represent the whole song - a teardrop in Lacrymosa and a coffin in Like You.
Lose Control: a lamb appears on the page, explicitly quoted in the lyric, "my lamb." There can be also a connection to the American nursery rhyme (traditional song or poem taught to young children in the development of vocabulary) called Mary Had a Little Lamb, that was recorded by many different artists, linking to the part "Mary had a lamb."
The Only One: there is a mythological animal, the Griffon, that lays golden eggs and has a great justice sense; this is the representation of the wonder, and so it is well connected to the whole song, including the title.
Your Star: a telescope appears on this page, an instrument used to see stars and planets far from Earth - "I can't see your star."
All That I'm Living For: the key symbolizes the part "Lock the last open door."
Good Enough: the necklace with the heart pendant shows all the love which the song is written about.
Inspired by one of Amy's drawings, the album cover was shot at Angel Orensanz Center.[19]
