(upbeat music)
- I'm such a huge fan of Evanescence and, like, chatting
with you right now is kind of surreal for me.
And it's also so crazy to realize you guys are coming back
after nine years without music.
How does it feel?
- It feels great.
We've been playing music and we put out songs
I mean, it's a sh*t ton of work, but
you never feel more alive, it's wonderful.
It feels good to finally be
at the point where something has come out.
- And speaking of what's come out,
tell me about "Wasted On You," a music video filmed entirely
in quarantine.
- It was really really fun to do.
The one thing about it is that it's an equalizer,
it brings us all to the same level
like we're all together doing the same thing
and feeling a lot of the same feelings.
It doesn't matter who you are, where you are in the world.
And I think
- The album, "The Bitter Truth".
I can't imagine a better time
for a new Evanescence album to come out because when I think
about your music, it's so cathartic for so many people
and that's what people need now.
We were just talking about how art can heal
Tell me a little bit about the genesis of the album.
- It's a little bit of everything.
But at least for this first phase,
we have kind of focused on the more rock side.
Just because we've been missing that, and
playing live feels like that
Something for me about this process and this album
is what we wanted before being in this situation
that we're all in.
Was to live in the moment with our fans and sort
of still be writing when we started releasing music
and still be feeling the feelings that you're hearing
in the song when you hear them.
There was one night particular where we got it
and we were so happy.
And the text stream was just so funny because
it was all like little GIFs of like, cartoons dancing
and basketball player dunks and stuff.
But we were together in a moment like all,
like I'm listening to the song for the fifteenth time,
like, me too!
So I don't know just feeling
that connection has just been really cool.
- When you say we got it, like we got it.
We knew this is gonna be the version of the song
that's going out.
Like what does that mean
for anyone who might not understand.
- It's kind of like, painting or drawing or anything.
You start with a blob and then start decorating it
and shaving away the bad parts like, I love it,
but there's one part it doesn't feel great like
we gotta change that thing.
And that starts with
the chord choices and the lyric choices
and the melody choices and all those things
that make the song and the arrangement.
But then it keeps going and keeps going into mixing
and mastering.
You need to be able to hear everything
without it being overwhelming.
Then finally everybody, pleased, everybody loving it.
Just listening and not thinking
about anything being missing or anything being too loud
or anything feeling overall too bassy or whatever,
like it sounds good in my heart,
sounds good in my headphones
and it sounds good through my computer speakers-we're done.
- And what's the fan response been like?
- It's been great, it's been really good.
and about something new.
- May is Mental Health Awareness Month
and when I think about a lot of your catalog of music,
I think that it's been such a source of comfort
for so many people who battle mental health issues.
These times are so tricky right now.
What's your advice for people?
It's hard to always start giving advice
because I think I know the right answers
but I don't necessarily always do.
Anxiety is a tough one right now.
Because we never know what's gonna happen next, really,
but we kinda do.
And right now we really don't.
It's hard to know day to day
what are we gonna be doing later this year?
I'm not really totally sure.
Do something that makes you feel good because
you did something that's outside of yourself.
because making something
whether it's baking a pie or making a song.
At the end of it you feel really good
because something exists that didn't exist
before you were there.
So I think that creation in general is really healing,
painting, baking, whatever.
(soft music)