EVANESCENCE Singer Talks New Album With KERRANG! Magazine

EVANESCENCE is currently recording its self-titled third album at a Nashville studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS, VELVET REVOLVER, DEATH ANGEL, TRIVIUM) for a tentative October 4 release via Wind-up Records.

In a brand new interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine, EVANESCENCE vocalist Amy Lee was asked how the material for the new CD came together. "It was a completely different way of doing things for us, but it was exactly what we needed," she said. "As we started to hear the body of work back in the studio, it's become really clear to me that this is a band record. I feel more connected and in sync with my band than I ever have before. Everyone has been involved with the process from the ground up and that's a first for us. This time we all got in a room together to make something, which was scary and different but it's been about letting go of control and being more collaborative. It's paid off in a way I never would have expected. The lineup we have now is really strong and I'm proud to have these guys by me."

Regarding how this new EVANESCENCE sounds, Lee said, "Looser. This album is not so glossy or tight. It's more instinctive. It's big on groove and there's some real musicianship that we're really proud of. Everyone knows our sound but that's just a foundation and we've danced on top of that! It's still very heavy and dark but we're having fun with it. Musically I don't feel trapped. I'm a lot more secure than I used to be. I used to have a lot of silly, self-imposed rules but we're breaking them all on this album. By loosening up, it feels like it's going to a higher place."

On the topic of her lyrical inspirations this time around, Amy said, "It's about life. I'm in a healthier place than I was before, when I was writing some heavy-hearted songs. But that doesn't mean the music sounds happy. I can pull from all sorts of sources and look at different things with a new perspective. The music is about me [and] my relationships. The music and the lyrics have gotten more aggressive than they ever were before too; that's one of the things making this album great."

Lee began recording an album last year with producer Steve Lillywhite (DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, U2) that leaned heavily in the direction of electronic and dance music, but her label reportedly rejected that project and made her start from scratch on a more traditional EVANESCENCE offering.

Guitarist Troy McLawhorn recently officially rejoined EVANESCENCE after leaving SEETHER in March. McLawhorn first joined EVANESCENCE in 2007 but left a year later and was hired by SEETHER. He quit that group three months ago, claiming "personal friction" with one of the band members, with SEETHER frontman Shaun Morgan saying at the time that McLawhorn was returning to EVANESCENCE.

EVANESCENCE's management denied that McLawhorn was coming back, but he announced it on June 14 at his Facebook page.

The new EVANESCENCE album comes five years after the band's last effort, 2006's "The Open Door".