EVANESCENCE's AMY LEE: 'I Love Contrast In Music'

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Cutter's Rockcast" podcast, EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee was asked if there was one artist that made her want to become the lead singer of a hard rock band. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can't say one, but it's interesting, I didn't think about gender that much. It's such a topic right now. I think it's great. We're talking about all kinds of things — inclusivity is big right now, and I love it; so right on.

"Before we got signed, when we were kids starting the band, I thought it was cool because I could do things that guys couldn't do. I could hit high notes that they couldn't hit, and we could play in different tunings. And I just felt like it was a bonus, just as far as the timbre of my voice, and the fact that it contrasted. I love contrast in music — I love when you can put something really dark with something really light or put something really heavy with something beautiful. And having a voice that I can display my femininity and contrast it with a lot of aggression in the band, to me, was just a fun idea. It just felt good, and it was something that I thought was somewhat unique at the time.

'But bands that inspired me — I got super inspired by NIRVANA. But it was also not so much the rock part but just the alternative world of music. Björk, that's been my number one ever since I first saw 'Human Behaviour' on TV when I was 12 years old — maybe 13 — and [I was, like], 'I'm obsessed with you now.' So, somewhere between Björk, SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA, a little bit of METALLICA, and also Tori Amos and SMASHING PUMPKINS and so many just cool bands that were crossing over all kinds of boundary lines. GARBAGE — I have to mention that. MASSIVE ATTACK.

"I like music. It wasn't so much about 'I wanna be like her' or 'I wanna be like him.' What I liked about all those bands, actually, that I mentioned is that they're all unique from each other and anything else. You know what it is when you hear NIRVANA. You know what it is when you hear Björk. There is no other one that is like that. And that, to me, that authenticity and uniqueness was what I was striving for. And that would have to come out in a new form for it to be unique. And that's what we are."

EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM will return to the concert stage in the U.S. this fall. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will kick off Friday, November 5 in Portland, Oregon, and take the bands to arenas across the country before wrapping up in the Northeast right before the holidays.

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", debuted in March as the #1 Current Rock and Alternative album in the U.S., and the band will bring audiences a high-octane rock energy to match the album, which the Los Angeles Times hailed as their "fiercest songs to date." Consequence Of Sound said of "The Bitter Truth", "Amy Lee and company triumphantly return … and it's certainly worth the wait," and the shows with HALESTORM this winter will further prove it.