Evanescence

Evanescence

The Open Door

(Wind-Up)

This long-awaited second album from the US rock outfit - who straddle the line between mainstream and alternative goth-rock - is the follow- up to 2003's multi-platinum debut, Fallen, which sat in the Billboard charts for more than 100 weeks.

Predictably, The Open Door makes few changes to that highly successful music template: arena rock meets piano-driven goth rock, with a dash of nu-metal and a sprinkle of Wagnerian operatics in the mix.

Lead singer Amy Lee has presence and strength, but not much in the way of colour or range. And most of the lyrics are overcast, rather than overtly dark, making the whole project seem slightly wishy-washy.