The Bitter Truth

The Bitter Truth, released on 26 March 2021, is the fifth album, on which Evanescence kept their gothic shading while stepping toward a more direct, present-tense rock sound. It is their first studio album of largely original material in about a decade. After the orchestral experiment of Synthesis, the band came back to the feel of guitars and rhythm. Nick Raskulinecz produced, as on the self-titled album. Amy Lee's singing holds delicacy and strength at once, while heavy guitar, electronic texture and the space around the piano carry the emotional swing. Because the pandemic pushed the release back, “Wasted on You,” “The Game Is Over,” “Use My Voice” and “Better Without You” were issued one at a time across 2020 and 2021. It opens with the short overture “Artifact/The Turn” before “Broken Pieces Shine” takes off at full tilt. Throughout there is a posture of not merely holding grief and anger but turning them into forward motion. No. 11 in the US, and No. 1 on several Billboard charts. Melodramatic beauty and hard rock texture coexist — a record marking the band's fresh start.