Broken Record

Amy in her home studio working on demos in 2009

Broken Record refers to the original project for Evanescence's third album that was scrapped by the band's label. This unreleased album was produced by Steve Lillywhite, with co-production by Will "Science" Hunt. Recording sessions took place at MSR Studios in New York from February 22, 2010 to April that same year. The album was due for a Fall 2010 release.

Background

In July 2009, Amy Lee confirmed she was working on the follow-up to 2006's The Open Door:

We're currently working on new material that I'm extremely excited about. I believe that to make great music you have to give yourself the freedom to evolve. I don't see the point in making the same record twice, so I always want to challenge myself to make something better, stronger, and more interesting than before.

Later that year, she indicated the new music would be influenced by Portishead, Massive Attack, and be less focused on guitars and more on programming.

When the band entered the studio in 2010, Amy said the album would contain a "rainbow of sounds" with some songs amazingly heavy and others completely stripped down. She also revealed that she and Will had crafted and recorded much of the electronic programming that was to be used in the record. The band were also aiming "to take synthetic and atmospheric sounds and find a way to blur the line between organic and synthetic", adding "it sounds larger than life."

There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t sound like Evanescence, but the heart of the band of still there. This is a really, really, rhythmically driven record. So there’s tons of drum-programming fused with live drums; drums we’re renting a day at a time, like Japanese taiko drums.

For the album's lyrical content, she said:

I write about what I’m going through at the time. There are moments of, “Hey, I’m over it and I’m good” and others of fun sarcasm like, “Hey, everything’s not the most dramatic thing in the world.” But it gets really, really, really deep in places, too. That’s probably why it’s been really hard to pick an album title. [Laughs] But lyrically, it’s a more real version of myself. I’m saying things that I would’ve been afraid to say before. I’m more confident and more comfortable.

She also expressed her excitement about the new material:

I can't expain how excited I am to make this record. Over the past year and a half these songs have become the center of my life, and I can't wait to hear what they grow into in the studio. I think our sound is evolving into something that will surprise people, in a very good way. I feel, as always, that growth can be an incredible, limitless thing if you let it. I never want to make the same album twice.

Lillywhite described the album as "a great combination of real instruments and synths."

Timeline

February

• 22 - The band entered the studio.
• 25 - Amy posted a photo of Will "Science" tracking percussion.
• 26 - Drums and percussion are still being recorded.

March

• 1 - "Second week in the studio is off to a great start. Still recording loads of drums and percussion... :)"
• 6 - Amy posted a photo of Questlove tracking drums, which she later revealed he contributed to the song "You Got a Lot to Learn".
• 8 - Keyboards and pianos started to be recorded.
• 10 - There was a fire at the studio, but Will "Science" ran back and saved the harddrive.
• 13 - Amy started recording "spooky Rhodes."
• 14 - Amy disclosed some of the album's themes: unknown worlds, the ocean's abyss, life within dreams, strength, detachment, love and liars.
• 19 - A studio clip titled "Stompin' Steve" was tweeted by Amy in which a song is previewed. Amy later revealed on EvClub the song's title is "Perfect Dream".
• 24 - Amy posted a second studio clip titled "another piece of the puzzle" in which she is recording piano.
• 24 - Amy's harp was tuned by her harp technician for a recording session.
• 27 - Producer Warren Riker entered the studio to work on the album.

April

• 5 - Tim and Terry joined Amy in the studio. "Guess who brought the rock", she tweeted.
• 8 - Amy posted a photo of Terry tracking guitar in the studio.
• 16 - Tim, Will Hunt, Warren, and Terry are in the studio.
• 20 - Amy announced on EvClub that the band left the studio to "work more on the music":

I wanted to let you guys know that we’ve decided to take a little time out of the studio to work more on the music. There is more that I want to do and I want to make this album the best it can possibly be, so I’m not going to rush it. It means too much to me. Taking a breath, digging deeper into myself, and moving forward with even more strength than before. Like I’ve always said, good things take time! ;) I’ll keep you posted, talk to you soon…

Songs

It is known that the band worked on 16 songs in the recording sessions with Lillywhite, though he claimed 12 songs were recorded, but only three were reworked on the final third album. Others made it to other releases, while some remain unreleased to date.

• Lost Whispers (released on 2016's Lost Whispers compilation album)
• Hi-Lo (released on 2017's Synthesis)
• Perfect Dream
• You Got a Lot to Learn
• Made of Stone (released on 2011's Evanescence)
• Swimming Home (released on 2011's Evanescence)
• Secret Door (released on 2011's Evanescence)
• Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing (Chris Izaak cover, released on Amy Lee's Recover EP in 2015)
• Take Cover

Statements after the sessions were stopped

Amy, Steve Lillywhite, Chad Copelin and Will Hunt in the studio

After the band left the studio in 2010 and started working with Nick Raskulinecz the following year, Amy has made statements about the initial sessions for the album, which she stated she realised it was more of a "solo album" rather than a "band album."

It wasn't [sounding] right. I was about halfway through figuring out what I wanted the record to be, and I had a bunch of songs and was really excited. It more ethereal, more programming-based, more synthetic and cool - a lot of the elements are still a big part of this record. But it fell apart. Things weren't sounding right, I didn't know why and it was really hard for me. Now that I'm over a year away from it, I can look back and say, "I'm so glad that happened." We kept working and I got some clarity on what I wanted to do next, which was to get the band involved. I felt pretty lost for a while, but I knew that we were doing the right thing, because it kept getting better.

In 2015, after Amy was out of her record deal, she revealed her label rejected the album she originally intended to release as Evanescence's third album:

That album was the first time I watched something I was working on totally blow up in my face. The suits had a change of heart during a frustrating recording process and I was told that none of the songs I’d been pouring my heart into for a year, in any form, were good enough- time to start over. I was devastated. I was furious. I was determined to take control of the situation and use it to push myself forward. It ended up making me angry enough to write Evanescence’s heaviest album- which I love- and we did end up using 3 songs from the original project, but I was still left feeling unsatisfied about what I lovingly refer to as my “broken record.” I’ve believed, mostly alone, in this damaged little handful of unfinished recordings for 5 years- and for the first time, I own them. I plan to finish some, re-do some, and probably keep a couple to myself.

Producer Steve Lillywhite also talked about his work on this scrapped album:

I did some work with Evanescence a couple of years ago. I was very proud of what we did, but the record company decided it sounded not like Evanescence. It seemed like Amy Lee wanted to change her style so that's what we were trying to do because I didn't really think the world really needed another Evanescence record. It's like saying, "Limp Bizkit! Yeah, let's make another Limp Bi-!" No one cares!

When news broke that Amy was suing her label, Lillywhite made the following statements on his Twitter account:

I will back her up for sure. I believe the record I was working on was far better than what they forced her to release! [...] that is a fact which I will testify to in court! [...] I remember them thinking it didn't sound enough like "Evanescence" which is why I was let go.

He further said he was willing to finish the album with Amy, saying "if she wanted to finish those songs."