Fallen

“We've all fallen, but at the same time we're not broken. There is the hint that we are going to get up again.”

―Amy Lee

Fallen Released March 4th, 2003 Length 54:15 Producers Dave Fortman Label Wind-up Records, Epic Discography Mystary EP (2003) Fallen (2003) Anywhere But Home (2004) Singles from Fallen 1. Bring Me to Life Released: February 7, 2003 2. Going Under Released: June 6, 2003 3. My Immortal Released: October 20, 2003 4. Everybody's Fool Released: April 19, 2004

Fallen is the first studio album by Evanescence, and their first album to achieve widespread release around the world. It was released on March 4, 2003 by Wind-up Records.

To celebrate the its 10th anniversary, Fallen was reissued on limited edition purple vinyl on March 4, 2013. On its 20th anniversary, the album was released as a special edition with bonus material on November 17, 2023.

Background and development

Fallen was the eighth best-selling album in the U.S. in 2004, with about 2.61 million copies sold that year. The album was recorded at Ocean Studios (Burbank) and Conway Recording Studios (Hollywood), both in California. The album reached 7x Platinum status on June 24, 2008 in the U.S.

After Evanescence was formed by Amy Lee and Ben Moody in 1995, the band released three EPs and one demo CD. In January 2001, they signed with Wind-up Records, their first major label. Composing Fallen took eight years; in a MTV interview, Ben Moody said that he wrote with Lee "maybe two or three times in eight years." Amy said that she and Moody never sat down and wrote together, and instead would combine their respective parts in songs. From the start, Lee would only ever write music by herself, considering it a vulnerable process and feeling disrespected by Moody. Some songs were written when they were 15 and 16 years old. Half of the album was written in two years during artist development before Dave Fortman was brought in to produce it. Most of Lee's writing on Fallen was inspired by a three-year abusive relationship she was in with an unnamed boyfriend.

The album was recorded in California at Track Record Studios, NRG Recording Studios, Ocean Studios, and Conway Recording Studios. Songs were recorded as demos before the recording sessions, and "My Immortal", "Imaginary", and "Whisper" appeared on earlier Evanescence recordings. Amy expressed that these songs were "done right, now that we have the money to or the backing from the label" on Fallen. The album was recorded and mixed from late August to early December 2002. Recording began at Ocean Studios in Burbank, where "Bring Me To Life" was recorded. This recording was later used for the Daredevil soundtrack. For that song, Jay Baumgardner used a mix at his studio (NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood) on an SSL 9000 J. Drum tracks were recorded at Ocean Studios, with Josh Freese playing on selected songs to click tracks of stereo guitars and vocals.

Dave Fortman said that for the rest of the drums, he used a D112 on the inside of the kick drum, a U47 on the outside, and an NS-10 speaker as an outside mic. The producer used 414 microphones on the ride and hi-hat cymbals, recording the drums on two-inch tape on a Studer recorder and inputting the results into Pro Tools. The guitars (Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Mesa Boogie, Marshall Amplification) for the album were cut at Mad Dog Studios in Burbank with an old Mesa Boogie guitar cabinet. Lee's vocals, pianos and the background vocal by the Millennium Choir were recorded at NRG Recording Studios. The orchestral parts were arranged by David Campbell and David Hodges, except for "My Immortal", which was arranged by composer Graeme Revell. Fallen was mixed over a two-week period at Conway Recording Studios in North Hollywood and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. Although Amy wrote the piano parts on the album, David is credited for having played them.

Amy expressed that the making of Fallen was stressful because "we had to remember [that] at least one big single had to be totally radio-friendly. And I'm really ready not to think that way." According to her, the album "leaned toward what [Ben] wanted a lot of the time", as he had a more commercial mindset, with Moody saying in a 2003 interview that he focused on making it "as accessible as possible, to as many people as possible". She said she wasn't allowed to use any organ on the album, because Ben "didn't like it."

Wind-up Records initially refused to release the album unless Evanescence hired a rapper as a full-time member and have him featured on 8 out of 11 tracks on Fallen. Amy refused to do it, and later reluctantly agreed to the compromise of adding a male vocal on only the lead single "Bring Me to Life". The label wanted a male vocalist in order to make the music marketable, as a female voice on rock radio was a rarity, and the song was considered for airplay only after there was a male vocal on it. The label's president Ed Vetri revealed that when the label introduced the song to radio, radio programmers rejected it, saying, "A chick and a piano? Are you kidding? On rock radio?" Some program directors would hear the female voice and piano at the start of the song and turn it off without listening to the rest of the song.

Originally, the band version of "My Immortal" would have been the fourth track, but Wind-Up preferred the Origin version with added strings instead. Amy expressed she hates that version, a demo from 1999, recorded with a MIDI piano when she was 17 years old at the radio station where her father worked in, which they had to break into late at night after everyone had finished their work, because they couldn't afford a real studio session. When the song became a single, the band chose the version they originally recorded for the album, which is the "band version", with strings arranged by David Campbell.

The production cost was estimated to be around $250,000 by Dave Fortman, and much of the budget was used to record a real orchestra in Seattle that Amy fought to have in many of the songs, whereas an electronic recreation would have been cheaper.

Fallen has sold well over 15 million copies worldwide and about 5 and a half million in the US alone. The album debuted at #7 and has not fallen below #39 to date on the Billboard Album Chart. The album stayed in the top 10 for 43 non-consecutive weeks.

The CD was re-released in January 2004 with the band version of "My Immortal" as a hidden track. Fallen was Grammy nominated for Album of the Year in 2004. Guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray had co-writing credits on Fallen before they were hired for tour after Fallen was completed. John has credits on "Taking Over Me" and Rocky has credits on "Tourniquet", which is a cover of the original version "My Tourniquet" that he wrote on guitar for his band Soul Embraced. The latest album features the 12th song My Immortal (Band Version) but does not state this song on the track-listing.

Artwork

The cover photo and the album photoshoot were taken on Amy Lee's 21st birthday by Frank Veronsky, and the art direction was handled by Ed Sherman.

"That cover of Fallen was [taken on] my 21st birthday, the day that we did that photo shoot, and I had only been out of high school for two years."

Physical cover

No typography

Singles

Bring Me to Life

Going Under

My Immortal

Everybody's Fool

Imaginary

The first single released from the album is "Bring Me to Life", which was commercially released on February 7, 2003. It was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges, and most of it was recorded at Ocean Studios in Burbank, California for the Daredevil soundtrack. It went on to peak at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Going Under", was released on June 6, 2003. The music video for it was filmed in Berlin, Germany in May 2003. "Imaginary" was released as the commercial third single in Spain only on November 13, 2003. "My Immortal" was released as the third commercial single worldwide on October 20, 2003. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

"Everybody's Fool" was released on April 19, 2004, as the fourth and final commercial single off Fallen. The music video for it was directed by Philipp Stölzl, the same director of the "Bring Me to Life" and "Going Under" music videos.

Title and concept

Amy Lee stated in an interview that "We've all fallen, but at the same time we're not broken. There is the hint that we are going to get up again."

This is one of the reasons the album is called what it is. Ben Moody adds on this by saying that Fallen was made to let people know that they aren’t alone when they feel alone or feel pain.

"The point of this whole record and band is to let people know they're not alone in dealing with bad feelings or pain or anything that they go through. That's life and that's human. They're not alone, and we're going through it, too."

In another interview, Amy added:

[The album's message is] just honestly about human emotion. It's about our life experiences and the things that we've felt and what we've been through. We're just sharing them to be an outlet for other people so that they know they're not alone and that we've been through some crap too.

In a 2018 interview with Kerrang!, she said:

There are also time when it has been a bit of an albatross [with the success of Fallen]... A lot of the songs on that album were written when I was 15 years old. And when they were released, straight away people thought they knew me.

Music and lyrics

According to Amy Lee, "Going Under" is about a previous emotionally and physically damaging relationship: "And when you're at the end of your rope, when you're at the point where you realize something has to change, that you can't go on living in the situation that you're in. It's cool. It's a very strong song." "Going Under" was Fallen's second single. "Bring Me to Life" is a nu metal-rap rock song written in common time and performed at a moderate tempo (96 beats per minute). Written by Lee, Ben Moody, and David Hodges, the song was conceived when an acquaintance asked Lee in a restaurant if she was happy in her current relationship. When Lee realized that she was not, the lyrics "wake me up inside" were inspired. The singer confirmed that the song was about longtime friend Josh Hartzler, whom she married in 2007.

"Everybody's Fool", also by Lee, Moody, and Hodges, is about celebrities with false images. In a VH1 interview, Lee said: "My little sister was really getting into these, I don't want to offend anyone, but like really fake, cheesy, slutty female cracker-box idols, and it really pissed me off. She started dressing like them and she was like 8 years old. So I gave her the talk and I wrote a song." "My Immortal", a piano rock ballad written by Moody with a bridge by Lee, is based on a short story Moody wrote; in the album booklet he dedicates the song to his grandfather, Bill Holcomb. "Haunted" is also based on a Moody short story which was posted on the Evanescence fan forum, EvBoard.com. "Tourniquet" was originally written for Christian death metal band Soul Embraced, which included future Evanescence member Rocky Gray, but Evanescence covered and reworked it. "Imaginary", a song from Evanescence's 1998 self-titled EP, was originally intended as Fallen's fourth single. The midtempo "Taking Over Me"'s lyrics are about Lee being consumed by another person's obsession with her, secretly written about her future husband, Josh Hartzler. "Hello" remembers one of Lee's sisters, who died of an illness in 1987 at age three. The lyrics of "My Last Breath" explore emotional survival, with the lack of air a metaphor, inspired by the events of 9/11. "Whisper" features the Millennium Choir singing in Latin against muted guitars, but the choir is credited in the booklet by each individual vocalist rather than by the choir's official name.

Critical Reception

Fallen received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of AllMusic gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five: "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal ("Everybody's Fool," "Going Under"). But it's the symphonic goth rock of groups like Type O Negative that influences most of Fallen." Entertainment Weekly, in a generally positive review, graded the album B-minus: "The genre now too old to be called nü-metal isn't exactly overflowing with spine-tinglingly great vocalists – let alone female ones. Amy Lee, lead singer of gloomy Arkansas rockers Evanescence, is an exception." In a mixed review, Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone gave Fallen three stars out of five: "When vocalist Amy Lee croons about lying 'in my field of paper flowers' or 'pouring crimson regret,' she gives Fallen a creepy spiritual tinge that the new-metal boys lack."

Adrien Begrand of PopMatters criticized Fallen, calling the album "basically as unoriginal and dumb as everything else in its genre; it has a small handful of transcendent moments, but a complete lack of musical adventurousness has the band mucking around either in stultifying nu-metal riffage, pretentious high school journal caterwauling, or even worse, both." Begrand praised Lee's "soaring, enchanting, [and] angelic" voice, writing that "Evanescence would be nothing" without her. Billboard's Christa Titus called the album a "highly polished, hook-filled affair." Melissa Maerz of Spin gave it four out of five stars: "Nu metal gets a powdering of Andrew Lloyd Webber theatrics as Lee aces her piano A-levels, adds a string section, and tackles capital letter issues – God ('Tourniquet'), Love ('Going Under'), and Death ('Bring Me To Life') – with the grandeur they deserve." In a lukewarm review, Christopher Gray of the Austin Chronicle wrote that Evanescence was "a little too by the numbers to fully capitalize on Lee's obvious talents." According to Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, "Their faith, as embodied in Amy Lee's clarion sopralto, lends their goth-metal a palpable sweetness". He jokingly concluded, "Now if only it wasn't goth-metal at all."

Commercial Performance

Fallen was a commercial success, selling more than 17 million copies worldwide since its 2003 release. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, with more than 141,000 copies sold in its first week, and it has sold more than 7.6 million copies in the United States as of October 2011. Fallen was the eighth-bestselling album of 2004 and the nineteenth-bestselling album of the 2000s. By October 2011 the album had spent 106 weeks on the Billboard 200, with 58 of those weeks in the top 20. Peaking at number three on June 14, 2003, it re-entered the chart at number 192 on March 13, 2010. Fallen spent 223 weeks on the Top Pop Catalog chart after it fell off the Billboard 200. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum in April 2003; by June 2008, it had reached seven times platinum.

On the UK Albums Chart, Fallen debuted at number 18 with sales of 15,589 copies. The album reached number one (with 38,570 copies sold) seven weeks later, after "Bring Me to Life" topped the UK Singles Chart. It sold 56,193 copies in December 2003, its highest week of sales (although it was number 28 on the chart that week). Fallen spent 33 weeks in the top 20 and 60 weeks in the top 75. The album re-entered the UK chart at number 35 the week after the release of Evanescence's second studio album, The Open Door. By October 2011, the album had sold more than 1,367,900 copies in the United Kingdom. It was successful elsewhere as well, topping the charts in more than ten countries and reaching the top ten in over twenty countries worldwide. According to Nielsen SoundScan figures, after more than three months in the top 10 of the Canadian Albums Chart Fallen peaked at number one on August 13, 2003 with sales of 8,900 copies.

Track Listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Going Under"	Amy Lee, Ben Moody, David Hodges	3:35
2.	"Bring Me to Life" (featuring Paul McCoy, uncredited)	Lee, Moody, Hodges	3:56
3.	"Everybody's Fool"	Lee, Moody, Hodges	3:16
4.	"My Immortal"	Moody, Lee	4:23
5.	"Haunted"	Moody, Lee, Hodges	3:05
6.	"Tourniquet" (Soul Embraced cover)	Lee, Moody, Hodges, Rocky Gray	4:38
7.	"Imaginary"	Lee, Moody	4:16
8.	"Taking Over Me"	Lee, Moody, Hodges, John LeCompt	3:49
9.	"Hello"	Lee, Moody, Hodges	3:40
10.	"My Last Breath"	Lee, Moody, Hodges	4:07
11.	"Whisper"	Lee, Moody	5:27
12.	"My Immortal" (Band version, only on later pressings)	Moody, Lee	4:33

Deluxe Edition / Remastered

20th anniversary album cover

The remastered edition of the album in celebration of its 20th anniversary was released on November 17, 2023 through Craft Recordings, distributed by Concord. The physical (2-CD and 2-LP) and digital releases include the original album, plus three B-sides and six bonus material, including live versions and the 2002 demo version of "Bring Me to Life". All physical formats include previously unseen photos from the era and a handwritten foreword by Amy Lee.

Fallen (20th Anniversary Edition)

1. Going Under (Remastered)
2. Bring Me to Life (Remastered)
3. Everybody's Fool (Remastered)
4. My Immortal (Remastered)
5. Haunted (Remastered)
6. Tourniquet (Remastered)
7. Imaginary (Remastered)
8. Taking Over Me (Remastered)
9. Hello (Remastered)
10. My Last Breath (Remastered)
11. Whisper (Remastered)
12. My Immortal (Band Version / Remastered)
13. Breathe No More (Remastered)
14. Farther Away (Remastered)
15. Missing (Remastered)
16. My Immortal (Strings Version / Remastered)
17. Bring Me to Life (Demo / Remastered)
18. Bring Me to Life (AOL Session / April 15, 2003 / Remastered)
19. Going Under (Live Acoustic / 2003 / Remastered)
20. Bring Me to Life (Live on Triple M's Garage Session / June 2020 / Remastered)
21. My Immortal (Live at O2 Arena, London / November 14, 2022 / Remastered)

Fallen (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

Vinyl gatefold

Originally arriving on February 23, 2024 but pushed back a week, to March 1st, due to manufacturing issues, the limited edition Super Deluxe box set includes a 2-LP set with the same tracklist above, plus a cassette tape with 10 previously unreleased demos and voice notes. Adding additional insight into the album is an expansive book which features new track-by-track notes from Amy, while a zoetropic turntable slipmat, featuring Evanescence’s classic “e” logo, plus a set of rare photo prints and enamel pin set round out the collection. Another version of this box set comes with a custom-branded cassette player, which is also available as a separate item.

Cassette Tracklist (from the Fallen 20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

Side A

1. Imaginary (demo 10.10.01)
2. Whisper (demo 10.10.01)
3. Haunted (demo 10.10.01)
4. Everybody’s Fool (final demo 10.03.02)
5. Taking Over Me (demo 11.15.01)
6. Missing (final demo 10.03.02)  

Side B

1. Going Under (demo 8.8.02)
2. Tourniquet (demo 7.24.02)
3. My Last Breath (demo 11.15.01)
4. Bring Me To Life (demo 3.18.02)
5. Fallen Voice notes

B-sides

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Farther Away"	Amy Lee, David Hodges, Ben Moody	3:58
2.	"Missing"	Lee, Moody, Hodges	3:56
3.	"Breathe No More"	Lee	3:16

Cast

Line-Up

• Amy Lee - Vocals, choral arrangements
• Ben Moody - Guitars, tribal percussion, producer (track #4)
• David Hodges - Piano, keyboards, additional programming, additional strings arrangements

Guests

• Dave Fortman - Producer, mixing
• Francesco DiCosmo - Bass
• Josh Freese - Drums
• The Millenium Choir - Background choir on "Everybody's Fool", "Haunted", "Imaginary" and "Whisper"
• Paul McCoy - Guest vocals on "Bring Me To Life"
• David Campbell - Orchestral arrangements on all tracks except "My Immortal"
• Graeme Revell - Orchestral arrangements on "My Immortal"

Technical

• Jeremy Parker - engineer
• Mark Curry - strings engineer and mixing
• John Rodd - strings recording engineer
• Bill Talbott - strings recording engineer
• Jay Baumgardner - mixing (track 2)
• Ted Jensen - mastering

Booklet and credits

Front insert

Back insert

Credits

Booklet lyrics

References

••• Albums
Pre-Fallen Releases Evanescence EP • Sound Asleep EP • Origin • Mystary EP Studio Albums Fallen • The Open Door • Evanescence • Synthesis • The Bitter Truth Compilation Albums Lost Whispers Live Albums Anywhere But Home • Synthesis Live