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"The Chain" is a song covered by Evanescence, originally by Fleetwood Mac, for the soundtrack of the Xbox game Gears 5.
Background[]
GEARS 5 - OFFICIAL LAUNCH TRAILER - THE CHAIN
Watch the game's trailer with Amy Lee's solo version
On September 5, 2019, Xbox launched a trailer for their new game Gears 5 in which Amy Lee sings her reimagining of Fleetwood Mac's classic "The Chain." She initially recorded it as a solo project, but later she visualized it as a full-band track.[1]
Lee and Xbox have redefined the classic song to embody the dark threat of Kait’s [game's character] abuser, the evil Queen Myrrah, calling out and threatening her. As Kait nears the end of the journey in the spot, she stands, revs her Lancer, and fights back against her abuser. The lyrics help drive the narrative, as each line corresponds with the chaotic journey Kait is experiencing, both in the desert and in her own mind.
I’m proud to lend my voice to this reimagining of “The Chain” for Gears 5. I was drawn to the story of Kait overcoming fear and standing up to fight. Her story of breaking out with her own voice is most definitely one I relate to![2]
On October 2, Lee said the band will finish recording the song after their 2019 European tour ends.[3] On October 14, the band posted an Instagram story which shows the band recording the song at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, TN, where the orchestra for Synthesis was recorded.[4] The next day, they posted more Instagram stories which show that Troy McLawhorn is also providing vocals, a full orchestra was used for the song, harpist Kirsten Copely and it revealed the producer is Bobby Tahouri.[5] The full song was officially released on November 22, 2019.[1] Amy confirmed that the cover song won't appear on the band's fifth studio album, The Bitter Truth.[1] However, it was included as a bonus track on the Japanese and Target Exclusive editions of the album.
Music video[]
Evanescence - The Chain (from Gears 5) -Official Music Video-
The music video, directed by P.R. Brown, was released on January 9, 2020. This is what the director and Amy said about the video:[6]
Amy: The lyrics make me feel the power of standing together against great forces trying to pull us apart, perhaps even from the inside. I really wanted to drive that home in our version.
P.R. Brown: The goal of the video is to show the bond of this band as they deliver a powerful take on a classic song. The tie in with Gears 5 presented an opportunity to combine the game world together with the band performance in a post-apocalyptic setting. The band emerges from the ashes to come together. We wanted to bring these worlds together and feel both the force of the band and the game.
The making off fo the video can be watched here.
Lyrics[]
Listen to the wind blow |
Credits[]
- Amy Lee - vocals
- Jen Majura - guitar
- Troy McLawhorn - backing vocals, guitar
- Tim McCord - bass guitar
- Will Hunt - drums
- Bobby Tahouri - production, synthesizer programming, orchestral arrangements
- Nick Raskulinecz - mixing engineer
- Ted Jensen - mastering engineer
Reference[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Amy Lee on 'The Chain' Cover and Next Evanescence Album: 'We're Definitely in the Mood to Rock' (December 16, 2019)
- ↑ "Evanescence's Amy Lee Soundtracks New Gears 5 Trailer From 215 McCann" (September 6, 2019)
- ↑ "Kerrang!: Brave New World" (October 2, 2019)
- ↑ "Evanescence finishing to record Fleetwood Mac's The Chain"
- ↑ "Evanescence in the studio recording "The Chain" (October 15, 2019)
- ↑ "Evanescence Contribute to ‘Gears 5′ Video Game With ‘The Chain’ Video". Loudwire.