Evanescence is a nu-metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas. The band was formed in 1994 by frontman Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. Ben was later replaced by Terry Balsamo, the guitarist of an alternative metal band, Cold. The rest of the members were bassist William Boyd, drummer Rock Gray, and guitarist John LeCompt. 

Evanescence was formerly considered as Christian band. The label was given because they sent Christian message through their lyrics. During 2000s, many people said that Evanescence was goth rock band, but the band itself refused to be categorized in any label. Before choosing Evanescence, the band went by several short-lived names, including "Striken" and "Childish Intentions." 

The band's name might be defined as a 'sudden vanishing', but Evanescence shone more than ever since the release of their debut single "Bring Me to Life" in 2003. The single, which was originally a piano ballad, became a hit by breaking top 5 on Billboard Hot 100. It was later featured in Ben Affleck's "Daredevil" (2003). 

The Amy Lee-fronted band followed the success by climbing the top 3 on Billboard Hot 200 with their 2003 album "Fallen". In addition to breaking the charts, they were nominated for Album of ...

the Year in the 2004 Grammy Awards. The band lost the category, but received a Best New Artist trophy instead. 

Post the Fallen Tour, the band entered a slow mode whereby no record was coming out within 3 years. The band hit the bottom when bassist Boyd revealed that he wanted to stay at home with his family and therefore announced his departure in mid 2006. The band later found replacement in Tim McCord from Revolution Smile. 

With the new formation, they formulated a sophomore set titled "The Open Door" in 2006. It could be their already high reputation or simply the fans' trust and loyalty that made the album enter Billboard 200 chart at #1 in the first week sale by moving 447,000 copies and sold over 4 million units worldwide later on. They had two world tours for this album alone. 

Still in the midst of the second album's promotion, the band announced another band reformation. LeCompt and Gray bid their goodbye to the band. Though not showing any clash, both of them spoke up about Amy's management that stood against them. The first statement released by LeCompt on May 4 revealed that he was fired from the band without given any time to defend the situation. 

He said, "I'm done and I'm pretty upset about it. Amy called and fired me today. There's absolutely no loyalty in this band." He continued by writing on his blog that Amy gave him no chance for negotiations or even early warning. "Our common goal was always the same. To make Evanescence the best rock band it could ever be," he said. 

"I have always given blood, sweat and tears to make that happen but apparently that is not enough. I have now become just another of the people fallen by the wayside on the revolving door of her life. It's funny how many of us there are now. I guess it's good for lyrical content, though. Maybe I will be among the blessed to have a song written about me, too. Maybe the song will be 'Call Me When You're Broke'." 

A couple of days later, Gray opened up that he was banned by the same management from publicizing any statement regarding his departure. Gray wrote, "Amy Lee's management emailed me last night to tell me that, in their view, the contract I signed to record, perform and tour with ...

the group says I'm not allowed to have any free speech in regard to Evanescence. They way they spin it, I'm not even allowed to say I quit the group, I guess." 

Amy's party was quick to offer their side of story. They clarified, "Evanescence is alive and well. John and Rocky were in Evanescence for four years and we shared some great times together playing live, but they were ready to move on and so we have parted ways. Evanescence is something I have loved and nurtured since I was fourteen, and I will continue to protect and fight for it as I always have." 

Amy then quickly hunted for the new members which she found from alt-metal band Dark New Day. Citing that it was her favorite band, Amy pulled drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn to support Evanescence in 2007 summer tour for the band's third album and second chart topper "The Open Door". 

Once the gig was completed, they went on a hiatus again. Five years later, they came back with a self-titled album "Evanescence". Talking about the absent from the spotlight, Amy confessed, "I had a little bit of an identity crisis. [The success with] 'Fallen' happened really fast, and it was just go, go, go for a couple years, and we went right into writing and wrote the next record. By the time we finished touring with 'The Open Door', I just needed to go, 'Who am I as an adult?'" 

Amy and her friends made a triumphant comeback by debuting at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the eponymous album which sold a total of 127,000 copies in its opening week. "What can I say, we're thrilled about it!" she gushed. "We made an album that we're really proud of and now we get to watch it fly. We weren't expecting this and we're just so grateful to our fans."
2009–present: Evanescence and hiatus

Evanescence on a concert at Maquinaria Festival, São Paulo, Brazil on November 8, 2009.

In a news posting to the Evanescence website during June 2009, Amy Lee wrote that the band was in the process of writing new material for a new album proposed for release in 2010. She stated that the music would be an evolution of previous works and be "better, stronger, and more interesting". The band played a "secret show" at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in New York City on November 4, 2009, with label mates Civil Twilight. Tickets for the show sold out in five minutes. This performance acted as a warm-up for their headline appearance at the Maquinária Festival in São Paulo, Brazil, which took place on November 8.

Evanescence entered the studio on February 22, 2010, to begin recording. Will Hunt returned as drummer while a second drummer and programmer, Will "Science" Hunt, was brought in to assist in writing but ultimately did not join the band. David Campbell, who previously worked on The Open Door, was brought back to handle string arrangements, and the album was scheduled for release by the producer Steve Lillywhite. Lee later said that "Steve wasn't the right fit" and was replaced by producer Nick Raskulinecz.

At the time the band began recording, the album was intended for an August or September 2010 release. However, on June 21, 2010, Lee announced on EvThreads.com that Evanescence had temporarily left the studio to work further on the album and "get our heads into the right creative space". Lee also indicated that record label Wind-up Records was going through "uncertain times", which would further delay the release of the album. The band reentered the studio in early April 2011 with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who had produced music for Alice in Chains and Foo Fighters, to continue work on the third album. It was reported that the album would be released in late 2011. Troy McLawhorn was reported to have rejoined the band as a primary guitarist after leaving post-grunge band Seether, but Evanescence's management later stated that this was not the case.

On June 12, 2011, Amy Lee announced through her Twitter account that Troy McLawhorn was officially back with Evanescence and that the release date for the new album would be October 4, 2011. Later, on July 11, 2011 it was reported by MTV News that the release date for the album had been pushed back to October 11, and that the first single from the album will be "What You Want". The band recorded the album at Blackbird Studio, Nashville. During an interview with Kerrang!, Lee revealed that the new album's title will be Evanescence. Lee said that the decision for the title of the album was her love towards Evanescence. Other themes are the ocean, quest for freedom and falling in love.

The Evanescence Tour began on August 17, 2011, with a show at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. The band then performed at Rock on the Range in Winnipeg on August 20, 2011, and at Rock in Rio on October 2 alongside Guns N' Roses and System of a Down as well as Brazilian artists Pitty and Detonautas Roque Clube. After a series of events in North America, Evanescence traveled to Europe in November to play a sold-out tour in the UK, Germany and France, with support from The Pretty Reckless and Australian band ME. Evanescence performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert on December 11, 2011, where they played "Lost in Paradise" and "Bring Me to Life", before again touring in North America. In February 2012 they toured Japan with Dazzle Vision, and in the same month performed in other southeast Asian countries. March 2012 saw the band tour Australia and New Zealand with Blaqk Audio. Between April and July 2012, Evanescence toured in Europe and North America, with additional stops in Africa and the Middle East.

Evanescence paused their tour to take part in the Carnival of Madness Tour alongside Halestorm, Cavo, New Medicine and Chevelle. This tour began on July 31, 2012, in Springfield, Illinois, and ran through September 2, 2012, ending in Buffalo, New York. The Evanescence Tour resumed in October 2012 with stops in South America, Costa Rica and Panama. The tour wrapped with a series of shows in England, ending on November 9, 2012, in London's Wembley Arena. Lee stated the band plans to take an extended break after the tour, saying, "At the end of any really long tour you need to get your head in order. I think at the end of the run we'll go on a break for a while and figure things out."

In October 2013, Wind-up Records sold part of their catalog of artists, including Evanescence and their master recordings, to Bicycle Music Company. Bicycle's sister company Concord Music Group will market the catalog.

On January 3, 2014, it was announced that Amy Lee had filed a lawsuit against former record label Wind-up Records, seeking $1.5 million in unpaid royalties owed to the band. In March 2014, via her Twitter account, Lee announced that she and Evanescence had been released from their record label and were independent artists.