Evanescence at Hammersmith Apollo

With an audience already oozing sweat, the Apollo was ripe and brimming with devoted rock fans hungry to see Evanescence perform for the first time in London since 2012. Reforming after a brief hiatus for a world tour and in the midst of recording their latest album, Synthesis, set to come out later this year, the venue roared everyone’s relief and excitement, no doubt rattling the chandeliers with their cheers once the band burst on stage full throttle with their acclaimed single Everybody’s Fool.

Rock patrons punched their hand horns along while Amy Lee graced the stage head-banging her iconic long black hair, delivering every high velvety note she is renowned for in an impeccable manner. Following with their single off their self-titled album, What You Want, the potency of Will Hunt’s drumming was matched, if not somewhat overpowered by the singer’s impressive resounding tonality.

After thunderous metallic riffs and gargantuan drumming clamour akin to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich for Going Under and The Other Side, a grand piano took centre stage, spotlights beamed on Lee as she sat behind it to begin her angelic melancholia for Lithium. The set erupted with continuation of the manic light show dramatising the operatic goth rock ambience, proving the night’s banquet of dysphoric lyrics served in emotional slow ballads as well as heavy spurges of clangorous energy.

Once the sweat dews settled after Say You Will, the band took a new approach to perform the vocally lionised track My Immortal with both guitarists Jen Majura and Troy McLawhorn on acoustics to boast their finger-picking synchronicity, while the frontwoman delivered a stripped down rendition – no less passionately executed – with the whole venue singing along in partial harmony, allowing Lee to bear the high notes.

Hunt hurled the set back into the swelter of heavy rock’n’roll, and without the suspension of energy Lee finally detonated the notorious melody for their debut single Bring Me to Life, an explosion of twangy guitar solos and hypersonic drumming within the song’s bridges helped to replenish and renew the blazing nostalgia.

The encore signatured off the night’s sweat-drenched thrills of dynamicity, Your Star began with the tear-jerking volume of Lee’s vocals into a thrash of final energy to belter Evanescence’s individual flair of climatic intensity. This was an immaculate performance of consistent peaks that fixated fans; with never a queue for the bar, the band delivered the euphoria by their own innovation to capture and hold the audience’s attention like they have done for all these years.

Shoka Shohani
Photo: Ralph Arvesen

For further information about Evanescence and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Bring Me To Life here: