Evanescence Co-op Live review: ‘A heartfelt & breathtaking display of musicianship’
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Evanescence made Manchester their ‘Sanctuary’ on Thursday night as they brought the Sanctuary World Tour to the Co-op Live, conquering the state-of-the-art venue with a heartfelt and breathtaking display of musicianship.
The band’s performance at the Co-op Live marked the second date of a four-date run in the United Kingdom, and as ever, watching the Arkansas five-piece is an opportunity to be enchanted by Amy Lee’s remarkable skill as a vocalist. Lee’s mezzo-soprano voice, which has a three-and-a-half octave range, enables her to seamlessly shift between rich, emotional, tender, vulnerable and symphonic high notes with soaring, intense, powerful and heavy rock belts.
Lee’s unique range helped bring 'Sanctuary' – their sixth studio album – to life inside the Co-op Live. The five-piece performed the album in its entirety, minus ‘How Do I Heal’, opening the show with the album’s titular track, unleashing a barrage of chugging guitars from Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn, Emma Anzai’s driving bass and Will Hunt’s powerhouse drumming, immersing 20,000+ fans in a world of gothic rock.
‘Tell Me When You’ve Had Enough’ combined Hunt’s hard-hitting drumming, distorted guitars from McLawhorn and McCord and Anzai’s gritty, low-end bass as Lee’s soaring vocals injected a sense of the band upping the ante. “We’ve got a big show tonight; we’ve got a lot of songs. Are you ready to get down to it?” Lee fittingly asked. The audience was undoubtedly ready for the occasion, and that’s a testament to Evanescence’s skill, longevity and ability to continue evolving their live shows.
The decision to perform the bulk of ‘Sanctuary’ proved to be a masterstroke. It underlined the quality of the new material and reiterated how 23 years after releasing their debut album, ‘Fallen’, their sound is still as timeless as ever and they’re simply getting better as a collective, which is a remarkable feat in itself.
‘Afterlife’ was delivered with Lee’s enchanting vocals that blended raw power, rich emotion and a technique that enabled her to seamlessly shift between her upper and lower registers. ‘Rapture’ brought with it a moment of calm and serenity as McCord, McLawhorn and Anzai temporarily exited the stage, allowing Lee’s vocals to soar without any live instrumentation before returning to unleash their signature guitar chugs and thick bass lines. ‘Going Under’ saw Anzai impeccably complement the raw power of Lee’s vocals by singing the lower harmonies in the chorus to help enrich the arrangement.
Lee’s delicate yet haunting piano line on ‘Lithium’ served as the calm before the storm before McLawhorn and McCord added a barrage of distortion to combine with Anzai’s driving bass line and Hunt’s thumping drumming to create a heavy wall of sound. “Believe it or not, it makes 20 years since the release of our second album, ‘The Open Door’. It’s crazy. So to honour that album we’ve decided to play the one song we’ve never played live,” Lee stated, performing ‘Like You’ with a driving yet spacious piano line and Hunt’s restraining drumming.
‘Self Destruct’ provided a burst of explosive energy with crunchy guitars and Hunt’s powerful drumming. ‘Calm Down’ saw pyro blasts fill the stage as Lee’s rich, soaring vocals were complemented by a thick bass line, Hunt’s tight drumming and guitars that were initially kept restrained, providing space for the vocals to breathe before that calmness erupted into a barrage of distortion as McCord, McLawhorn and Hunt were elevated several feet into the air on scissor-lift platforms.
‘Call Me When You’re Sober’ saw McCord and McLawhorn’s guitars temporarily drop out midway through the song before the calmness dissipated and that powerful wall of sound returned to fill the Co-op Live. ‘Fight Like A Girl’ saw K-Flay, one of the two support acts accompanying Evanescence on this leg, return to the stage to harmonise with Lee. ‘Wasted on You’ opens with a gentle yet striking keyboard part before the song erupts with Hunt’s restrained drumming erupting into an explosive barrage to combine with the guitar chugs in the chorus before seamlessly shifting back into that sense of calm in the verses. It’s a song that shows the brilliance of Evanescence; blending restraint with world-class musicianship allows their arrangement choices to shine even more.
“This next song is about me, my journey and my survival. I realised how many people have been through something similar, so if something hits you in a way you feel you’ve been there before or are there now, please know you are not alone. I know it’s scary to step into the unknown. It’s terrifying and as impossible as it may seem to take that step into the unknown, I promise you it’s better on the other side,” Lee stated, providing a heartfelt moment of vulnerability and reassurance for the 20,000+ in attendance, making the piano-driven ‘Forever Without You’ all the more stunning as she blended that tenderness and emotion with a powerful belt, providing a lights-out moment inside the Co-Op Live.
‘Bring Me To Life’ seamlessly blended restraint with sonic brutality, combining Anzai’s pulsating bass line, distorted guitars and Hunt’s powerful drumming with Lee’s rich vocals before the song culminated with pyro blasts filling the stage and confetti raining down over the standing pit. ‘End of You’ saw Poppy, the second of the leg’s two support acts, return to the stage, complementing Lee with a blend of melodic singing and her signature guttural screams.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for bringing me here. Thank you for putting so much love and light in my heart over the last twenty years. We are in this together no matter what,” an appreciative and grateful Lee said, swiftly following it up with a tender, melancholic, piano-driven and soaring ‘My Immortal’ that culminated with Amy blowing kisses to the audience with a big, beaming smile on her face. ‘Wide Open Heart’ brought the curtain down on the evening, offering a fitting conclusion to a show that was heartfelt, emotional, euphoric, spellbinding and everything you could possibly want to see from a band operating at the peak of their powers.
Evanescence will continue their UK tour this evening at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena before a show at London’s O2 Arena. Tickets are available here.