Origin (Evanescence Album)

''Origin'' is a demo album by American rock band Evanescence. A compilation of home-recorded demos from 1996-1999, the CD was self-released and sold at local shows, and then packaged to showcase to record labels. It contains demos written and recorded by co-founders Amy Lee and Ben Moody for their earlier independent EPs in the 1990s, including "Whisper", "Imaginary", and " My Immortal", which appear on their debut album ''Fallen'' (2003). A total of 2,000 copies of the CD were made and sold by the website of a local company, Bigwig Enterprises, from November 4, 2000 to 2003.

Background

As Evanescence, Lee and Moody had composed and home-recorded demos, including two EPs, ''Evanescence'' (1998) and ''Sound Asleep'' (1999), which they sold at their live shows. Their early demos got them airplay on the local modern rock station in Little Rock, which helped them develop a local fanbase, allowing them to play a couple of bigger shows a year and hire other musicians to perform other instruments live. Although they played with guest musicians, Evanescence remained a duo. "It was more because that's what we did and how we worked rather than not wanting any other input", Lee recalled; "The idea of a full band playing these songs was something that only came along later." Moody said that at the time Lee and he were focused on writing music over playing live shows, and they did not want to have a band join their writing process; "we just wanted it to be the two of us and so we'd play once or twice a year." In 2003, Moody stated that he did not remember how many EPs they released, and he viewed their EPs as "really just a means"; CDs "we could sell ourselves at our shows so we could go out and buy pizza. They really weren't official releases".

They sold the home-made demo CD ''Origin'' at local shows. After driving to Memphis, Tennessee to get it mastered at Ardent Studios, they packaged the CD, wanting to shop it to record labels. It was self-released in 2000, with 500 copies initially pressed. A total of 2000 copies were made, and sold on November 4, 2000 by the website of a local company, Bigwig Enterprises, which marketed it as Evanescence's "debut CD". According to the Bigwig website, "Whisper" was the lead single from ''Origin'', receiving airplay on local radio in Little Rock. Bigwig stated that the CD was out of print by early February 2003, before Evanescence's debut single "Bring Me to Life" was released on the ''Daredevil'' soundtrack album. Immediately after the release of their debut album ''Fallen'' (2003), the demo CD was sold for on eBay. In 2003, Lee and Moody encouraged fans who were interested in their demos to download it rather than purchase it for such high prices online. When Lee was asked about a company acquiring their demos to sell them, she stated: "It has happened. There is a very dodgy company ... There's a guy that's ripping people off all over the Internet selling our demos; and he's selling it like it's Evanescence's first CD. ..If you want to hear our old stuff, if you must, download it please. Don't try to spend your dollars and buy that CD; it has gone for that much before."

''Origin'' contains tracks from Lee and Moody's earlier EPs, including "Whisper", "Imaginary", " My Immortal", and "Where Will You Go", the first three later appearing on ''Fallen'' (2003). "Imaginary" and "Where Will You Go" first appeared on the duo's 1998 ''Evanescence'' EP, and "My Immortal" was an outtake from that EP. "Whisper" is originally from their 1999 EP ''Sound Asleep''. The track "Even in Death" is from 1996, and is one of the songs Lee wanted on ''Fallen''. They recorded the demos with an 8-track recorder at Moody's apartment and Lee's family's attic. They re-recorded "Whisper" and "Imaginary" for ''Fallen'', while "My Immortal"'s demo recording from ''Origin'' was used by their label Wind-up Records on ''Fallen''. As with other releases since the start of Evanescence, Lee was the core writer.

Although initially considered their debut album, ''Origin'' is a collection of demos. Lee confirmed it was a dressed up demo CD, and stated in 2003: Moody added: "That wasn't really an album but our demos. We made it into an album to make it more appealing to the record companies, but it was never an official release ... We also did a lot of songs and demos after that. It was just a stepping stone for us." He expressed dissatisfaction with their pre-''Fallen'' material, stating, "we didn't have the technology, so a lot of our early recordings were just shit."

Lee said in 2007 that they were still finding themselves back then, and "it's hard to listen to the really old stuff without laughing at myself a little. But of course those songs will always be special to me, and remind me of a time in my life that was both wonderful and terrible." She stated that she's "always liked the idea of one day putting out a b-sides and rarities CD."

Release

''Origin'' was released commercially in February 2017 as a part of Evanescence's '' The Ultimate Collection'' vinyl box set. Deeming it to be "like an embarrassing old diary" for herself, Lee explained why she included it in the box set:

In another interview, she stated:

Lee re-recorded the track "Even in Death" for the 2016 compilation album ''Lost Whispers'', which was included in the box set. She stated that re-recording it felt "like that song was truly redeemed because the early recording we have is not an enjoyable recording, but I really love that song."

Critical reception

Sam Law of ''Kerrang!'' said that "there's limited reason for anyone other than die-hards to seek it out", deeming "Lies" the stand out track for Lee's "towering classical soprano delivery – the peak nu-metal synth/guitar interplay and additional death growls courtesy of Living Sacrifice vocalist Bruce Fitzhugh".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Origin''.

Evanescence

*Amy Lee – vocals, piano, keyboards, arrangements
*Ben Moody – guitar, programming
*David Hodges – keyboards, backing vocals

Production
*Ben Moody – engineering
* Soundforge – recording technology
* Mastered at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Additional musicians
* Will Boyd – bass on "Away From Me"
* Bruce Fitzhugh and Stephanie Pierce – vocals on "Lies"
* Suvi Petrajajrvi, Sara Moore, Catherine Harris, and Samantha Strong – female vocal ensemble on "Field of Innocence"

Additional personnel
* Adrian James – package design
* Amy Bennett – site photography
* Rocky Gray – cover photo
* Ben Moody, Sr. – band photography

References

Notes

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Evanescence albums
2000 albums
2000s demo albums
Self-released albums