The Open Door

The Open Door
Studio album by Evanescence
Released	September 25, 2006
Recorded	September 2005–March 2006
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	54:15
Label	Wind-up Records
Producer	Dave Fortman
Professional reviews
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Evanescence chronology
Anywhere but Home (2004) The Open Door (2006)
Singles from The Open Door
"Call Me When You're Sober" Released: September 25, 2006 "Lithium" Released: January 8, 2007 "Sweet Sacrifice" Released: May 25, 2007 "Good Enough" Released: Unreleased "Weight of the World" Released: October 2007 (Colombia)

The Open Door is the second and latest studio album released by American alternative metal band Evanescence. To date, it has spawned five singles and been supported by two worldwide tours. The album was certified platinum in the United States just over a month after its release, and has since sold more than five million copies worldwide.

About the album

Release and sales

The Open Door was released worldwide beginning with Poland on September 25, 2006, Japan on September 27, Ireland and Germany on September 29, Australia on September 30, the rest of Europe on October 2, 2006, and was released to North America and Argentina on October 3.

The digital version of the album was made available for pre-order on August 15, 2006 on iTunes and Walmart.com. This pre-order, if bought before the street date of October 3, 2006, contained an interview with Amy Lee and a bonus track titled "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You" (which later became a B-side track on the "Lithium" single).^[1]

The full album was leaked to the internet on September 4, 2006,^[2] and on September 24, the album became available for full streaming at AOL Music^[3] and on MuchMusic.com.

The Open Door debuted at number one in the U.S., Australia, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, and was in the top five in Austria, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. According to the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, the album sold about 447,000 copies its first week; it was also the 700th album to top that chart.^[4] In just two weeks on the U.S. charts, the album sold approximately 725,000 copies, and on November 8, 2006, The Open Door was certified platinum in the United States after little more than a month in wide release.^[5] In comparison, Fallen debuted with 142,000 copies and went on to sell more than 7 million in the U.S. alone.

The Open Door won in the "Album of the Year" category at the 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards.^[6]

According to the National Music Publishers Association, as of June 10, 2008, The Open Door had sold nearly two million copies in the United States,^[7] and Evanescence.com states that more than five million copies have been sold worldwide.^[8]

Singles and other tracks

The first single from the album was "Call Me When You're Sober", which had a limited radio release on July 31, 2006, going into wide release over the next week.^[9][10] This full version of "Call Me When You're Sober" had been leaked to the Internet a couple of days before it was due to be officially released to radio airplay; after this occurred, the record label allowed radio stations to begin playing the song. Its music video, directed by Marc Webb, was filmed in July 2006.^[11]

The second single from The Open Door, "Lithium", was released to the UK on January 8, 2007.^[12]

The third single, "Sweet Sacrifice", was originally planned to be "All That I'm Living For"; however, after considering the wishes of both the fans and the band itself, the label decided to change the release.^[13]

The fourth single is "Good Enough". The music video for "Good Enough" was filmed between June 11 and June 14, 2007, on Váci utca in Budapest, Hungary. The video was directed by Marc Webb and Rich Lee, and produced by production company DNA.^[14][15] As present in Fallen, this album contains both string and vocal ensembles. The Millennium Choir, the choir group used for songs on Fallen such as "Everybody's Fool", "Haunted" and "Whisper", is used on the tracks "Lacrymosa" and "Your Star".

The fifth single, "Weight of the World", was a limited release beginning October 2007 to the country of Colombia only.^[16] This is similar to the Fallen single "Imaginary", which was released only to Spain.

Certain other songs on the album have special significance unto themselves. A clip of "Lacrymosa" was used in the video teaser for The Open Door, and the song "Like You" is written in memory of Amy Lee's deceased sister, as was "Hello" on Fallen.^[17]

Tour information

Evanescence performing at a concert of the first leg of The Open Door world tour.

First leg

The first leg of The Open Door world tour began October 5, 2006, in Toronto, Canada and lasted until December 15, 2006, in New York City. After touring North America during October, the band traveled to Europe during November before returning to the United States to play large arenas. This leg of their tour continued on January 5, 2007, with the band playing locations in Canada, Japan, and Australia.^[18] When playing in the United States, the band was supported by Revelation Theory, by the bands Stone Sour and The Black Maria when in Canada, and by Shihad in Australia.^[19]

Second leg

The second leg of their world tour began on March 16, 2007, in Fresno, California. The tour ran through the United States, South America, South Africa, back to the U.S.,^[20] and finished in Europe.

Supporting the band during the opening U.S. part of this leg is Chevelle and Finger Eleven. When in Buenos Aires, Evanescence took part in a rock festival with Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and Ratones Paranóicos.^[21] During part of the European section, the band took part in the Family Values Tour 2007 alongside Korn.^[22][23] After Family Values, the band continued touring through Mexico and the United States.^[24]

Third leg

The final leg of the tour kicked off on October 23, 2007, in Coral Gables, Florida. Sick Puppies and Julien-K were the supporting bands while Shiny Toy Guns made a special guest appearance during the December 1, 2007, show in University Park, Pennsylvania. After over a year of touring, the last show was played in Kingston, Rhode Island, and the tour ended on December 9, 2007.^[25]

New additions to the setlist for this tour include "Lose Control", "Missing", and "Understanding".^[26]

Track listing

Japanese edition

The two-disc Japanese limited edition was release September 27, 2006, and includes the music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" and behind the scenes footage. The music CD also contains an additional bonus track.^[27]

Outtakes

• "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You" (Lee) – 4:07
• "If You Don't Mind"^[28]
• "Together Again"^[28]

Charts

Personnel

Evanescence

• Amy Lee — vocals, piano
• Terry Balsamo — lead guitar
• John LeCompt — rhythm guitar
• Will Boyd — bass
• Rocky Gray — drums

Additional vocals

• Carrie Lee and Lori Lee — background vocals on "Call Me When You're Sober"
• Millennium Choir — background choir (Susan Youngblood, Talaya Trigueros, Mary Gaffney, Alyssa Capbell, Bebe Gordon, Melanie Bruno, Dwight Stone, Eric Castro, Darryl Phinnessee, Tamara Berard, Kevin Dabley, Marcella Carona, Tania Themmen, Joanne Paratore, Lisa Wall-Urgero)

References