The Open Door
by Evanescence
  • Record Label: Wind-Up
  • Release Date: Oct 3, 2006
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 231 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 195 out of 231
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 231
  3. Negative: 20 out of 231

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  1. AdrianS
    Dec 5, 2009
    10
    I think this album is Amazing, Amy and the band did a great job. The vocals are as outstanding as Fallen's and even more powerful. Buy It!
  2. GamecubeLover
    Jul 3, 2016
    10
    This is one of the best evanescence albums the band has created. The songs are meaningful and they aren't bad at all. This is not her best album but it's like the 3rd one.
  3. SteveW.
    Jan 2, 2008
    5
    Boring and formulaic, very simple. A massive descent in originality and I'm gonna just come out and say that Amy Lee is a singer and shouldn't be allowed to write her own songs again. Not that it was terrible, I quite liked how some of the instrumentals fit so well together, and had some fair musical progression, but was still very uninteresting. Of course my least favorite song Boring and formulaic, very simple. A massive descent in originality and I'm gonna just come out and say that Amy Lee is a singer and shouldn't be allowed to write her own songs again. Not that it was terrible, I quite liked how some of the instrumentals fit so well together, and had some fair musical progression, but was still very uninteresting. Of course my least favorite song here has to be "sweet sacrifice", because Amy Lee's voice in that is so all over the bloody place. She needs someone telling her which tones sound good together because she doesn't have a clue.… Expand
  4. Tosh
    Oct 14, 2006
    3
    Disapointing... all the songs sound the same. there's no progress since the last album and you can really sense the absence of Ben Moody. they tried to use the familiar 'formlas' they used in the prevoius comercially succesful album but it doesn't seem to work. the majority of the songs sound forced and in the same time the melodies are purely weak...
  5. Roguedendron
    Oct 17, 2006
    0
    The worst music ever recorded... Even worse than Andrew Ridgley's debut.
  6. RoryW
    Oct 20, 2006
    4
    I loved Fallen, remains one of my favourite albums, but to be honest The Open Door is in my opinion the greatest failure in recent gothic rock. None of the tracks stand out whereas Fallen could easily have produced 11 singles. Bitterly dissapointed, I've lost a great deal of respect for the band
  7. josel
    Oct 6, 2006
    0
    trash, compared to fallen, their breakout album. go back to the studio, or get someone just as good as moody, cuz your voice isn't gonna cut it.
  8. KimE
    Sep 1, 2009
    2
    I bought this and put it on my album in 2006, and three years later I'm not sure I've listened to a single song yet without skipping it. This music is lifeless and bland.
  9. VioletH
    Nov 6, 2006
    2
    Samey songs, extremely poor vocals that border on yelling during the majority of the album, too many effects, rubbish lyrics, no variety whatsoever. So so sad. How the mighty are fallen. (No pun intended there...)
  10. Rath
    Dec 12, 2006
    0
    Ditch this album and get something by Nightwish. You'll thank me later.
  11. Doofus
    Oct 31, 2006
    0
    Oh, for God's sake hurry up and kill yourself, woman! That's right, you wont coz you are a goth-faker who wouldn't know the word "conviction" if it was carved into your forearm by a member of the Manic Street Preachers or The Cure. The world would be a much better place without this unlistenable, shallow dirge.
  12. GeorgeC.
    Feb 7, 2008
    0
    Even Jesus thinks their music sucks.
  13. IL.
    Dec 16, 2006
    1
    Did someone actually call this the best album of 2006? HAHAHAHAHAHA! this album is as amateur as the last but at the same time is worse. At least My Immortal was a good song on the last album. This has nothing.
  14. TomF
    Dec 4, 2006
    0
    I had to listen to this at work the other day when someone else put a CD in. This is what passes for goth these days...pathetic. Complete rubbish with as doofus said, "no conviction at all".
  15. Jamesl.
    May 18, 2007
    0
    her voice is so posh and they're so rubbish they cant keep there band members
  16. joelw
    Jun 11, 2008
    2
    They tried to hard to have amy lee do crazy and frankly bad sounding crap with her voice. she almost sounded like someone on american idle for a while. the cd had its good songs but was mainly crap. i hope their next album is more like fallen which was a masterpiece.
  17. KrisH.
    Nov 19, 2007
    2
    Theoretically, this album could have been almost good, but I think they forgot to mix the thing at the last minute. Lee's vocals on Fallen were complimented by it, and worked in harmony. On this album, it sound like she's recording inside a garbage can. Overall, the music just doesn't have the power and drive that Moody gave it. I was hopeful for the second album, but, Theoretically, this album could have been almost good, but I think they forgot to mix the thing at the last minute. Lee's vocals on Fallen were complimented by it, and worked in harmony. On this album, it sound like she's recording inside a garbage can. Overall, the music just doesn't have the power and drive that Moody gave it. I was hopeful for the second album, but, alas, it's crap.… Expand
  18. JuanL
    Oct 7, 2006
    8
    Ben Moody's abscence jumps right in front of your eyes... but that's not bad at all. All of us knew that overpassing the iconic "Fallen" was a though task, and I still think "Fallen" was better than "The open door". However this album is another great job by the lovely Amy Lee, her voice again is the best reminder of why we love Evanescence. This disc is more private than Ben Moody's abscence jumps right in front of your eyes... but that's not bad at all. All of us knew that overpassing the iconic "Fallen" was a though task, and I still think "Fallen" was better than "The open door". However this album is another great job by the lovely Amy Lee, her voice again is the best reminder of why we love Evanescence. This disc is more private than "Fallen" which was very commercial; and also has more music diversity (Lacrymosa'd fit in any Halloween celebration), so in the end is different from "Fallen". The main defect of "The open door" is the lack of strenght throughout the whole disc. Some songs are just tiring pieces. Overall is a wonderful disc by a band that has still too many things to offer, since this is only their second album... musically speaking, we'll have Evanescence for a while.… Expand
  19. JoW
    Oct 30, 2006
    6
    While this album has some amazing lyrics, some incredible vocals, and some excellent tempos, the key word here is "some". There is so much more that could have been done, and a lot more that shouldn't have been done. Overproduced vocals combine with underwhelming guitars to create track after track of what sounds like the same song. Lead singer Amy Lee has a pure and amazing voice, While this album has some amazing lyrics, some incredible vocals, and some excellent tempos, the key word here is "some". There is so much more that could have been done, and a lot more that shouldn't have been done. Overproduced vocals combine with underwhelming guitars to create track after track of what sounds like the same song. Lead singer Amy Lee has a pure and amazing voice, but sadly it is hidden behind layered and distorted vocals. The guitars are predictable and amateur, which may be the reason for all of the other types of background noises and distortion. The songs lack internal coherence. They swtich from being mournful, to ethereal, to soulful, to fist-pumping rock within a few short seconds, leaving the listener wondering what type of sound the band was trying to achieve on each track.… Expand
  20. JoeC
    Oct 4, 2006
    10
    I can't believe what these critics are saying, they must have been just skipping the songs because their in a rush or something. This is my favorite album of the year. WOW! You just can't count on critics anymore.
  21. AnthonyJ
    Oct 4, 2006
    7
    I really wanted to like this CD...Fallen was a classic; innovative, emotional, and musically respectable. No other artists have been able to blend rock-goth-and positive energy. It was dark and moody, but still uplifting and energizing. The new CD has two, maybe three songs that are creative, confident, and catchy. The rest of the album is predictable; lacking innovative vocal and I really wanted to like this CD...Fallen was a classic; innovative, emotional, and musically respectable. No other artists have been able to blend rock-goth-and positive energy. It was dark and moody, but still uplifting and energizing. The new CD has two, maybe three songs that are creative, confident, and catchy. The rest of the album is predictable; lacking innovative vocal and instrumental harmonies and sounding scripted/redundant. Overall, its a good album compared to everything else out there, but the search for a female-led true rock and roll band still continues.… Expand
  22. AyonF
    Oct 5, 2006
    10
    BACK WITH MATURITY, DIVERSITY AND MAYBE ANOTHER MULTI PLATINUM RECORD After 3 years of absence, the gothic band that sold about 14 million copies last time has come back with more a new different style
  23. jyo_tirmayad
    Oct 5, 2006
    5
    Amy Lee should have waited it out until more good songs came to surface in her emotionally ridden writer's world. There is nothing on "...Door" which is as good as "Bring Me to Life" or "My Immortal" from the album Fallen album. "Call Me When Your Sober" would have been only one of the good songs on "Fallen" but not a song for which it would have been immortalized by. Saying that, Amy Lee should have waited it out until more good songs came to surface in her emotionally ridden writer's world. There is nothing on "...Door" which is as good as "Bring Me to Life" or "My Immortal" from the album Fallen album. "Call Me When Your Sober" would have been only one of the good songs on "Fallen" but not a song for which it would have been immortalized by. Saying that, there are a few saving graces: Amy Lee has a fantastic voice; she is still young and can make it better the 3rd time around -- let's face it, coming close to the grand majesty of "Fallen" would have been hard for ANY band; and she is inherently talented and rocks, plain and simple. I bought this CD and will listent to it a lot, because there are some beautiful moments on it and because of Amy Lee's personal charisma and beautiful voice. It is a beautiful instrument, and too bad they couldn't find nearly enough material to match it. And yes, Ben Moody's presence, as expected, has shown us that Amy Lee's voice was only half of Evanescence's brilliance. At least on "Fallen."… Expand
  24. DarcyB
    Oct 6, 2006
    6
    The first album had a theme and feel who's individual parts stood on their own as unique. This album is like alphabits drowning in soup. You can see that they're there, they all taste like tomato, and there are too many Es. I'm disappointed. The songs feel uninspired, if not tired, as if the band didn't know what to do with itself. The music remains true to the genre, The first album had a theme and feel who's individual parts stood on their own as unique. This album is like alphabits drowning in soup. You can see that they're there, they all taste like tomato, and there are too many Es. I'm disappointed. The songs feel uninspired, if not tired, as if the band didn't know what to do with itself. The music remains true to the genre, and it's production quality is high, so it's not a bad listen by any means. You'll just have a hard time remembering, "oh yeah, that was song 11!"… Expand
  25. Connor
    Jan 24, 2007
    9
    Fantastic. Any fan of Fallen will love this. The best songs are Lithium, Lacrymosa and Like You which are all brilliant! Although a bit less dark than Fallen, that doesn't matter, it is still a great effort.
  26. Ori
    Mar 10, 2007
    10
    This album isnt for 1st listening and not even 2nd. After you hear it couple of times You realize how good it is! Great album!
  27. AdamR
    Oct 11, 2006
    9
    It's brilliant. Although it takes a little more time to break through the layers that fallen, it's well worth the repeat listens. Far superior in terms of complexity and depth.
  28. SamL
    Nov 1, 2006
    10
    The CD is amazing. Amy Lee's vocals are stronger than ever! And Evanescence is concert is beyond amazing, they sounded awsome! This CD rocks! Keep it up, Ev! I love you guys!
  29. DonS
    Oct 12, 2006
    9
    This was an excellent CD! No, it is not "Fallen", but the band is in a different place than it was 3 years ago. "The Open Door" is a fine example of a musical group that is still growing, still evolving. Amy's voice is nothing short of phenomenal. I believe that Evanescence is one of the few musical groups that has escaped the "sophomore jinx" as far as albums go...
  30. GailW
    Oct 20, 2006
    10
    Amy Lee has put her heart and soul into a beautiful gothic album. "Lithium" is pure gothic extasy ~ god bless the bleeding heart and soul of Kurt Cobain. The opening song is astounding. She uses her vocals in all sorts of beautiful wails and it is bliss to hear her at the peak of her vocal lifetime. Amy Lee was born to sing, and she is singing it all very beautifully with all kinds of Amy Lee has put her heart and soul into a beautiful gothic album. "Lithium" is pure gothic extasy ~ god bless the bleeding heart and soul of Kurt Cobain. The opening song is astounding. She uses her vocals in all sorts of beautiful wails and it is bliss to hear her at the peak of her vocal lifetime. Amy Lee was born to sing, and she is singing it all very beautifully with all kinds of textures and highlights and lowlights throughout the album. I love the fact that the album is over 55 minutes long. That means she really has faith in the material and is happy with it. That makes for a great live show, which it was when I saw her a few days ago at the Riviera Club in Chicago. She had so many more ballads to sing and so many more rocking songs that she coudln't possibly put them all into one concert. Two years ago her show suffered a little because of the shortness of it, but she has more than made up for it for her loyal fans. She is a gothic goddess whose songs are to be nurtured and cherished by those of the same nature. So go buy it!… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Most Discussed Album of 2006
46
#46 Most Shared Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Blender
    70
    Denser and more scuzzed-up than Fallen, the album amps everything up to gloriously epic, over-the-top proportions. [Oct 2006, p.129]
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  2. Billboard
    70
    Those who embraced "Fallen" will doubtlessly fall even harder into "The Open Door."
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  3. The New York Times
    50
    Many of these theatrical, midtempo songs run together.
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