This is the 'debut' (not really) CD for the Arkansas band known as Evanescence. Instead of giving a history lesson like I do with my U2 reviews I'll just jump into the review as this band doesn't have much history. But I'll tell you this, if they keep releasing music like this, they will have an elaborate history one day.

I think most people first heard of this band at around the time the movie Daredevil came out. They got a couple of spots on the soundtrack for that film and their popularity took off. Having their key single as Bring Me To Life helped too. Anyway, the opener for Fallen is Going Under. An amazing song in all regards. Amy Lee shows you that she's got vocal chords of gold within the first minute of the albums opening. The way she carries the chorus in Going Under is beautiful. She also has a sort of menacing motif while singing the verse sections of the song. It's just all good. Sometimes she sounds angelic, other times she sounds like she's creeping after you. All in one song. Quite the showcase of talent. Next up is Bring Me To Life. I really don't even want to talk about this song much. It's on the radio 24 hours a day, the video is on TV all the time, it's played during the Daredevil commercial, etc. The song is everywhere and if you haven't heard it then you're missing functional ears. It's a great song and it's another track that showcases Amy's singing ability (especially at the end, WOW). There. The third song on Fallen is Everybody's Fool. This song is a little weird. It's got a 'poppy' feel to it, but it's still great. The lyrics flow high and low with the music so it sounds pretty cool. Another showcase of how well Amy can sing...

The fourth track would be My Immortal. You've probably heard it from Daredevil also. This is another beauty. But it's quite different from everything before it on the album. No hard guitars, no drums, none of that. Just Amy's voice, a piano, and a violin. And that's all that's really needed for a great song. And My Immortal is just that. Next up is Haunted. Now this is a great song. Just as the name implies, this song is somewhat 'haunting'. The start of the song has a menacing sound to it and it just moves from there. Definitely a notable song on this album. Track six is Tourniquet. If this album has a weird one, this is it. The song is absolutely beautiful, but the lyrics feel somewhat weird with the music. The song is about the guilt of suicide, yet the beat and the rest of the music is dance. I mean this song has one hot beat -- but it's about suicide. Um, okay. In any case this is a fantastic song. The music gets me pumped and the lyrics are 'there'. They're a little disturbing, however, due to reasons that I won't get into in this review. But anyway, this is the albums gem along with Going Under. The next song is Imaginary. This song fuses seamlessly with Tourniquet in a way that you can't tell when the track changes just by listening. Pretty cool, I like it when bands do this. Anyway, this is a pretty good song. It doesn't really hold up well to some of the other stuff on the album, but it's a great compliment to Tourniquet. Also, once again, Amy shows us that she's a fantastic singer. Next song is Taking Over Me. This is similar to the previous song in the way that it's not great, but it's almost there. It's just a good song. Nothing more. But again, overshadowed by some of the other stuff on the album. Song nine is Hello. This seems to be the sister song of My Immortal. It has the same 'feel' to it. It's just not as good. But then again, maybe it is. It's just better in other things. It's not a useless song, it just feels like it at first. A beautiful song if you let it grow on you. The tenth song on Fallen is My Last Breath. This song easily has the best opening on the album. It sounds like something out of the film Fight Club, actually. It goes from that drum & bass sound and then explodes into the Evanescence we're used to. You know, Amy singing beautifully. Here she does it noticeably well. This song also features the albums best line, in my opinion -- "Sweet rapture and life, it ends here tonight." Such beauty. Great, great song. The albums closer is Whisper. This song is another good one. It starts off pretty much how you'd expect it to, then it ends the album with a strange chant that you may not expect. It's also a fairly anthemic song, which this album lacked. A good song and a solid way to close a great album.

After all is said and done this is one fantastic album. Fallen has it's great tracks, and it has some that are just good. Nothing dips below that and that's a great thing for a band this young. I'm officially in love with Amy Lee and I can't wait to see what she and the rest of the band come out with next.

- - Chris Rivera