Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie Review

The lady in red.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 15, 2018

Evanescence has had a kind of revolving door with regard to its membership over the years, and in a way this new concert video is really more of an Amy Lee show than a band performance, especially considering the fact that a lot of what made Evanescence’s sound so distinctive in its initial releases has been intentionally jettisoned here for an approach that combines live orchestra with electronic instruments (hence that “Synthesis” in the title). Lee has a big personality and a big voice, though it’s a kind of “heavy” voice, and I’m not sure those other than diehard Lee and/or Evanescence fans will find this concert diverse enough, despite some rather interesting re-arrangements of Evanescence tunes. The concert places Lee squarely front and center (in more ways than one), with the assembled orchestral (and other) forces, along with the other current members of Evanescence, often consigned to less well lit parts of the stage, where they can tend to blend into the background, despite occasional close-ups that reveal a violinist or harpist in pretty shadowy environments. While there are of course (at least) two sides to every story, the fact that Lee is so prominently featured in what is billed as an Evanescence concert may remind some fans of her well publicized disputes with both band co-founder Ben Moody (who left fairly early on, citing those oft mentioned "creative differences") and Wind Up Records, the label that released the first (widely distributed) Evanescence albums. Perhaps Lee feels Evanescence is still a more "marketable" moniker than her own, but after watching this concert, I personally wouldn't be surprised to see and/or hear Lee forging her own independent recording identity, much as she has begun to make a name for herself as a (solo) film composer.

Anyone who has been a fan of Evanescence’s previously released albums will probably find a lot of Synthesis interesting, if not always completely captivating. The arrangements have been rather radically rethought at times, and credited orchestrator David Campbell has added some really interesting tonal colors to the proceedings. A lot of the arrangements are understandably string drenched, but there are appealing if often quite short solos for everything from french horn to oboe to theremin.

What tends to become a bit repetitive in the concert is the emphasis on Lee’s solo vocals and an almost unrelenting use of minor tonalities, all of which tend to make the already Gothic leaning tendencies of some of Lee’s music sound almost oppressive at times. In fact, when Lee spends at least a little time in major keys and/or chord structures as in the concert’s finale “Swimming Home” there’s an almost palpable sense of a fresh breeze sweeping through the concert hall.

While several of these tunes segue seamlessly into each other and so are kind of amorphous in terms of where one song ends and the next one begins, this is the official set list for the show:

• Overture


• Never Go Back


• Lacrymosa


• End of the Dream


• My Heart is Broken


• Lithium


• Bring Me to Life


• Unraveling (Interlude)


• Imaginary


• Secret Door


• Hi-Lo


• Lost in Paradise


• Your Star


• My Immortal


• The In-Between


• Imperfection


• Speak to Me


• Good Enough


• Swimming Home

Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Evanescence: Synthesis Live is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in the somewhat unusual aspect ratio of 2.21:1. This is by and large a fantastic looking viewing experience, one almost completely devoid of the typical problems that are often seen in concert videos, something that's especially commendable given the fact that so much of the frame is often so dark, with at times one light source pointed directly at the camera, but with only a couple of very minor (almost undetectable) moments of banding and absolutely no posterizing. Close-ups offer really good levels of detail, to the point you can see small scratches in the key guard of the Steinway that Lee plays, and there are no real problems with combing artifacts afflicting views of Will Hunt's often extremely aggressive drumming or some of the other "quick fingered" work like the harpist who is frequently shown. Some of the orchestral forces are often bathed in a weird yellow tone, and fine detail levels can lapse occasionally due to that and the overwhelming darkness that surrounds them.

Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Evanescence: Synthesis Live features both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 track, though as often kind of strangely tends to be the case with Eagle Rock releases, the disc has been authored to default to the stereo track. The surround track gains in amplitude and spatial presence, but the one place where some may actually prefer the stereo track is with regard to the often rather noisy audience. In the surround track the hoots and hollers of fans, especially as they begin to recognize some of the songs, can just momentarily drown out Lee's voice, so that opening words and notes can't quite be heard sufficiently. The audience tends to be mixed a little further back in the stereo track, making this not so much of an issue. Otherwise, though, the surround track sounds fantastic, with clear and distortion free piano and a good accounting of Lee's interesting voice (she really reminds me of London Grammar's Hannah Reid at times, or perhaps vice versa, since Lee was probably in the "public domain" before the British band). The orchestra is well mixed, with the occasional kind of goofy electronic elements nicely woven into the overall mix.

Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Hi-Lo (1080p; 5:08) is a music video that looks like it uses some snippets from the main concert, combined with other footage. This features Lindsey Stirling.

Additionally a Bonus CD of the concert is included.

Evanescence: Synthesis Live Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have to admit my music collection is stuffed quite full of the kind of weirdly trendy "rock group meets symphony orchestra" idiom, going back to the halcyon days of Days of Future Passed or even the old London Symphony Orchestra version of The Who's Tommy, and in that regard this Evanescence concert is imaginative and often tonally quite colorful. That said, there's a certain sameness to the material here that may prevent this from expanding Evanescence's fan base into the uninitiated. Technical merits are first rate, and for Evanescence fans if for no one else, Synthesis Live comes Recommended.