The Bitter Truth is the fifth studio album by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on March 26, 2021, through BMG Rights Management and was produced by Nick Raskulinecz.[1] It is the band's first album of all-new material since their 2011 self-titled third album. The Bitter Truth received a positive critical reception. It reached number 11 on the US Billboard 200, top five on the Billboard Independent, Alternative, Hard Rock, and Rock Albums charts, and the top 10 of multiple international album charts.

The Bitter Truth
Studio album by Evanescence
Released	March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26)
Recorded	January–November 2020
Studio	Rock Falcon, Nashville Blackbird, Nashville Ocean Way, Nashville
Genre	Alternative metal gothic metal heavy metal hard rock
Length	47:19
Label	BMG
Producer	Nick Raskulinecz
Evanescence chronology
Synthesis (2017) The Bitter Truth (2021)
Singles from The Bitter Truth
"Wasted on You" Released: April 24, 2020 "The Game Is Over" Released: July 1, 2020 "Use My Voice" Released: August 14, 2020 "Better Without You" Released: March 5, 2021

Background and recording

Lead vocalist Amy Lee first spoke about a new studio album for the band in July 2018. In an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF, Lee confirmed that the band planned to work on a new album following the end of their tour in support of Synthesis.[2][3]

In an interview with Sirius XM backstage at Epicenter Festival at Rockingham Speedway in May 2019, Lee again confirmed that a new album was in the works.[4] Blabbermouth.net reported that Lee was hoping the album would be ready for release in 2020. "We're just gonna get together and see what happens this month," she said, "and start doing that more regularly until we feel like we're ready to do it."[5]

Lee then provided an update on the album in November 2019, while taking part in a Reddit AMA.[6] Responding to a question pertaining to new music from the band, Lee commented that she was "absolutely living in it" and was "listen[ing] to our new music every day."[7]

I can't wait for you to hear it. It's dark and heavy. Its also got moments of weird and sparse. Little bit of everything. Definitely some of The Open Door vibes but not the same.[7]

The band entered the studio in January 2020 with Nick Raskulinecz,[8] with whom they had previously worked on 2011's Evanescence.[9] Although originally planning to work with several producers across the album,[8] the band's plans changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This then turned Raskulinecz into The Bitter Truth's sole producer. In August, the U.S.-based band members returned into the studio to finish writing and recording after taking COVID tests, and German guitarist Jen Majura had to work remotely.[10] On September 9, the album was nearing completion, with "70% done".[11] Recording was completed in November.[12]

The album was announced in April 2020, and was originally planned for release in late 2020.[13] The pandemic delayed the album's completion, however, and eventually pushed it to a March 2021 release.[14]

Lee talked about the core theme of the album:

A lot of this album is about face the truth, face the bitter truths of our world and of my life and of heart. Whatever the cost of that might be on the inside. So then we can start talking about climbing out. Then we can start talking about getting to a better place. You can't appreciate the beauty of life, you can't fully experience all the good moments in life if you don't also fully experience the challenging ones, the tough ones, the painful ones.[15]

Composition

The album is described as alternative metal,[16] gothic metal,[17] heavy metal,[18] and hard rock.[19]

Amy Lee disclosed the inspiration behind the new songs in a Marie Claire interview:[20]

“There are songs that are a part of this album that have been in the works for a decade, and songs that just started up this year. I get inspired being in nature, walking through the woods, looking up close at weird bugs.” But her biggest inspirations are the emotional experiences she’s had in her life, something that makes Evanescence’s music “as dramatic as it is.” “Things like losing someone you love, being a part of creating a new life. [They] rock me on a deep level to a point where I feel like I have to make music.”

"Yeah Right",[21] "Feeding the Dark", and "Take Cover", the latter previously debuted live in the 2016 live shows,[22] were originally written for the 2011 self-titled album, but were reworked a decade later.[23][24]

Release and promotion

The Bitter Truth was first announced with the release of its lead single, "Wasted on You", in April 2020.[25] Its second single, "The Game Is Over", followed in July.[26] The band released an additional two singles in August's "Use My Voice"[27] and December's "Yeah Right" (as a promotional one).[28] The former featured guest vocalists from bands such as Veridia, Within Temptation, The Pretty Reckless and Halestorm.[29] The latter, meanwhile, was released to coincide with the announcement of the album's tracklist and release date.[28] The fourth single, "Better Without You", was released on March 5, 2021.[30]

To promote the album in advance, the band performed the first single "Wasted on You" at the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show on February 19, 2021.[31] The band is scheduled to tour Europe in March and April 2022, in a co-headlining tour alongside Within Temptation.[32][33]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.5/10[34]
Metacritic	78/100[35]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[36]
Consequence of Sound	A−[37]
The Daily Telegraph	[38]
Gigwise	[39]
Hysteria Magazine	8/10[40]
Kerrang!	[41]
laut.de	[42]
Metal Hammer	[43]
Rolling Stone	[44]
Spin	[45]

The Bitter Truth received positive critical reviews.[46] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has a weighted average score of 78 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35] AllMusic gave the album a positive review, saying, "Altogether, The Bitter Truth carries listeners on a journey both familiar and fresh, recapturing the heavy-yet-melodic hallmarks that made Fallen one of the most successful albums of the 2000s and pushing Evanescence into the future with a graceful maturity and worldly perspective."[36]

Consequence of Sound rated the album A- and said: "The Bitter Truth is reminiscent of the band's older material but also entirely fresh. It does not feel like a band going through the motions. Lee told Heavy Consequence that time away and perspective on the band's career added to the "fire and passionate energy" on The Bitter Truth, and that sentiment is clearly evident throughout the album."[37]

Kerrang! gave the album 4 out of 5 and stated: "Weirdly, the feeling of it all is a mixture of things, most of them positive. There's catharsis and darkness, but they are of the most forward-looking variety, fringed at times with something approaching hopeful joy. In a time where Evanescence's usual emotional touch could easily speak to feelings of isolation, fear, confusion, hopelessness, loss and fragility, The Bitter Truth gets on that frequency and interrupts it. It's not an album that lies and tells you everything is fine, but reminds that, even in the darkest points of life, things do and will get better. And in another 10 years if they haven't, Amy Lee will doubtless have a comforting, ambitious, emotionally articulate way to navigate that as well."[41]

Metal Hammer gave the album a positive review and stated: "They might have made them wait for it, but The Bitter Truth delivers everything Evanescence fans would want and expect from the band's comeback record: an album that’s emotive, stirring and just a touch overwrought, nestled between the bold and the familiar."[43]

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of The Bitter Truth.[74]

Charts

Release history

References

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