Last night (April 23rd) at midnight, alt-rock stalwarts Evanescence released "Wasted on You," their first new song in three years and the lead single off The Bitter Truth, their first album of original material in nine years. Now they're unveiled its DIY music video, which was filmed by each band member — singer-songwriter-pianist Amy Lee, guitarists Troy McLawhorn and Jen Majura, bassist Tim McCord and drummer Will Hunt — on their iPhones while in quarantine. Directed by P.R. Brown in collaboration with the group, the clip premiered on YouTube where Lee also participated in a fan Q&A.
"The whole video was shot by the band and our families on our iPhones, in isolation in our homes many miles apart, then edited together by Paul Brown," Lee commented on the clip. "We can't be together to make a video right now, but we took that and used it to tell the story of our real lives in this moment, and to show that although we are apart, we are all still connected."
She added, "One thing that has come from this crazy time is it's stripped away the illusion of control from all of us. Proof that we really don't have any when it comes down to it. A big new theme in the new music so far is disillusionment. Growing up and realizing life can be so hard, nobody's gonna come rescue you, and fairy tales aren't real- BUT, standing up and saying I'll take the truth rather than live in denial. Rising up, through the ashes of death and pain and everything just rising up even though it hurts and taking it to move forward. No more lies. The bitter truth is all that impossibly hard stuff. And I'm taking it. Choosing to live."
Like all touring bands, Evanescence saw their spring plans derailed by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting shutdown — in particular, the group was set to hit the road in Europe on a co-headlining run with Within Temptation, under the banner "Worlds Collide," but the tour had to be postponed. Lee has kept busy nonetheless. In March, she broadcasted an intimate solo performance from her home studio via Instagram Live, promoting social distancing and raise awareness for World Health Organization and Global Citizen during #togetherathome. She also recently appeared on Body Count's "When I'm Gone," off the Ice-T-led rap-metal crew's latest album, Carnivore.
