EVANESCENCE - BIRMINGHAM UTILITA ARENA, 11.09.26

BY SAM & PENNY GOWER

Evanescence’s return to Birmingham’s Utilita Arena to celebrate their sixth studio album, ‘Sanctuary’, proves to be simply majestic from start to finish. 

A large screen at the rear of the stage displays an image of a mass of cables hanging. We don't know it yet, but this imagery will be a recurring sight within the 1.5 hour show. A plume of fog begins to cover the stage, creating an atmospheric visualiser that matches the industrial stage setup.

As the band’s logo flashes onscreen, the crowd cheers. Guitarists Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn, and bassist Emma Anzai position themselves on a raised platform alongside drummer Will Hunt. Amy Lee stands in the centre of the sloping video screen flooring which runs down in front of where her bandmates are standing. The floor lights up and Amy begins to sing the opening number, ‘Sanctuary’. It’s dramatic, it’s epic, it’s flawless. Those words can also be used to describe the new songs that follow: ‘Tell Me When You’ve Had Enough’, ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Rapture’. Considering the ‘Sanctuary’ album was only released 3 months prior, the setlist heavily features its material. The best part is, the fans are completely on board. It’s easy to hear why - these songs are some of Evanescence’s best work to date, showcasing the dark, theatrical, emotional, alternative rock sound that the multi-platinum outfit captures so well.

Amy strides around the stage with a confident grace; her epic vocal range is still going strong. As she belts out 2003’s ‘Going Under’, it sounds just as powerful as it did upon its release 23 years ago. At the end of the song, the stage is plunged into darkness until a spotlight reveals Amy sitting in front of a grand piano to perform the haunting ‘Lithium’. With Amy still at the piano, the band performs a stunning rendition of ‘Like You’ - a song that has not been played live before this tour - to honour the milestone 20th anniversary of second album ‘The Open Door’. 

The powerful ‘Self Destruct’ changes the tempo and sees Amy swinging her hair around and pumping her fist in an energetic display, her vocals soaring as she arches her back while hitting the high notes. Things heat up as flames ignite across the stage, and hydraulic platforms lift Tim, Troy and Will into the air during ‘Calm Down’. The blistering ‘Call Me When You're Sober’ hits hard.    

Opening artist K.Flay joins the band onstage to sing ‘Fight Like A Girl’ with Amy; later in the set, main support Poppy comes out to sing ‘End Of You’. Amy sits at the grand piano once again, delivering a heartfelt speech in the lead-up to the spine-tingling ‘Forever Without You’. She wants people to realise they are not alone; taking the first step out of a bad situation leads to an infinitely better life on the other side.

You would assume that the colossal anthem ‘Bring Me To Life’ would be saved for the encore, but there are, in fact, seven more songs to follow. There is no denying its massive impact: dramatic lighting, pyro, and confetti and paper ribbons that shoot up from the stage and into the audience up front. The cable imagery that pops up throughout the set serves as the main backdrop for ‘Imaginary’; this time, a bird is shown flying around among the cables. As the song progresses, the video continues the industrial element, depicting the bird flying through an underground tunnel with cables running along either side. Above the stage, cables lower and light up, feeling like an extension of the footage shown on screen. ’Imaginary’ is the moment that the albums ‘Fallen’ and ‘Sanctuary’ really seem to intertwine. 

It is during ‘Who Will You Follow’, which closes the main part of the set, that the on-screen visuals show the bird tangled in the cables. As the song comes to an end, the bird manages to break free and fly away - a great visual metaphor for the journey Amy Lee and Evanescence have been on.

For the encore, a kabuki curtain blanks off the main part of the stage. The grand piano is raised for the final time. Amy addresses the audience to thank them, saying, “This is beyond what I ever dreamed was possible, especially in my forties. Thank you for sharing this life with me; we’ve been through a lot together. I love you forever! This is to your past, present, and future. I want you to sing it with me…” The crowd do as they are asked and sing along to the hauntingly beautiful ‘My Immortal’ as torches of light from mobile phones shine around the arena.

The curtain falls to reveal the band back on stage as the chorus to the final number, ‘Wide Open Heart’, kicks in. As confetti flutters down and the band members say their goodbyes while looking out into the crowd—many of whom are seeing Evanescence for the first time—you know that this show tonight, and this tour as a whole, serves as proof that Evanescence is not a band leaning on nostalgia. ‘Sanctuary’ is one of their best works to date, and this show has proven it.