Jeremy Williams, Arts Correspondent
In Conversation: Amy Lee From Evanescence
Evanescence
For me right now, the sanctuary is a sanctuary of truth and humanity amidst a world that feels more out of control and violent and cruel than ever. Throughout my life, the creation of music, consuming music and loving music have been my sanctuary. It is the place that I go to pour my heart out. What I’ve learned through touching people with our music and playing concerts all over the world is that music connects us to each other – that human connection that we find through sharing the depths of our hearts. So, sanctuary here doesn’t refer to some idyllic escape but more like an oasis of reality when we're surrounded by lies.
Given that explanation, and the song Who Will You Follow being about the difficulty in telling what’s real nowadays, is Sanctuary a political record?
The world is political. We’re not political for standing up and saying, ‘Hey, it's wrong to murder someone’. I live in a political world, as a human being with a soul, some integrity, honour, and hope for the future. As an artist, I think it's my job to say what’s real and what’s happening and say what I think we possibly should try and do about it. I'm just a human being living in a political world.
You worked with multiple producers on this record – Nick Raskulinecz, Jordan Fish and Zakk Cervini – how has that benefitted the sound of Sanctuary?
There is so much talent on this album. I’m so honoured to work with everyone that we were able to work with. We’ve worked with Nick before. He’s an amazing producer and friend who understands me really well, so I will always make music with him. When we started out on this record, it was picking up where we left off on [2021’s fifth album] The Bitter Truth. And then we did the song Afterlife with Nick as well, from the Netflix animated series Devil May Cry, which was a part of that session. But then there was this second chapter, a new energy thing with Jordan Fish (alumni of Bring Me The Horizon) and Zakk Cervini, which was really an experiment. We got in the studio together, having not really worked together in-person before, and just clicked in a way that is rare. I think it’s rare when you meet somebody and start making music and you’re really finishing each other’s sentences. Everybody was improving what was happening, levelling up each layer.
The making of Sanctuary ended up being a mad dash to the finish line, in order to get it complete before you went on tour. How do you respond to that kind of pressure?
Sometimes a little bit of that pressure can be a good thing – and I hate to say that out loud, because I don’t want to tell myself that in the future. It’s often the lyrics that can come more slowly. Lyrics are always important to me, but especially at a time like this, when every word needs to live up to how great the music was sounding. That’s daunting, but at some point, you just have to get there and focus on it, not allowing yourself to think, ‘I don’t feel like it today – I'll do it tomorrow’. Allow yourself to try, to create the opportunity where it could happen – taking walks in the woods, walking through the streets. I guess I have to say that a little pressure was good for me. There was an urgency in the end, for sure.
Despite the rush, was Sanctuary enjoyable to make?
It was fun! It takes so much energy, but it gives so much energy too. So there were plenty of sleepless nights – every day for a year I woke up with one of the songs in my head, dreaming of the music, unable to rest until we’d solved the puzzle of the next part. It’s a total obsession. I think part of what keeps it fun is being in-between tours, thinking of ideas and rushing off to go work on them somewhere. I’ve got a great setup in my house, so I recorded a lot of my vocals myself in the moment that I thought of a great idea. That free-form vibe for me helps it always feel like art and fun and creativity, and not like work or a mission. We’re on a mission, but it’s for something that we love!
Speaking of love, Evanescence and the UK have been in a love affair from the early days. What is it that’s kept that relationship so strong over the years?
“That’s hard to say. I love a lot of things about English culture. I grew up listening to a lot of trip hop, like Massive Attack, and other bands from that era that were moody and dark and definitely inspired me. Plus, the fashion world as well – people like Vivienne Westwood. I remember in the early days speaking to the record label, who were talking about how they were only an American label and they weren’t going to try to do anything to push us outside the US. I immediately said, ‘That's not a good idea – we need to be an international band – and at the least in the UK, as they’re going to understand who we are’. And then it all worked out, because the [2003] Daredevil movie sort of forced their hand, because it was released globally, and Bring Me To Life started taking off on its own, so the label had to get on board.”
You’ve found many ways to combine your music with your other passions, such as gaming, with your work on the song Afterlife for the Devil May Cry Netflix series. What do these opportunities provide you with?
It’s cool to be at this point in our career where we are to a degree some kind of household name, like people know who we are and think of us for projects like that. Instead of me having to run around and like track down somebody and see what movies are in development and try to get on board, they’re like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if the singer from Evanescence was singing on this song’, then that turns into a full-on collaboration and Evanescence song. It’s good to be here now. I choose this era, 20+ years into our career, my 40’s over my 20’s any day!
What other plans do you have coming up that you can tell us about?
I have a wide open mind for whatever, but these days, if I have an idea and I see a collaboration or something in my head, I’ve just been going for it. I don’t want to give anything away, but there is a new element in progress to be a part of the live show that we haven't done before – and we’re talking about collaborating with different artists. After Bring Me To Life, when the rap wasn’t my idea, I felt like I really wanted to run away from it. I don’t feel that way anymore. I have made so many cool friendships and connections and collaborative moments in the past few years that I’m just really proud of; I want to keep it going. This is the era of yes!
Evanescence
Shirley Manson was a big inspiration for me. She’s so strong and so fearless, and I love Garbage. I definitely grew up with her as a role model. Bjork was my queen. She made her own universe to rule over, and she was never trying to fit into any box – with that beauty and confidence and artistry. Plus, as a vocalist, she really inspired me a lot. I think women who carve their own path, of which there have been so many, especially in the 1990s and the era of alternative music, provided so much to look up to.
What keeps you excited about creativity?
The times in my career I’ve thought about being done, they’ve always been about something other than the music. Creating music is just who I am, and I can’t help wanting it badly enough to conquer monsters and climb mountains, and I did have to do that. But the things that wear me out, the things that have almost stopped me, are just business stuff – having people around me in the past that didn’t support me or get what I was doing or were in it for themselves. It’s really hard to keep pouring your heart out genuinely. I have a band around me that all love, and our music. Nothing feels like I’m climbing a mountain all by myself. It feels like we’re on an adventure together.
Live UK dates 2026
September 8th: First Direct Bank Arena, Leeds
September 10th: Co-op Live, Manchester
September 11th: Utilita Arena, Birmingham
September 13th: The O2 Arena, London