From the very beginning, Evanescence were defined by Amy Lee’s singular voice, striking a balance between piercing belts, symphonic leanings, and intense emotional expression. During a time when nü metal was starting to fade, her celestial mezzo-soprano broke through the noise, becoming a guiding light for thousands. 2003’s Fallen put them on the map, but no matter how many years have passed, they’ve shone through, proving they had staying power beyond their first two exceptional albums. That’s especially true with their newest full-length, Sanctuary, out tomorrow. With this in mind, we asked our readers to tell us the best Evanescence songs. You can find the top fan picks ranked below.
Read more: Evanescence’s Amy Lee appears on the latest episode of AltPress: In Session
5. “My Immortal”
Fallen introduced Evanescence as ambitious, deeply emotional people who offered an epic, more gothic take on nü metal. The LP went on to sell millions of copies, turning Lee into both an alternative icon and a role model for a whole generation of young women who were scanning the liner notes in their bedrooms. Though “Bring Me to Life” often overshadows the other songs on the album, our readers singled out “My Immortal” as one of Evanescence’s best songs. Not hard to see why, either — it’s a piano ballad that reaches a spellbinding climax, still holding up after decades of airplay.
4. “Going Under”
In an interview reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Fallen, Lee called “Going Under” her favorite song on the album — and for good reason. It’s got huge energy, heart, and a poignant theme of coming out of a toxic relationship, setting the tone for everything else to come. “That was the song that I really wanted for the first single… We wrote ‘Going Under’ after ‘Bring Me to Life,’” she revealed, though the release of the Daredevil soundtrack altered their plans. “A lot of times when you’re writing an album, you keep trying to top your last thing, and it felt in the moment to me like, ‘OK, we did it.’ And that was the last one.”
3. “Afterlife”
Evanescence’s first song since releasing 2021’s The Bitter Truth wasn’t a preview of an upcoming album. Instead, the dark and brooding single was for the Netflix adaptation of the anime Devil May Cry. Bringing two different worlds together, it was a smash hit. As Lee told us during their May AP cover story, “When Alex [Seaver] brought it in, that whole first verse and chorus was there… The chance to build it into something more and turn it into a full song was just the special icing on the cake, and we were so ready for it. It was coming at the perfect time because we were just starting in the studio, working on the new music.” As far as soundtracks go, though, Lee’s dream is still to be featured on Legend of Zelda.
2. “Imaginary”
Our readers really love Fallen, calling “Imaginary” — which can also be found on their 1998 self-titled EP — one of their greatest. It’s probably why the track has never really left Evanescence’s setlists through the years. “It really does a good job of capturing something really to the core of our sound and our theme. I love that song a lot. For me, that would’ve been the single over ‘Everybody’s Fool,’” Lee said. Later on, the band transformed the song for 2017’s Synthesis, an album where they reworked their older material into orchestral and electronica-leaning arrangements.
1. “Lithium”
In a surprise twist, the top fan pick isn’t a Fallen song but rather a gorgeous power ballad from its 2006 follow-up, The Open Door. After the departure of co-founding member Ben Moody, Lee had more room to experiment and follow her own vision, which put her songwriting front and center. That resulted in a batch of powerful songs, where she reflected on pain, empowerment, and exploitation — including the melancholy “Lithium,” whose lyrics remain a high point of the album: “Lithium, don’t want to lock me up inside/Lithium, don’t want to forget how it feels without/Lithium, I want to stay in love with my sorrow/Oh but God, I want to let it go.”
