10 Rock And Metal Albums From The 2000s The Critics Got Wrong
4. Fallen - Evanescence (2003)
Helped along by the singles ‘Bring Me To Life’ and ‘Going Under’, Evanescence’s debut was a huge financial success. But due to the album’s nu-metal leanings, some critics did not take to the album. Popmatters even said Fallen is ‘as dumb and unoriginal as everything else in the genre'.
Whilst the guitar riffs aren’t anything special, Fallen is far from unoriginal. Amy Lee’s vocals, the frequent use of classical instrumentation, and the chilling atmosphere make this album one of the most unique offerings in the mu-metal genre. What's more, songs such as ‘My Immortal’ and ‘Hello’ don’t contain any guitars at all. They are both piano-driven ballads that don't bear any resemblance to the majority of other nu-metal records.
Thankfully, Fallen is now held in much higher esteem. Rolling Stone included the album in their greatest metal albums of all-time list in 2017, and in a retrospective review, Billboard described Fallen as ‘a formidable combination of power and melody’.