The Open Door

This article is about the Evanescence album. For the Death Cab for Cutie EP, see The Open Door EP. For the 2008 film, see The Open Door (film).

The Open Door
File:Theopendoor.jpg
Studio album by Evanescence
Released	September 25, 2006
Recorded	September 2005–March 2006
Genre	Alternative metal gothic rock
Length	54:15
Label	Wind-up
Producer	Dave Fortman
Evanescence chronology
Anywhere but Home (2004)Anywhere but Home2004 The Open Door (2006) Evanescence (2011)Evanescence2011
Singles from The Open Door
"Call Me When You're Sober" Released: September 25, 2006 "Lithium" Released: January 8, 2007 "Sweet Sacrifice" Released: May 25, 2007 "Good Enough" Released: December 14, 2007

The Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 countries worldwide. The release date, which was originally intended to be in March 2006, was changed because of guitarist Terry Balsamo's stroke, the loss of the band's former manager, and Will Boyd's and Ben Moody's departure from the band. The album symbolizes a new beginning for the band, incorporating new elements into their previous musical styles, which include gothic rock, symphonic rock and pop music as well as the use of choirs on several songs. The writing process for the album took over 18 months to complete; most of the songs were written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo, and were produced by Dave Fortman.

The album received mixed reviews from music critics, who generally praised its lyrical content and the instrumentation accompanied by Lee's vocals. Some critics gave negative reviews of the band's sound, which differs from that of the band's last album Fallen (2003). The album was nominated at the 50th Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Sweet Sacrifice". The band also won the category Album of the Year at the 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards. The Open Door debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 447,000 copies in its first week. It topped the charts in Australia, Europe, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, and charted in top five in over fifteen countries. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) just over a month after its release, and has since sold more than five million copies worldwide and has been certified in over fifteen worldwide markets.

"Call Me When You're Sober" was digitally released as the first single from the album on September 4, 2006; it was released as a CD single on September 27. It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted n the top 20 of several charts internationally. "Lithium" was released as the second single on January 1, 2007, and "Sweet Sacrifice" was released as the third international single from the album on May 5, 2007. "Good Enough" was released as the fourth single from the album; it failed to chart anywhere. The Open Door had been supported by two worldwide tours, including The Open Door Tour and the later Evanescence Tour.

Background, titling and artwork

"I feel like with Fallen, a lot of those songs sound like I was trying to prove myself and establish what we were and our sound. I was trapped having to feel a certain way. But with the new record, I sort of went with everything. I am not afraid to feel happy sometimes, and I think there's moments on the album with sensuality, which is really fun and beautiful, instead of the last time, where I felt like I was only getting out part of me. This record embraces the whole me."

— Amy Lee talking about The Open Door with MTV News.

During an interview with MTV News, Lee said Evanescence would begin writing for the album in March 2004 after finishing its tour in support of Fallen. She said it was impossible to write on tour and that "everybody's going to go to their house and write material". She also said the band would assemble to record the new material. Amy Lee told fans about the nw album in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com. The album progressed slowly because of Lee's desire to maximize the creative process and not rush production, other band members' side projects, guitarist Terry Balsamo's stroke, Will Boyd's and Ben Moody's departure and the loss of their former manager. Lee said on a fan's onternet forum the new album would be completed in March 2006; the the release was postponed because "Wind-up Records ... wanted to make a few changes to the upcoming single "Call Me When You're Sober". Talking about the development and inspiration of the album, Lee stated:

Life happens. We were writing for more than a year, and even during the recording process, there were all kinds of stuff like relationship problems, and then there were all kinds of drama with [Rider], which was really stressful and straining. Terry's stroke was the most difficult part. All the things that happened were really inspiring, because it was frustrating. But for me at least, every time we get really frustrated and you're hitting a wall and everything is chaos, it just makes the music that much better, because you have passion—even if it's negative. That's sometimes better, actually. At the end of it, we all felt like we could take a new breath and start anew. We wrote great songs, and I love them. But at the same time, you need the trials to really be able to put something out there that's genuine and real.

When asked whether the album is thematically different from Fallen, Lee replied:

What music is for me and what Evanescence has been is me purging all of the negative and hard, difficult experiences that I've had in my life. Naturally, that's still coming across; I'm still purging the trials. I feel like this album comes from a place that's not so hopeless. The first album, I was talking about the hard stuff, but I was also wallowing in it. But I've grown so much now... The lyrics on the new album are looking for the answers, looking for solutions looking for happiness. It's not 'I'm miserable, end of the song.' It's more, 'I'm miserable, and what do I have to do to work this out and get out of this bad situation'.

In an interview with MTV News, Lee said about the album's title:

I feel like I have the ability to do a lot of things I couldn't do before, for a number of reasons... ... As a musician, I feel like I can just do whatever. This album is completely the way I wanted it to be on every level, and it's more of me and it's more of my writing. A lot of doors have kind of been opened in my life—not just since everything has happened for us. But lately, I have kind of just learned to go, 'OK, that's it,' and cut a few ties and move away—learn how to say 'No' and look for happiness.

Lee also said the band "broke the doors" and tried doing different things, which was also an inspiration for the title. The album's artwork shows Lee in front of an open door. Simon Cosyns of The Sun said the artwork "keeps the dark Evanescence image intact, with sinister fairytale scenes, elaborate Victorian gothic arches, illuminated typography and elaborate flowing dresses". Dane Prokofiev of PopMatters praised the artwork calling it "gother-looking piece."

Writing and recording

The Open Door took 18 months to write. The new songs were written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo, who share credits for thirteen songs. Lee wrote "Like You", "Lithium" and "Good Enough" alone and she co-wrote "All That I'm Living For" with guitarist John LeCompt. Lee said after Moody's departure she had nobody to hold her back in the writing process and that Balsamo was lifting her up and pushing her to do something she would not have done with Moody. Lee said, "He's a great writer, and it was just like we were just having fun with it for a change. It was like, 'Let's stop taking everything so seriously and have fun,' and we wrote a lot of songs that I'm just totally in love with." Lee told The Sun, "[Balsamo's] got this sort of spooky, surreal element to his guitar writing ... It’s really cool because it just works perfectly with what we do. He was really trying to create something so we were both discovering this new sound together and branching out ... Writing with Terry was a unique experience in my life because I’ve never been able to just sit and write music with somebody and not be afraid of what they would say." She said the making of the album was "really intense" and that she came out "feeling purified" while her writing partner, Balsamo, lifted her "to a whole new level of inspiration and possibilities". She said it was only about "writing great music".

"The music comes from all these feelings that I need to purge myself of, things that I don’t understand. [...] I’m trying to figure out the meaning of life, the big picture. What are we doing here, what’s my purpose? [...] I’m a very passionate person. The music is all over the place, up and down, because that’s how I am."

– Amy Lee talking about The Open Door with The Sun.

The album was recorded at Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, California, and was produced and mixed by Dave Fortman at Ocean Way Studios. Jeremy Parker did the audio engineering, Mike Houge and Wesley Seidman worked as an additional engineers, and Ted Jensen mastered the album at Sterling Sound, New York. The choral arrangements were finished by Amy Lee and recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California. The choir and strings were recorded in an old chapel near Seattle, Washington. DJ Lethal programmed every song on the album, and John LeCompt was an additional programmer on "Call Me When You're Sober" and on "All That I'm Living For", which was also programmed by Bon Harris. David Campbell finished the orchestral arrangements, which were performed by Seattlemusic.

Music

Musical style

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Amy Lee cited Björk, Portishead and its lead singer Beth Gibbons as influences on The Open Door.

Lee told Rolling Stone the album would be "a complete spectrum of darkness and scary stuff and emotion". She told The Washington Post:

"I just wanted to create and do something different and branch out. At the heart of it I know it's still Evanescence and it's still me, but structurally it's a lot more fun. We went a lot of different ways with it instead of constantly sticking to the same structure and the same pop formula. I think it's more mature and more brave all around; it's like the instruments actually go together, the piano and guitar and vocals, since they're written together -- they intertwine. It's definitely even more personal. At least for me, because I was there, it sounds more fun because I was having so much more fun."

Lee told MTV News, "It's very new for us, and it's fun, actually. This album, I sort of pushed all my limits and did all the things maybe I wasn't brave enough to do the last time or just that I'm older now and more mature and—I don't know—a better writer. I worked a lot harder and I think that the songs are better and I'm excited." She told The Sun the main themes of The Open Door are freedom and her personal life. The lyrics are mostly about "what was going on at the time" in her life and about "the experimenting and fun stuff" the band tried on The Open Door. Lee described the songs on the album as "very dark", and said they show how to pass the tough moments in life. She said in comparison with Fallen, "They're very different. The chords are still there but it's just a more mature version." She also said, "Fallen is a great record [but] I don't think you can match the success of another body of work. I think that's only going to frustrate you. My only goal making this one was making something that I love even more and that I think is an even better record, and we've definitely done that." Incorporating classical influences and several new elements in the music, she drew further inspiration from the works of Portishead and Björk.

Background vocals on "Lacrymosa" and "Your Star" were performed by The Millennium Choir, which worked with the band on several songs on Fallen. Richard Harrington of The Washington Post said the album consists of gothic rock songs with brooding lyrics and Lee's vocals accompanied by pianos, strings and choirs. Other genres present on the album are heavy metal, opera and pop music. Jim Farber of Daily News said, "Evanescence's music again isn't quite metal (unless you think Creed qualifies). Neither is it exactly pop (at least not in the current R&B-leaning sense of the term). But the resulting hybrid offers a genuine alternative to everything else that's out there."

Farber said he found similarities between the songs on The Open Door and the works of Mariah Carey, Sarah Brightman, Nickelback and Annie Haslam. The Sydney Morning Herald said, "the band's symphonic metal tunes and dark-hearted lyrics are gloomier than ever". Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times called the album "too pop for some and too hard for others", and describing the lyrics as "youthfully earnest and sometimes obvious". In his review of The Open Door, Jon Dolan of Entertainment Weekly said, "The music is still the same crush of chunka-chunka riffs, moody electronic churn, and Valhalla-bound metal slam, all in service of Lee's strikingly operatic singing". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe said the songs on the album are similar to the band's songs "Bring Me to Life" and "Going Under", with the "mix of Lee's ethereal soprano, piano interludes, and layers of serrated guitar crunch that conjure visions of Sarah McLachlan fronting Godsmack". Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield compared Lee's vocals with 1980s "shoulder-pad belters" Pat Benatar and Ann Wilson of Heart. Christianity Today's Andree Farias called the album "an extension of what the band has done before. Industrial backbeats give way to thick metal riffs, orchestrated grandeur, and ghoulish choral elements, all complemented by Lee's operatic soprano". Billboard magazine said Evanescence has "translated [Lee's] heartache into another successful set of melodramatic goth/industrial anthems with touches of prog[ressive] and even classical [music]".

Songs and lyrics

File:Evanescence concert.jpg

Evanescence performing at a concert of the first leg of The Open Door world tour

"Sweet Sacrifice", the first song of the album, contains "rumbling guitars" and a string section, according to IGN's Ed Thompson. The main theme of the song is recovery from an abusive relationship, which also inspired all of the songs on Fallen. Jordan Reimer of The Daily Princetonian and Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said the song was written for Evanescence's former guitarist Ben Moody. "Call Me When You're Sober" is a rock song that starts as a piano ballad before quickly becoming an alternative metal song that uses elements of nu metal, symphonic rock and pop music. Lee said she wrote the song for her ex-boyfriend Shaun Morgan of South African alternative metal band Seether. With no effort to hide her still-raw emotions, Lee tells her lover, "Don't cry to me/ If you loved me/ You would be here with me/ Don't lie to me/ Just get your things/ I've made up your mind." Described as a "chick anthem", the protagonist in the song explains the reasons the relationship between the pair will not work through the lyrics "Don't cry to me … If you loved me, you would be here with me / ... How could I have burned paradise? How could I … you were never mine". "Weight of the World" is a mixture of pop and metal, according to Stornoway Gazette. Inspired by the pressures of fame, it contains "Eastern motifs" and "distorted vocals" in the opening lines "Feels like the weight of the world / Like God in heaven gave me a turn / Don't cling to me, I swear I can't fix you" and in the chorus, "If you love me, then let go of me / I won't be held down by who I used to be".

"Lithium" is a slow-tempo rock song; the protagonist sings about the fear of lithium in a lower register while "embrac[ing] feeling over numbness". Lee originally wrote its on a guitar when she was 16 years old; the guitar was later changed to piano when the verses were written. The song is about the choice between the comfort of sorrow and the possibility of happiness, and shows the protagonist's sadness as an excuse to make music. Critics noted similarities between the "tinkling" piano introduction and the band's previous material, particularly "My Immortal" (2003). MTV News' Chris Harris compared "Lithium" with the songs of Tori Amos. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield said the song was Lee's ode to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana's song of the same name. "Cloud Nine" was inspired by a break-up that is present in the lines "If you want to live, let live/ If you want to go, let go/ What are we doing here?/ Because I can live without you". It uses strings, studio effects and Lee's "layered moaning". "Snow White Queen", the first song written for The Open Door, was inspired by Lee's experiences of stalkers. She said, "My privacy had been completely invaded and there were a couple of nights where I couldn't stay at my house. So I wrote a song about it through the eyes of the stalker, and with my perspective, too." Entertainment Weekly's Jon Dolan found similarities between the song and Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun". It uses several industrial beats in its composition.

"Lacrymosa" incorporates the Lacrimosa sequence from Mozart's Requiem (1791). It includes a 22-piece orchestra led by Dave Campbell and background vocals by The Millennium Choir. Inspired by the film Amadeus, the song contains electronic backing beats, symphonic string section, heavy guitar and a haunting choir. The choir backing track makes a contrasting representation of light and dark. Jim Farber of Daily News compared the song with the works of English progressive rock band Renaissance. "Like You" is written in memory of Amy Lee's deceased sister, as was "Hello" on Fallen. Lee said, "I can't help but be affected by that, and if it's my place to express myself and all the things that have been most deep and the most painful and have just touched me, I feel like it does honor her". One of the most personal songs on the album, "Like You", contains the lyrics, "I long to be like you/Lie cold in the ground like you", which are accompanied by heavy riffing guitars. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield found similarities between "Like You" and "Helena"; other critics compared the song with Evanescence's earlier material on Fallen. "Lose Control" was inspired by Balsamo's loud guitar; it contains influences from Portishead . The protagonist shows his anger through the lines, "You don't remember my name, I don't really care". According to Lee, the song is about wanting to be less apprehensive and looser.

"The Only One" was originally called "Tuna Afternoon"; it is about Lee's experiences with close-mindedness and people around her who seemed lost in a world in which they did not belong. It starts with a piano introduction similar to that of the band's Fallen era and songs by Sarah McLachlan. In the song, Lee "decries human guidance" with the chorus lines, "All our lives / We've been waiting / For someone to call our leader / All your lies / I'm not believing / Heaven shine a light down on me". "Your Star" was inspired by Lee's loneliness during the band's tour in support of Fallen. She was inspired to write the chorus in Lisbon when she looked at the night sky and could see no stars. Other inspiration came from the works of Pantera. Guitars and piano provide its instrumentation; while Lee sings about God, according to Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone. "All That I'm Living For" was co-written by guitarist John LeCompt; it describes Lee's night-time writing process, which is present on the first line "I can feel the night beginning / Separate me from the living". It contains "power chords", elements of electronica, abrasive guitars and Lee's vocals. "Good Enough" was written by Lee; it was placed at the end of the album because it symbolizes its themes and those of Lee's life. It features a string section and resembles Tori Amos' and Sarah McLachlan's songs. Inspired by her long-time friend and future husband Josh Hartzler, "Good Enough" has a similar composition to "My Immortal" because of their piano sounds.

Release and promotion

The Open Door was released worldwide; its first release was in Poland on September 25, 2006, Japan on September 27, Ireland and Germany on September 29, Australia on September 30, the rest of Europe on October 2, 2006, and North America and Argentina on October 3. The digital version of the album was made available for pre-order on August 15, 2006, on iTunes and Walmart.com. The pre-order, if bought before October 3, 2006, included an interview with Amy Lee and a bonus track titled "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You", which later appeared as a B-side track on the "Lithium" single. On September 24, the album became available for full streaming at AOL Music.

Singles

The first single from the album was "Call Me When You're Sober", which had a limited radio release on July 31, 2006, before a wider release the following week. The full version of "Call Me When You're Sober" had been leaked to the Internet two days before its planned officially released to radio airplay; after this occurred, the record label allowed radio stations to play the song. It was made available for digital download on September 4, 2006, and an official release as a single followed on September 25. For the week ending September 9, 2006, the song peaked at number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, at number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart, number five on the Australian Singles Chart, and number four on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted within the top 20 of several other national charts and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 17, 2009, and gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

The second single from The Open Door, "Lithium" was released in the UK on January 8, 2007. It charted elsewhere, peaking at number 26 on the Australian Singles Chart, number 32 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 16 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The third single was originally planned to be "All That I'm Living For", but after considering the wishes of Evanescence and its fans, the label instead released "Sweet Sacrifice" as the next single from the album. It charted in Germany, Turkey and on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. Though "Lithium" and "Sweet Sacrifice" charted in the top 40 at rock radio, neither charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Bill Richards, senior vice-president of marketing and sales at Wind-Up Records, attributed the album's reduced airplay to not having "the hard rock [tracks] to solidify the base, and it wasn't melodic and poppy enough with big hooks to go to pop". "Good Enough" was released as the fourth single from the album, but failed to chart anywhere.

Other notable songs

"Weight of the World" was released as a promotional single in October 2007 in Colombia only. "Together Again", which was recorded for The Open Door but was later rejeted, was released as a free digital download on January 22, 2010, to benefit the United Nations Foundation for their recvery efforts following the Haiti earthquake. Lee said, "I am deeply moved by the tragic loss and devastation in Haiti. We hope to be able to make a positive contribution to the UN's emergency response by teaming with the UN Foundation through our music." The song was released as a digital download on February 23, 2010; it peaked at number 86 on the Canadian Hot 100. In a 2004 interview with MTV News, Amy Lee said she was composing music for the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She also said the film's producers had offered her a small role; she said, "They were like, 'Do you want to do a cameo?' And I was like, 'Hell yeah! Let me die. I want to be somebody who gets murdered.' So I don't think that's going to happen." She later said the album track "Lacrymosa" was originally written for the film but was not included in it. According to the film's producers, neither Lee nor the band were approached to compose music for the film. Another song was written for the film but was rejected because of its dark sound.

Tour

File:Evanescence miami 2007.jpg

Amy Lee during a concert in 2007

The first leg of The Open Door world tour began on October 5, 2006, in Toronto, Canada, and finished on December 15, 2006, in New York City. After touring North America during October, Evanescence traveled to Europe during November before returning to the United States to play at large arenas. The leg of the tour continued on January 5, 2007, when the band played in Canada, Japan, and Australia. When playing in the U.S., the band was supported by Revelation Theory; in Canada by Stone Sour and The Black Maria, and in Australia by Shihad. The second leg of the tour began on March 16, 2007, in Fresno, California. The tour continued through the U.S., South America, South Africa, back to the U.S., and finished in Europe. At U.S. gigs on this leg, Evanescence was supported by Chevelle and Finger Eleven. In Buenos Aires, Evanescence played at a rock festival with Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and Ratones Paranóicos. During part of the European section, the band took part in the Family Values Tour 2007 alongside Korn. After Family Values, the band continued touring through Mexico and the U.S. The final leg of the tour began on October 23, 2007, in Coral Gables, Florida; the band was supported by Sick Puppies and Julien-K, while Shiny Toy Guns made a guest appearance during the December 1, 2007, show at University Park, Pennsylvania. After over a year of touring, the last show was played in Kingston, Rhode Island on December 9, 2007. New additions to the set list of the final leg of the tour include "Lose Control", "Missing", and "Understanding".

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Blender
Entertainment Weekly	B+
The Independent
Jam!
Kerrang!
Now
Postmedia News
Rolling Stone
Spin	(8/10)

The Open Door received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on twelve reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". IGN music reviewer Ed Thompson said, "The Open Door is everything that you could ever want in a follow-up album—and more" and added that despite Ben Moody's exit from the band, Lee and Balsamo did not miss the beat. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "Amy Lee is still extremely sad about boys, God and much, much more ... When the pain takes over her corseted soul, as in practically every song on The Open Door, she just overdubs her big bodice-ripping voice into a choir." He also said the "best songs on The Open Door are the creepiest". Sheffield finished his review by saying, "Obviously, Lee has got a touch of the magnetic and destructive herself. But that's what makes the breakup songs on The Open Door feel mighty real." Jon Dolan of Entertainment Weekly said the album is " ... more personal and, by accessing a deeper emotional palette, maybe even more universal". Blender gave a positive review saying, "Denser and more scuzzed-up than Fallen, the album amps everything up to gloriously epic, over-the-top proportions". Billboard said, "Those who embraced Fallen will doubtlessly fall even harder into The Open Door." Spin's Mellisa Maerz rated the album with four stars out of five and said, "A post-dysfunctional kiss-off that builds from ethereal Sunday-mass uplift into full-eff-you guitar dirges, revealing an angrier, more self-assured Lee who waxes sardonic ... but still misses the comfort in being sad".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic said, "The Open Door is a muddle of affections. Sonically, however, it captures the Evanescence mythos better and more consistently than the first album - after all, Lee now has no apologies of being the thinking man's nu-metal chick, now that she's a star". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called the album "less fun", and said some of the songs are similar to each other. St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sara Berry said "[Evanescence's] sound remains essentially the same: the strange but amicable marriage of churning guitar riffs to lead singer Amy Lee's silky soprano". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe called the album a 45-minute "romantic piece" and said, "if [the album] featured more open-throated crooning and less teeth-gritting anger it would be a much more interesting record". She also said the sound of the album gets "black and blacker" and, "Lyrics tend toward repetition of words like 'darkness,' 'haunting,' and 'rage'". Christa Titus of Billboard called it a "far more nuanced, moody and richly textured effort" than Fallen. Postmedia News gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "While it's similar in style and sound to its predecessor, The Open Door loses the punchy power rifts and instead persuades the listener with piano and airy vocals". Andre Farias of Christianity Today said, "The sound is loud, yes, but it's almost indistinguishable from its predecessor—a disappointment considering the opus was nearly three-and-a-half years in the making".

Some reviewers criticized the loud sound on the album and the lyrics. Jim Farmer of the Daily News said the "jerry-built" sound the band used for the album "isn't anything to be admired". MusicOMH reviewer Alex Nunn, gave the album two stars out of five and said, "Seeing Amy Lee's lyrics go as drastically down the pan as this resembles watching a bad car crash ... Musically it's power chords and big riffs-ahoy, generic, mundane, boring stuff. The Open Door is an exercise in how not to make a sophomore album." Darryl Sterdan of Jam! also rated The Open Door with two stars, highlighting Lee's voice and criticizing the instructions used for making the songs on the album. He also said the songs together make a "monotonous blast of self-indulgent Evanesense". Sterdan also said, "some door[s] are better off staying closed". Andy Gill of The Independent also criticized The Open Door and said Lee's narrow vocal range was mirrored in the "restricted breadth of the band's musical and emotional range, which never strays outside the short distance from paranoid to apocalyptic, concerns addressed in as bombastic and tune-dodging a manner as possible". At the 2007 NRJ Music Awards, The Open Door received a nomination for Best International Album of the Year. The album won Album of the Year at the 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards. "Sweet Sacrifice" received a nominations in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Commercial performance

The Open Door debuted at number one in the United States, Australia, Germany, Greece and Switzerland. It charted in the top five in Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. On the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, The Open Door debuted at number one, selling over 447,000 copies in its first week and becoming the 700th album to top the chart. It also debuted at number one on the Rock Albums chart and at number two on the Digital Albums. In two weeks on the U.S. charts, the album sold approximately 725,000 copies, and on November 8, 2006, it was certified platinum by the RIAA more than a month after its wide release. The Open Door became the 38th best-selling album of 2006 in the U.S.; it was the 52nd best-selling album for 2007. Double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America was awarded on June 24, 2009.

On the UK Albums Chart, The Open Door debuted and peaked at number two on October 14, 2011, selling 94,409 copies in its first week. It was the UK's 81st best-selling album for 2006; by October 2011, it had sold more than 347,000 copies there. In Canada, the album debuted at number two, selling over 43,000 copies in its first week. It was later certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. In Australia and New Zealand, the album peaked at numbers one and two respectively. It was later certified twice-platinum by the ARIA and platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. As of June 10, 2008, The Open Door had sold nearly two million copies in the U.S.; by October 11, 2011, it had sold over 2.1 million copies there and additional two million copies worldwide.

Track listing

• All songs produced by Dave Fortman.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sweet Sacrifice"	Lee, Balsamo	3:05
2.	"Call Me When You're Sober"	Lee, Balsamo	3:34
3.	"Weight of the World"	Lee, Balsamo	3:37
4.	"Lithium"	Lee	3:44
5.	"Cloud Nine"	Lee, Balsamo	4:22
6.	"Snow White Queen"	Lee, Balsamo	4:22
7.	"Lacrymosa"	Lee, Balsamo	3:37
8.	"Like You"	Lee	4:16
9.	"Lose Control"	Lee, Balsamo	4:50
10.	"The Only One"	Lee, Balsamo	4:40
11.	"Your Star"	Lee, Balsamo	4:43
12.	"All That I'm Living For"	Lee, LeCompt	3:48
13.	"Good Enough"	Lee	5:32
Total length:			54:15

Japanese edition bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Call Me When You're Sober" (acoustic version)	Lee, Balsamo	3:39

Japanese limited edition
No.	Title	Length
15.	"Call Me When You're Sober" (video)
16.	"Making of the Video – Behind the scenes footage"

Notes

• During an interview with Metal Edge Lee confirmed that several outtakes including "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You" (which appeared as a B-side to "Lithium"), "If You Don't Mind" and "Together Again" were made for the album.
• The two-disc Japanese limited edition was released September 27, 2006, and includes the music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" and behind the scenes footage. The music CD also contains an additional bonus track.

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from Allmusic and The Open Door's liner notes.

• Terry Balsamo – composer, guitar
• Tamara Berard – choir
• Will Boyd – bass
• Melanie Bruno – choir
• Alyssa Campbell – choir
• David Campbell – orchestral arrangements
• Marcella Carmona – choir
• Kevin Dalbey – choir
• Rory Faciane – drum technician
• Dave Fortman – audio production, mixing, producer
• Mary Gaffney – choir
• Rocky Gray – drums
• Bon Harris – programming
• Leor Dimant – programming
• Mike Hogue – assistant engineer
• Simon James – concert master
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• John LeCompt – composer, guitar, programming
• Amy Lee – choir arrangement, composer, piano, programming, vocals
• DJ Lethal – programming
• Carrie Lee – vocals (background)
• Lori Lee – vocals (background)
• Andrew Lurie – management
• Darren Majewski – A&R
• Gail Marowitz – art direction
• Diana Meltzer – A&R
• Millennium Choir – choir
• Mike Mongillo – product manager
• Frank Ockenfels – photography
• Joanne Paratore – choir
• Jeremy Parker – engineer
• Darryl Phinnessee – choir
• David Sabee – contractor
• Seattlemusic Group – group
• Wesley Seidman – assistant engineer
• Ed Sherman – package design
• Dwight Stone – choir
• Tania Themmen – choir
• Talaya Trigueros – choir
• Lisa Wall Urgero – choir
• Gregg Wattenberg – A&R
• Susan Youngblood – choir

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	2
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	5
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	2
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	5
French Albums (SNEP)	2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	1
Greek Albums (IFPI)	3
Irish Albums (IRMA)	3
Italian Albums (FIMI)	2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	4
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)	76
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	3
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	8
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Albums (OCC)	2
US Billboard 200	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
Australian Albums Chart	32
Austrian Albums Chart	38
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	82
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	48
Dutch Albums Chart	79
Finnish Albums Chart	15
Swiss Albums Chart	22
UK Albums Chart	81
US Billboard 200	57
US Rock Albums	8
Worldwide Charts	14
Chart (2007)	Position
US Billboard 200	52
US Rock Albums	10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)	Gold	20,000
Australia (ARIA)	2× Platinum	140,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)	Gold	15,000
Belgium (BEA)	Gold	25,000
Brazil (ABPD)	Platinum	60,000
Canada (Music Canada)	2× Platinum	200,000
France (SNEP)	Gold	75,000
Germany (BVMI)	Gold	100,000
Greece (IFPI Greece)	Platinum	15,000
Hungary (MAHASZ)	Gold	3,000
Japan (RIAJ)	Gold	100,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)	Gold	50,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Platinum	15,000
Russia (NFPF)	2× Platinum	40,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)	Platinum	30,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	300,000
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum	2,000,000
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)	Platinum	1,000,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Release date	Format	Label
Poland	September 25, 2006	CD, digital download	Wind-up
Japan	September 27, 2006		EMI Music Japan
Germany	September 29, 2006		Wind-up
Ireland
Australia	September 30, 2006
Canada	October 3, 2006
United States

External links

• The Open Door at Metacritic
• Official website