A FULL moon shone down on the cold November streets of Plymouth and Amy Lee cried out: "Hello, Hello, remember me?"

It was a clever little conceit, the lyrics from their "comeback" single, as Evanescence packed Plymouth Pavilions last night.

And it set the pace for an evening dominated by new material - the opening track, What You Want, was the first of many from their new, third album.

The lyrics of What You Want refer to chaos, but the night was anything but. Evanescence were professional, precise and rehearsed to within an inch of their lives - the 80 minutes of powerhouse rock, metal and Goth hammered out without a flaw.

After What You Want, lead-singer, pianist, harpist and heart of the band Amy dropped effortlessly into the first of the band's classics to punctuate the gig, Going Under - and the crowd roared along.

After that it was back to more new material, The Other Side, The Change and Made of Stone practically mirroring the order of tracks on the self-titled album Evanescence.

Then the grand piano was rolled out and we knew it was time to change gear to nu-metal ballad.

Amy powered out two more new tracks as she sat at the piano, Lost in Paradise and the beautiful My Heart is Broken - so far so good, a pitch perfect example of what Evanescence are known for, both their hard-edged rock and their haunting melodies, all laced with bitter-sweet painful lyrics.

Next Lithium, the fan's favourite from album two The Open Door, then back to belting out new nu-metal with the anthemic Sick.

New track Oceans, one of an oceanic trinity at the end of the new album, gave drummer Will Hunt a chance to show his power and skill then it was back to Open Door material - with Amy inviting the crowd to sing along, for Call Me When You're Sober.

It was a confident move to play so much new material when they have two albums of well-established material to fall back on - but there was really only one way to end the main set.

This is their signature track, and the Pavilions exploded as everyone belted out the lyrics to Bring Me To Life. But despite the power of the crowd, Amy's trademark powerhouse voice cut through them all and she sang with enough passion and energy to beat us all.

A brief break, then the encore. Three tracks, first another new one, Never Go Back and to finish - just when you thought she wasn't going to - My Immortal.

A beautifully crafted set, the band all had a chance to shine and Amy's voice was as powerful and haunting as ever.

The lights and lasers filled the venue as Evanescence filed the stage and the sound set-up was perfect, every word clear - though Amy could probably have done it without the mic.

The main criticism would be that the set was too short. There are two more albums of material that the crowd would have happily stayed longer for, so the band definitely left us wanting more.

If anything, the set was too controlled, breaking out a little more - more crowd interaction, would also have added value.

But overall, a fantastic night when the band proved they are as strong as ever, and the fans proved they are still just as passionate.

Great music, great venue, great crowd.

Coming soon to Plymouth Pavilions...

Motorhead

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