EVANESENCE – “Sanctuary” (2026)
I owe this band a great deal, as “Fallen” was the record that introduced me to heavy music and served as the gateway to my Metal world! Truth is, the closer I am to a band, the stricter I will be, so I lost connection with the two main albums that came after “The Open Door”. EVANESCENCE recently made a strong appearance in the entertainment media through Ballerina (“Fight like a girl”) and Devil May Cry (“Afterlife”), which sparked my interest in their music once again and ultimately led to this review.
“Sanctuary” continues to follow the thread from where “The Bitter Truth” left it, meaning the songwriting follows a modern approach with the Gothic influences remaining as something to reminisce about. And I am all in for it, as it totally fits the current artistic vision of the group. The members utilize tools that most modern Metal artists have at their disposal, such as electronic elements and heavy, low-tuned breakdown riffing, with the latter being more prominent in the first half of the record. Those guitar riffs can sometimes sound same-y, so what surrounds them becomes crucial. And what could be more crucial than the voice of Amy Lee?
She sounds as great as ever, elevating every composition. There were two times, one in “Rapture” and the other in “Forever Without You”, where I simply stopped whatever I was doing because I was blown away by her performance, even though I know what she is capable of. The tracks themselves need some time to get used to, but after they sink in, you appreciate the fact that there are far more hits than misses. I don’t like the word misses here, as there are no weak songs, but rather a change of pace.
The first ballad “How Do I Heal” closes the more aggressive and intense part, with the other half being more melodic. Melodic does not mean uninteresting or anything like that, since “About Us”, the closing “Wide Open Heart”, and especially “Self Destruct” are great thanks to Amy’s vocal expression, but this alteration in the dynamics may alienate some people as the album progresses. There is also “Calm Down”, which has its moments but is a step below the rest. The two ballads are not skippable for my tastes, but I will not listen to them individually either, something this band has only achieved with “Missing” and of course the all-time classic “My Immortal”.
Falling in love with EVANESCENCE again in 2026 and listening to them on the local radio are surely two things I did not expect and “Sanctuary” achieves both goals! The new stuff blends great with the rest of the discography and when these songs eventually make their way into the live set, it will not feel like they are stealing a place from the good old tracks. It feels like a fresh new start, a very promising one. And over the years, there have been many talks about whether they can be considered Metal (which I find silly; they are more Metal than many others that enjoy that label). This release brings them closer to that term than ever before!
85/100
Pavlos Pavlakis
