Amy Lee Opens Up on Jen Majura's Departure From Evanescence, Explains How Korn Are Different From Most Metal Bands

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Earlier this year, Evanescence made the headlines when long-time guitarist Jen Majura left the band. The musician opened up on the topic online shortly after, saying that it wasn't \"her decision\" to leave, but no more context was given to her departure.

Evanescence were quick to react, switching bassist Tim McCord to guitar duties, and recruiting Sick Puppies' Emma Anzai to take over the bass during the band's live shows.

In a new interview with Revolver, singer Amy Lee reflected on the line-up changes, and what the fresh addition brought to the band:

\"I am so happy, we are all so, so grateful. Emma Anzai is from the band Sick Puppies and we are old friends. We toured together in 2007 and she's just an excellent musician. We're all fans of her and just fits us on a personal level really well.\"

\"We did a little European run in June and then we did a few shows here and had our first photo shoot with the new lineup just two weeks ago. Some things are just meant to be. Something I'm getting better at as I get older is not trying to control everything so much. Sometimes you just sort of have to listen to the universe and what's going on and go, 'You know what, OK, I need to live in the reality of what's happening now and make something great out of it instead of constantly trying to pull things the way I think they ought to go.'\"

\"It's hard to explain what I'm saying without being specific, and we all love Jen, we had a great time with Jen. Don't want to make it like it's anything negative there. But sometimes that chapter just ends, and when you feel that and you know that as a band, that's how you keep things going. That's how you keep your team, your band, and everything healthy and moving the way it's supposed to move.\"

\"It's complicated but at the same time you just need to follow your heart. At the end of the day, when you follow your heart and trust each other, you can move forward into a better place than you could've imagined for.\"

Lee then added:

\"This is big time new for us because I've had Tim on bass for 16 years and for the first time he is on guitar, which is fantastic. It's his original instrument, he's great on it, he gets into that position when we're in the writing room a lot. And Emma is just this amazing, seamless ... it's just amazingly cool and the other guys are just thrilled with it as well.\"

\"We're all really happy right now, we're in a healthy new chapter moment. Those are always really energizing, so we've got a lot of energy and are feeling inspired and excited for the future.\"

Evanescence are gearing up for their upcoming tour with Korn, which is set to kick off tomorrow, August 16. When asked about her favorite Korn tune, and why, Amy Lee answered, after some deliberation:

\"This is weird, I have a few that are kind of in the same tier. But for some reason something about that song 'Falling Away From Me.' It has something that has to do with the chord progression, that sort of does a trick on the mind.\"

\"When it gets to the chorus, the chord progression to me as a musician, it's very interesting because it's doing a descending and ascending thing at the same time, and they work so magically together that I can't decide exactly how it makes me feel.\"

\"They just change the chords just enough to make it sound like it has to be that, it's nothing else, but it's so natural. I feel like, musically, the creation of that chord structure and the guitar part is really, really smart. So there's that. But I love the lyrics, as well. There's a lot of really deep, painful lyrics that Korn has to offer that are cathartic for me.\"

\"It's chaos but it's good to the ear. It's not the kind of metal where I can handle it for a few minutes and then I need to listen to something else because my ears hurt. They're creating something that feels good, it sounds good to your ears. It's metal but it isn't something that you can't hang out and listen to. They have a pop sensibility, I'm just going to go out and say it. It's there.\"

You can check out the co-headlining tour dates and venues below:

• Tue Aug 16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
• Thu Aug 18 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
• Sat Aug 20 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
• Sun Aug 21 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
• Tue Aug 23 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
• Wed Aug 24 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
• Fri Aug 26 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
• Sat Aug 27 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion
• Sun Aug 28 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
• Wed Aug 31 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
• Thu Sep 01 – Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
• Sun Sep 04 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
• Tue Sep 06 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
• Fri Sep 09 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
• Sat Sep 10 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center
• Tue Sep 13 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena
• Thu Sep 15 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
• Fri Sep 16 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater

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