"the record label thought it would confuse audiences" is an awfully polite way of phrasing what happened. i remember reading an interview transcript/article where amy cites that the execs shoehorned in the rough male vocals because nobody was going to care about "some chick with a piano" despite her protests and already growing success. while i have a fond spot in my heart for the "original" version because that's what i grew up with, it was tarnished by reading that article for sure. thank you for mentioning/linking the synthesis version which i feel could more accurately be called the 'original' since it's entirely hers and she got to do it how she wanted.
I haven't listened to the version without the male vocalist yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if I were to end up liking the version with him better. Not because I think that "some chick with a piano" is categorically unable to be successful in the metal world--because that's pretty sexist--but because the male vocalist adds a greater sense of contrast to Lee's vocals, just like the metal elements and the symphonic elements of the music contrast each other.
I always thought he sounded out of place. FInally, sweet vindication for my musical tastes! Is there nothing music labels can't ruin, or at least diminish?
I never thought it was about sexism. I always thought it was an interesting collab between members of two bands. Collaborations sell well and bring fanbases together. Rappers collaborate all the time. It's cool when rock bands/members collaborate and I think they should do it more often. Both Evanescence and 12 Stones probably got a lot of exposure with this song than they otherwise wouldn't have. I never thought Paul's part was out of place. He fits so perfectly, it sounds weird and incomplete without him. The male and female lead vocal is common in European Gothic and Symphonic Metal bands, called "Beauty and the Beast", except with death growls instead of rapping. I always thought it was the American version because rap/nu-metal was more popular here and came from here. No one cares about singing chicks with pianos? Jewel, Lady Gaga (yes, she can play piano and pretty well actually), and the success of many other piano playing female singer-songwriters would disagree. Not only that, but Evanescence had a male piano player up to this album. He quit because he wanted to do more Christian music and Evanescence was moving away from that. He quit after Fallen and Amy took over piano after.
I have no idea how THAT got the "edgy cringe metal" label when......ALL OF NU METAL exists An entire genre of edgy cringe metal and they picked the one poular song that's more distant from it than most
Worth pointing out the sound symbolism of that first guitar/bass intro sounding like an alarm clock. In contrast with the dreamlike symphonic section that preceded it, it reinforces the lyrics about struggling to wake up.
@@bxp_bass Late comment I know, but neither those bands or Evanescence are goth. Gothic metal does not fall under the goth music umbrella ("gothic" is used to describe the vibe rather), and is completely metal instead. The heaviest music "goth" has to offer is deathrock (Christian Death, Specimen) or second-wave goth rock (Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim).
@@bxp_bass Theatre of Tragedy did have one (1) actually goth album (Aégis) but other than that those bands aren't goth either, as much as I love Theatre of Tragedy and Tristania.
On that rhythm stop, here's an arranging trick I heard not too long ago: to make a section feel big, don't make it bigger, make the section before it smaller.
my band director told us something simular about dynamics, that loud sections are only gonna seem loud if the section before it was quiet, so if there was a mezzo piano or quieter section before a forte or louder he would sometimes have us knock that first section down a dynamic. it helped out a lot of kids who had trouble playing quiet in that transition from marching band to concert band
@@plutonium120 I said make it smaller, not omit it altogether. With nothing to compare it to, the thing that's supposed to be exciting is your baseline.
my favorite metal singer was ZP theart, and what made him special to me, was his high and clear voice. i noticed that when babymetals young lass of an idol girl sang a song written by that bands guitarist and it just made sense, it cuts through the rich and full instrumentals so well, thats what moved their power metal close to epic metal. the more you get into the epic and classical, the higher the pitch goes, and its probably why old school power metal still used those super gay voices
Thanks for linking to the Synthesis version. Now after years of discounting Evanescence’s music as just something that I liked as a young teenager, I went and listened to My Immortal again and nearly cried lol. The emotions don’t lie when it comes to whether or not certain music does it for us. 😉
Evanescence, Linkin Park, and Breaking Benjamin. Most used anime, videogame, and flash animated music vid songs of all time, and I am damed proud to have witnessed each and every one. o7
I was literally *just* recommending a few of my favorite music theory/analysis channels to a reaction-video channel, and said "12tone is super-nerdy and way over my head, and that's a big part of the appeal to me."
@@doris4469 I enjoy hearing people talk in languages I don't (or only barely) understand. One of my favorite things about public transportation. For the same reason I enjoy watching this and other channels that discuss concepts that I'm not (or barely) familiar with. It stretches my brain.
Fun fact: the bass on this track is actually fucking SLAPPED. Listen to the isolated bass track here: th-cam.com/video/w1wiVA9FfM8/w-d-xo.html Absolutely crazy.
I looooved this album when it first came out! I was in no way a goth, but I loved the contrast between the delicate classical sound and the heavy metal sound. "Juxtaposition" is a good way of putting it.
I was *way* past my youth when this came out. I recognized it immediately as quality music and for the elements it had in common with some of my favorite music from earlier times. Not in as deeply analytical a way as this here (of course!) but just, how it all worked together resonated with me. It's always nice to hear someone explain this stuff more analytically, even though I don't understand most of it. Maybe *because* I don't understand most of it. It's always fun to wade in way over my head here.
The people behind this song are musical geniuses. If anyone could recreate a song similar to Bring Me To Life they would never succeed. The surprise you feel, how the instrumental evened out the rough metal in the song so that people won't be scared off, the melody. Just amazing.
You missed an interesting melody on the strings in the rap verse. It's played over both chords the same way, but sounds triumphant over one and uncertain over the other. I was really hoping you'd be able to break that one down because my music theory knowledge is mostly intuitive and I can't put the science to it the way you do 😅
Interesting that these two are touring together next year. Which song of WT would be most fitting? Ice Queen, Stand My Ground, Frozen, Shot In The Dark? The Reckoning?
I graduated high school in 04, I'm right there with you about nu metal and this song in particular giving me the feels. Bring Me To Life was mine and my first real girlfriend's "our song" and thanks to your analysis I can see the correlation to our ill fated relationship haha. Thank you, your content is always solid
5:17 I appreciate your use of the Mandelbrot set (a famous fractal, which thus contains itself infinitely ) to illustrate the concept of something self-contained.
Love that you are analyzing this ❤️Amy Lee was my hero growing up and I so relate to your struggle with failing computers, hope you get set up sooner than later. I really enjoyed this video 🙂
Happy birthday! I know that feeling, I'm approaching 30 years too and I'm noticing that my musical interests from back when I was a teenager are coming back like never before (if you could analyse any song from Blind Guardian that would mean a world to me). Bring me to life was one of the songs that got me started into gothic metal, so it's quite cool to see your analysing it. It seems that the justaposition of male and female voices was a good idea from the producers, I never knew it wasnt the main idea in the first place.
Where have you been all of my life? Let's take a minute to appreciate the genius of your storytelling used in the video to explain the genius of "bring me to life" - thank you for this incredible job!! 🙏 Highly appreciated sense for details, wow. I'm in awe. All the best from Germany.
even though I've heard this song a billion times, and even recently... that first bit made every hair on my body perk up and my skin shiver. 🤷🏼♂️ It's just a song that seeps into your heart, curls up there, and smoulders. It's impossible to ignore, and demands action.
I worked with the producer of this record (who also produced the first 12 Stones record which is how Paul McCoy ended being the male vocal on the track. ) I have all kinds of stories from when this was being made. A great record by a very talented band. Working with that producer is how I learned so hearing this record also makes me think of the techniques he showed me. He had a million tricks that we used on smaller records that were done on smaller records but he finally put them all together in the magic way that made this work so well. The producer was the lead guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe in the early 90's. Great guitarist and songwriter in his own right.
I find it interesting that you mention classical composition techniques as being a novelty in metal, when theyre really only novel in POP metal. Metal has traditionally been created by musicians with extensive classical training, and that training tends to bleed through. I think Robert Walser was one of the first to write about this in the 90s, so if you want to read up on it, that would be where Id start. (And hes always worth a read anyway, as hes an engaging author.) But a great video as always! Bring Me To Life was such an important aspect of being a teen in the early 00s, and has had a little too much rug-sweeping, at the risk of contagion from our cringey teen selves. But it is a great song and Im happy to see it get the 12tone treatment. :)
Tegan Sutherland excellent point! That threw me off a little too in the video, as for me classical influences in metal are so common. It was a given to me that if there is a genre that always dabble into classical, it’s metal! With a myriad of successful bands like Nightwish, Epica, After Forever, Within Temptation and others, I found it very surprising that producers would consider it “confusing” to hear her singing over a metal song. But as you mention they are coming from a more mainstream perception. There is the whole world of symphonic metal, which I would love to be analyzed in his series, but unfortunately I don’t think they would speak to an audience large enough
I'm *so* glad you mentioned the Synthesis version of the song; the original release holds a special place in my heart but the Synthesis edition is truer to Lee's original vision for the song and is also incredibly gorgeous and my new favorite Evanescence song in general, and I feel that it's important to bring up, however briefly, the circumstances behind the presence of a male vocalist at all on the original release of the track whenever I talk about the song(s)
Twenty years later, I clearly remember the first time i heard this on the radio while at a gas station late at night. My poor apartment neighbors endured me singing my heart out to the entire album for the next two years, lol
happy birthday and thanks for the music theory vids. thanks to you I know about things like "chormatic mediants, line cliches, functional harmony". As a mathematician/computer programmer who never studied music formally (but sang in choir and plays guitar) I really appreciate the perspective.
Evanescence has some of the most consistently incredible music I've ever heard. I would highly recommend their entire discography, including their new albums.
After months of watching this channel I just realized yo are left handed! Great video! Love this song, and now that I know it exists, I also love the Synthesis version!
Happy Birthday! I understand only about half of the music theory (mostly because I've had no music training apart from some violin classes ages ago) but I surely get it better because of your clear explanations and illustrations So yeah, awesome work, I hope you keep at it ^-^
I would love it if you covered something from Nightwish, seeing as you liked Evanescence. The symphonic metal scene keeps going strong, and I think it deserves more attention.
@@lil_weasel219 I am aware, but 12tone said compared their style to it and he is into metal. The band may not be the same genre, but the song Bring me to Life specifically brought many people to Symphonic metal in search for something similar.
Well Gothic metal, yes the band (which btw is my all time favorite band) definitely has its place in Gothic metal. But not Goth music, Goth and metal are two completely different genres and Goth and Gothic are not the same definition. Goth is a type of music that expresses tragedy and the macabre while voices are echoing and the base is cranked up. Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, Suspiria, Switchblade Symphony, Dead Can Dance, The Cure etc. Gothic is originally a term used to describe the way buildings were built back in the medieval and renaissance era especially focused on churches and castles. Later on people began using that term for a type of literature but even the stories were usually describing castles like Bram Stokers Dracula. The only reason the term Gothic was in the story was because Bram was describing the castle in the story. Gothic metal is basically like Symphonic metal but more focused on orchestra than chior depending on the band. Now Evanescence, lyrically some of the songs can be considered Goth as fuck such as Haunted, Imaginary, My Last Breath, Snow White Queen, Hello, Like You, My Immortal, Even in Death, Whisper, Field of Innocence, Never Go Back, lyrically they are Goth af but sound wise not really. Prefallen work I can definitely see being considered Goth but Fallen and on it became Metal/ hard Rock. Goth music is my all time favorite genre but Evanescence is my all time favorite band and I will gladly defend both of them to the bitter core. I understand why people will think Evanescence is a Goth band but in the reality they aren't. Gothic Metal, yes. Goth, no. This is not Gatekeeping this is simply just giving out helpful information. This is not picking sides. I refuse to pick sides between my two favorite things but I will put the right information if need be.
In the bridge, the bass walks down to an E under the Bm7 chord to set up a substitute V/iv situation, moving back to the Am. At the end of the bridge, the bass moves to the B instead under the Bsus4 to set up a V/i. This is how bass controls so much harmony so effectively.
Metal is often overlooked and misunderstood. Another band that gets acknowledgment from Amy Lee 's Evanescence is the group, Korn. They have written some fairly complex arrangements in this same metal time period and still do. Have a look sometime, you may find some interesting stuff.
I'm not sure I understand on a technical level bc I know less than nothing about notes and composing and all that, but... I -feel- like I understand, and it's made me look at the song with new eyes (or rather listen with new ears, idk). I also didn't know the song originally didn't have male vocals in it, so I'm really glad Amy got to reclaim her piece with the Synthesis version!
Ha ha, i told you this was a genius song! Take that memes lol Ive been obsessing over the pure genius of this band more aggressively for like a year now, thanks for actually putting this into technical terms i can actually explain instead of "its just triumphant ok, its like a damn story"
I was i in 2004, my 16 year old cousin was visiting from Florida for the summer (last time I saw her for years) and played my immortal every chance she got. Because I missed her my 8 year old self asked for, got and listened to a metal CD. But the thing is, amys voice is absolutely beautiful and the lyrics are very clean. Its also really interesting how much classical piano stuff they use. I stopped listening to it in my teens because its not my usual taste but heard it again recently and forgot how good it is.
I happy to see this video finally get made (how many times was it in the poll?? :D ). The arrangement of this track (and their others) is quite good. Adding on to the arrangements Amy Lee's vocals makes for a truly amazing song (and albums). Hearing her live is just ... incredible.
You should check out a song called The Heraldic Beak of the Manufacturer’s Medallion, by The Sound of Animals Fighting. Not even necessarily to do a video on, but because it’s an amazing example of crazy-ass arranging through a suite.
I completely understand Amy's frustration with being forced to have the male vocals on the track (I always thought it was Moody) I can't imagine the song *without* it. For me, when it first came out, I was thrilled at the mainstream subversion of male-dominated metal with the male voice playing back-up accent. The way that Moody supported her vocally was wonderful on the demo/EP tracks.
Would be interested in analyzing anything my Les Claypool? He has such a unique sound I would love to see whats going on underneath his crazy bass work. (Also anything off Infest the Rats Nest by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard)
"the record label thought it would confuse audiences" is an awfully polite way of phrasing what happened. i remember reading an interview transcript/article where amy cites that the execs shoehorned in the rough male vocals because nobody was going to care about "some chick with a piano" despite her protests and already growing success. while i have a fond spot in my heart for the "original" version because that's what i grew up with, it was tarnished by reading that article for sure. thank you for mentioning/linking the synthesis version which i feel could more accurately be called the 'original' since it's entirely hers and she got to do it how she wanted.
I haven't listened to the version without the male vocalist yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if I were to end up liking the version with him better. Not because I think that "some chick with a piano" is categorically unable to be successful in the metal world--because that's pretty sexist--but because the male vocalist adds a greater sense of contrast to Lee's vocals, just like the metal elements and the symphonic elements of the music contrast each other.
Just listen to “the bliss mix” no male vocals.
I always thought he sounded out of place. FInally, sweet vindication for my musical tastes! Is there nothing music labels can't ruin, or at least diminish?
I never thought it was about sexism. I always thought it was an interesting collab between members of two bands. Collaborations sell well and bring fanbases together. Rappers collaborate all the time. It's cool when rock bands/members collaborate and I think they should do it more often.
Both Evanescence and 12 Stones probably got a lot of exposure with this song than they otherwise wouldn't have.
I never thought Paul's part was out of place. He fits so perfectly, it sounds weird and incomplete without him. The male and female lead vocal is common in European Gothic and Symphonic Metal bands, called "Beauty and the Beast", except with death growls instead of rapping. I always thought it was the American version because rap/nu-metal was more popular here and came from here.
No one cares about singing chicks with pianos? Jewel, Lady Gaga (yes, she can play piano and pretty well actually), and the success of many other piano playing female singer-songwriters would disagree.
Not only that, but Evanescence had a male piano player up to this album. He quit because he wanted to do more Christian music and Evanescence was moving away from that. He quit after Fallen and Amy took over piano after.
same thing about my immortal, the label insisted on using an old demo with a midi piano for the album, despite the band really not liking that version
If you’re in a 2000s Rock mood I would certainly love an “Understanding The Diary of Jane” video.
This!
yes please
A whole Breaking Benjamin would be super nice
Yes please!
Diary of Jane is a huge ass bop
No matter how much of a reputation as a "haha edgy cringe metal" song it gets, Bring Me To Life will always unironically slap.
Excellent meme material but definitely not cringy, this song is the shit
The whole album is amazing
@@TheRisingIcarus indeed!
evanescence just slaps in general. sick is one of their best songs imo and ut has the same power of bmtl
I have no idea how THAT got the "edgy cringe metal" label when......ALL OF NU METAL exists
An entire genre of edgy cringe metal and they picked the one poular song that's more distant from it than most
Worth pointing out the sound symbolism of that first guitar/bass intro sounding like an alarm clock. In contrast with the dreamlike symphonic section that preceded it, it reinforces the lyrics about struggling to wake up.
Whao dude, I'd never thought of that before but it makes perfect sense
Nice
Metal songs that start and ends with a piano and strings? I've never heard that before!
* In The End starts playing *
I think there is some encoding error in the video (horizontal stripes)
Blame it on the backup PC (11:52)
Oh thank God, I thought it was me seeing things.
There's gotta be some secret message encoded in there..
They look like miniature sized frames from the video
I thought I was losing my mind
This song is legendary. It pretty much defined a generation of goths, metalheads and other alternative kids while ALSO touching the mainstream.
Love the band, but goths is more about Theatre Of Tragedy, Tristania, Beseech, etc. To be completely fair, Evanescence is nu metal band.
@@bxp_bass Late comment I know, but neither those bands or Evanescence are goth. Gothic metal does not fall under the goth music umbrella ("gothic" is used to describe the vibe rather), and is completely metal instead. The heaviest music "goth" has to offer is deathrock (Christian Death, Specimen) or second-wave goth rock (Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim).
@@bxp_bass Theatre of Tragedy did have one (1) actually goth album (Aégis) but other than that those bands aren't goth either, as much as I love Theatre of Tragedy and Tristania.
On that rhythm stop, here's an arranging trick I heard not too long ago: to make a section feel big, don't make it bigger, make the section before it smaller.
my band director told us something simular about dynamics, that loud sections are only gonna seem loud if the section before it was quiet, so if there was a mezzo piano or quieter section before a forte or louder he would sometimes have us knock that first section down a dynamic. it helped out a lot of kids who had trouble playing quiet in that transition from marching band to concert band
Oasis never heard of this
so.... skip foreplay.
@@plutonium120 I said make it smaller, not omit it altogether. With nothing to compare it to, the thing that's supposed to be exciting is your baseline.
@@notoriouswhitemoth come on playa im just joking.
Whomever was afraid of putting a woman in front of a metal band obviously has never listed to Nightwish.
Or Within Temptation or Epica
my favorite metal singer was ZP theart, and what made him special to me, was his high and clear voice. i noticed that when babymetals young lass of an idol girl sang a song written by that bands guitarist and it just made sense, it cuts through the rich and full instrumentals so well, thats what moved their power metal close to epic metal. the more you get into the epic and classical, the higher the pitch goes, and its probably why old school power metal still used those super gay voices
ikr ? in 2004 nightwish was already making it big but i guess the US market was different
@@italoc1792 nah, just some dumb executives who dont know their audience
Honestly goth metal is best with solo female lead
Thanks for linking to the Synthesis version. Now after years of discounting Evanescence’s music as just something that I liked as a young teenager, I went and listened to My Immortal again and nearly cried lol. The emotions don’t lie when it comes to whether or not certain music does it for us. 😉
The Film Clip for that song is what sold me on it. It is such a good film clip to go with that song.
Listen to the demo version, and you'll see what amy intended it to sound like. th-cam.com/video/fyYXNAPvetI/w-d-xo.html
that song has always been a real tear jerker
i forgot my immortal was an actual song lmao ive mostly heard it in reference to the fanfic
a bit ironic that your computer died while working on this particular video
Now when you emphesize that it makes a lot of sense :D
It was getting into the spirit of things.
...
Yes, that's a ghost pun ._. ❤
I guess you could say that his Patreons helped bring it to life.
Wait that's in the video?! phew I'm relieved, I thought my video card was dying for some reason.
Please tell me it died in the middle of the song and the last vocals heard as it powered off were bring me to lifes chorus lol
Not to mention this is a great song to look at because it is exactly what the 2000s sounded like
more like one band from the 2000s.... the rest of mainstream radio was pretty much garbage
I wouldn't say the entire 2000s sounded like this but certainly the early-mid 2000s did
M Parker MuSiC tHeSe DaYs Is GaRbAgE
This song defines early TH-cam AMVs.
All the edgy naruto sasuke amvs flashed through my mind
Evanescence, Linkin Park, and Breaking Benjamin. Most used anime, videogame, and flash animated music vid songs of all time, and I am damed proud to have witnessed each and every one. o7
As usual, I don't understand half of it, but I keep watching. Every time.
Same.
I was literally *just* recommending a few of my favorite music theory/analysis channels to a reaction-video channel, and said "12tone is super-nerdy and way over my head, and that's a big part of the appeal to me."
man i fucking love being uneducated and proud, makes me different how about you
Imagine English not being ur first language which is my case. It just blew my mind
@@doris4469 I enjoy hearing people talk in languages I don't (or only barely) understand. One of my favorite things about public transportation. For the same reason I enjoy watching this and other channels that discuss concepts that I'm not (or barely) familiar with. It stretches my brain.
12tone: "An electric bass played with what I'm pretty sure is a pick."
davie504: "I'm calling the police"
bass with pick is amazing especially when playing in upper octave of the bass.
69 likes haha funny number
epico
Fun fact: the bass on this track is actually fucking SLAPPED. Listen to the isolated bass track here: th-cam.com/video/w1wiVA9FfM8/w-d-xo.html
Absolutely crazy.
@@TheProJuicers1 jesus christ
10/10 for the Amy doodles. Has she seen this? She needs to see this. Where are the Brazilian fans? Make it happen.
I looooved this album when it first came out! I was in no way a goth, but I loved the contrast between the delicate classical sound and the heavy metal sound. "Juxtaposition" is a good way of putting it.
Evanescence isn't really goth
@@joaovictor3312 Eh, whatever you want to call it, I wasn't it.
Happy belated birthday, Cory! Thanks for making such entertaining musical content, and for entertaining all genres and types of music in doing so.
For anyone who hasn't heard it yet, the cover of this song where Goofy sings it is wonderful.
Pete Magnuson we owe ProZD so much for that gift
Honestly, the fact that the band was forced to add male vocals to an already complete song and still made it sound amazing is just incredible.
I was *way* past my youth when this came out. I recognized it immediately as quality music and for the elements it had in common with some of my favorite music from earlier times. Not in as deeply analytical a way as this here (of course!) but just, how it all worked together resonated with me.
It's always nice to hear someone explain this stuff more analytically, even though I don't understand most of it. Maybe *because* I don't understand most of it. It's always fun to wade in way over my head here.
The people behind this song are musical geniuses. If anyone could recreate a song similar to Bring Me To Life they would never succeed. The surprise you feel, how the instrumental evened out the rough metal in the song so that people won't be scared off, the melody. Just amazing.
You missed an interesting melody on the strings in the rap verse. It's played over both chords the same way, but sounds triumphant over one and uncertain over the other. I was really hoping you'd be able to break that one down because my music theory knowledge is mostly intuitive and I can't put the science to it the way you do 😅
*yes, can anyone explain this please?*
This song IS my middle-school experience. No exaggeration.
That and Linkin Park
Same here.
SAME
in middle school you sang mezzo soprano in counterpoint to a gritty baritone over dramatic lyrics?
Evanescence..... ooooooo yes
From there, Within Temptation
Interesting that these two are touring together next year. Which song of WT would be most fitting? Ice Queen, Stand My Ground, Frozen, Shot In The Dark? The Reckoning?
@@696190 Well, I'm not on the Patreon, so my opinions mean squat XD I'd go with SMG or The Howling
The subtitles for the intro sequence are "tick, tick, tick, tick, tock" but it clearly sounds like "tock, tock, tock, tock, tick"
Hahaha
Omg thats so true!
I graduated high school in 04, I'm right there with you about nu metal and this song in particular giving me the feels. Bring Me To Life was mine and my first real girlfriend's "our song" and thanks to your analysis I can see the correlation to our ill fated relationship haha. Thank you, your content is always solid
"Turning 30 got me reminiscing"
Me: *gasps* Reminiscence
You are helping SOOOOO many amateur musicians with your analyses, it's become practically indispensable. Thank you very much for your efforts.
God, I love this channel. All my favourites analysed. Never binged - watched so obsessively over any channel before!
*This song is my alarm every morning (because "I can't wake up"). But I use the Spinee cover, starting at the chorus because it really wakes me up.*
5:17 I appreciate your use of the Mandelbrot set (a famous fractal, which thus contains itself infinitely ) to illustrate the concept of something self-contained.
Love that you are analyzing this ❤️Amy Lee was my hero growing up and I so relate to your struggle with failing computers, hope you get set up sooner than later. I really enjoyed this video 🙂
Happy birthday!
I know that feeling, I'm approaching 30 years too and I'm noticing that my musical interests from back when I was a teenager are coming back like never before (if you could analyse any song from Blind Guardian that would mean a world to me). Bring me to life was one of the songs that got me started into gothic metal, so it's quite cool to see your analysing it.
It seems that the justaposition of male and female voices was a good idea from the producers, I never knew it wasnt the main idea in the first place.
I failed out of music college. I wish you were my professor. You make music talk make sense.
Where have you been all of my life? Let's take a minute to appreciate the genius of your storytelling used in the video to explain the genius of "bring me to life" - thank you for this incredible job!! 🙏 Highly appreciated sense for details, wow. I'm in awe. All the best from Germany.
Oh god, I remember Freshman Year 2004. My 30th is in a few days, and yeah I remember this song was everywhere. Great as always.
even though I've heard this song a billion times, and even recently... that first bit made every hair on my body perk up and my skin shiver. 🤷🏼♂️ It's just a song that seeps into your heart, curls up there, and smoulders. It's impossible to ignore, and demands action.
I worked with the producer of this record (who also produced the first 12 Stones record which is how Paul McCoy ended being the male vocal on the track. )
I have all kinds of stories from when this was being made. A great record by a very talented band. Working with that producer is how I learned so hearing this record also makes me think of the techniques he showed me. He had a million tricks that we used on smaller records that were done on smaller records but he finally put them all together in the magic way that made this work so well.
The producer was the lead guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe in the early 90's. Great guitarist and songwriter in his own right.
I would love to see a video about Good Enough. Their music is more than what it seems, it’s personal, intimate and so resonating
this feels like the time when i watched first year university physics lectures a year before going to high school without knowing algebra
I find it interesting that you mention classical composition techniques as being a novelty in metal, when theyre really only novel in POP metal. Metal has traditionally been created by musicians with extensive classical training, and that training tends to bleed through. I think Robert Walser was one of the first to write about this in the 90s, so if you want to read up on it, that would be where Id start. (And hes always worth a read anyway, as hes an engaging author.)
But a great video as always! Bring Me To Life was such an important aspect of being a teen in the early 00s, and has had a little too much rug-sweeping, at the risk of contagion from our cringey teen selves. But it is a great song and Im happy to see it get the 12tone treatment. :)
Tegan Sutherland excellent point! That threw me off a little too in the video, as for me classical influences in metal are so common. It was a given to me that if there is a genre that always dabble into classical, it’s metal! With a myriad of successful bands like Nightwish, Epica, After Forever, Within Temptation and others, I found it very surprising that producers would consider it “confusing” to hear her singing over a metal song. But as you mention they are coming from a more mainstream perception.
There is the whole world of symphonic metal, which I would love to be analyzed in his series, but unfortunately I don’t think they would speak to an audience large enough
It was the main song in my squad too! Evanescence and linkin park (but It was middle school for me)
This song was such a huge part of my growing up and I feel really old, now...
I'm *so* glad you mentioned the Synthesis version of the song; the original release holds a special place in my heart but the Synthesis edition is truer to Lee's original vision for the song and is also incredibly gorgeous and my new favorite Evanescence song in general, and I feel that it's important to bring up, however briefly, the circumstances behind the presence of a male vocalist at all on the original release of the track whenever I talk about the song(s)
Evanescence is my fav band and I still listen to them.
Even just last night
1. this song is an absolute masterpiece.
2. your analysis is absolutely brilliant.
Twenty years later, I clearly remember the first time i heard this on the radio while at a gas station late at night. My poor apartment neighbors endured me singing my heart out to the entire album for the next two years, lol
12 minutes of talking Evanescence? umm, YES PLEASE! :-)
"In the original version, McCoy serves an important role." Agree to disagree.
Yeah McCoy served an important role alright......that adding white boy rap vocals to things in the 2000s wasn't always a good idea.
@@miahthorpatrick1013 #momsspaghetti
Fuckin' brutal. 🤣
I also started high school in 2004! Thanks for bringing me back with this song analysis!
I love how you can't tell if it's amazing classical or amazing goth metal
happy birthday and thanks for the music theory vids. thanks to you I know about things like "chormatic mediants, line cliches, functional harmony". As a mathematician/computer programmer who never studied music formally (but sang in choir and plays guitar) I really appreciate the perspective.
Evanescence has some of the most consistently incredible music I've ever heard. I would highly recommend their entire discography, including their new albums.
I love this.
This channel is wonderful. Right up my composition collegiate training.
May your next trip around the sun be a merry one 12Tone. Thanks for keeping me entertained whilst expanding my knowledge. I'm grateful.
Happy birthday 12tone!!! I turned 30 this year as well.
After months of watching this channel I just realized yo are left handed!
Great video! Love this song, and now that I know it exists, I also love the Synthesis version!
Happy Birthday!
I understand only about half of the music theory (mostly because I've had no music training apart from some violin classes ages ago) but I surely get it better because of your clear explanations and illustrations
So yeah, awesome work, I hope you keep at it ^-^
Happy belated birthday! Thanks a lot for taking apart this song! :)
I love you! This channel is amazing! From zelda, to evanescence... so many reference to my favorite things!
I never thought of Evanescence as metal
They do everything from ballads to metal. Can't put them in one genre.
I would love it if you covered something from Nightwish, seeing as you liked Evanescence. The symphonic metal scene keeps going strong, and I think it deserves more attention.
evanescence was never symphonic metal.
ev is an alt band. with some gothic and nu influences
@@lil_weasel219 I am aware, but 12tone said compared their style to it and he is into metal. The band may not be the same genre, but the song Bring me to Life specifically brought many people to Symphonic metal in search for something similar.
@@JazzyBassy well paramore brought some to hardcore punk, but it doesnt make them the same genre
It's the fox! Umm... I didn’t say it was the same genre.
@Brendan Arzeno I dont think you know what classical composer even means...
My god this is so good. So glad to see the recognition for their musicality.
While we're here on 2000s metal, I would love a breakdown of "Be Quiet and Drive" by Deftones and "ATWA" by System of a Down.
Man 2004 I was a Junior/Senior. Saw Evanescence two or three times from '03 to '05. Good times... good times.
inb4 comments from goth gatekeepers saying that Evanescence isn't "TRVE Gothic Metal".
NÖT TRVE CVLT!!!!!!!!!
The best part is that there's literally one already a few comments below this. Gatekeepers gonna gate.
i don't like metal and i have no reason to gatekeep. that said, this is an alt-pop teenager jam.
I'm gonna be the gatekeeper to say that metal and goth are too different subcultures and gothic metal isn't goth at all
Well Gothic metal, yes the band (which btw is my all time favorite band) definitely has its place in Gothic metal. But not Goth music, Goth and metal are two completely different genres and Goth and Gothic are not the same definition. Goth is a type of music that expresses tragedy and the macabre while voices are echoing and the base is cranked up. Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, Suspiria, Switchblade Symphony, Dead Can Dance, The Cure etc. Gothic is originally a term used to describe the way buildings were built back in the medieval and renaissance era especially focused on churches and castles. Later on people began using that term for a type of literature but even the stories were usually describing castles like Bram Stokers Dracula. The only reason the term Gothic was in the story was because Bram was describing the castle in the story. Gothic metal is basically like Symphonic metal but more focused on orchestra than chior depending on the band. Now Evanescence, lyrically some of the songs can be considered Goth as fuck such as Haunted, Imaginary, My Last Breath, Snow White Queen, Hello, Like You, My Immortal, Even in Death, Whisper, Field of Innocence, Never Go Back, lyrically they are Goth af but sound wise not really. Prefallen work I can definitely see being considered Goth but Fallen and on it became Metal/ hard Rock. Goth music is my all time favorite genre but Evanescence is my all time favorite band and I will gladly defend both of them to the bitter core. I understand why people will think Evanescence is a Goth band but in the reality they aren't. Gothic Metal, yes. Goth, no. This is not Gatekeeping this is simply just giving out helpful information. This is not picking sides. I refuse to pick sides between my two favorite things but I will put the right information if need be.
I was never prouder to have been the Evanescence girl in my school.
In the bridge, the bass walks down to an E under the Bm7 chord to set up a substitute V/iv situation, moving back to the Am. At the end of the bridge, the bass moves to the B instead under the Bsus4 to set up a V/i. This is how bass controls so much harmony so effectively.
Happy birthday!
That walk up into the bridge is what I like to call the "Hotel California"
Honestly love your tuff! Also think you'd have a field day with any Nightwish song but especially "Ghost Love Score".
Also started High School in 2004, you nailed it
Hey Cory Happy birthday. Also I noticed a little bit of visual artifacts popping up every now and then across the screen in a line.
Metal is often overlooked and misunderstood. Another band that gets acknowledgment from Amy Lee 's Evanescence is the group, Korn. They have written some fairly complex arrangements in this same metal time period and still do. Have a look sometime, you may find some interesting stuff.
I'm not sure I understand on a technical level bc I know less than nothing about notes and composing and all that, but... I -feel- like I understand, and it's made me look at the song with new eyes (or rather listen with new ears, idk). I also didn't know the song originally didn't have male vocals in it, so I'm really glad Amy got to reclaim her piece with the Synthesis version!
God, this takes me back.
Ha ha, i told you this was a genius song! Take that memes lol
Ive been obsessing over the pure genius of this band more aggressively for like a year now, thanks for actually putting this into technical terms i can actually explain instead of "its just triumphant ok, its like a damn story"
Oh my! Yes, your opening statement
Happy Birthday!
I was i in 2004, my 16 year old cousin was visiting from Florida for the summer (last time I saw her for years) and played my immortal every chance she got. Because I missed her my 8 year old self asked for, got and listened to a metal CD. But the thing is, amys voice is absolutely beautiful and the lyrics are very clean. Its also really interesting how much classical piano stuff they use. I stopped listening to it in my teens because its not my usual taste but heard it again recently and forgot how good it is.
We better get a "Save Me" by Shinedown explanation eventually, it's one of those underrated gems that deserves some due praise
I happy to see this video finally get made (how many times was it in the poll?? :D ). The arrangement of this track (and their others) is quite good. Adding on to the arrangements Amy Lee's vocals makes for a truly amazing song (and albums). Hearing her live is just ... incredible.
i love that your shorthand for rare is a lil technetium symbol
I love the datamoshing effects!
I'm 31 and holy crap, you could not be more right about that song.
>2004 was 15 years ago
Ouch.
2:48 You might even say *snickers* her voice helps bring it to life?
Thank you.
Make an analysis of Jinjer - "Pisces", please )
You should check out a song called The Heraldic Beak of the Manufacturer’s Medallion, by The Sound of Animals Fighting. Not even necessarily to do a video on, but because it’s an amazing example of crazy-ass arranging through a suite.
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Amazing video!!!
Why didn't I know you? You are fantastic!
I was listening to "Alive" by Pearl Jam today and thought it would be a good subject for one of your videos. Lots of surprising harmonic movement.
I completely understand Amy's frustration with being forced to have the male vocals on the track (I always thought it was Moody) I can't imagine the song *without* it. For me, when it first came out, I was thrilled at the mainstream subversion of male-dominated metal with the male voice playing back-up accent. The way that Moody supported her vocally was wonderful on the demo/EP tracks.
save me from the nothing i’ve become
Hey, I just turned 30 too!
Awesome videos. Keep it up!
Would be interested in analyzing anything my Les Claypool? He has such a unique sound I would love to see whats going on underneath his crazy bass work. (Also anything off Infest the Rats Nest by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard)
You deserve a million subscribers