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Twenty years after The Open Door debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard200, Craft Recordings celebrates Evanescence‘s landmark 2006 album with a newly remastered and expanded anniversary Deluxe Edition, arriving November 6 on 2-LP, CD, and digital formats. Alongside the original album, the collection brings together three fan-favorite rarities from The Open Door era—“If You Don’t Mind,” “Together Again,” and “The Last Song I’m Wasting On You”—plus a never-before-released demo of “Good Enough,” offering an intimate glimpse into the early development of one of the album’s most beloved songs.

Alongside the black vinyl release, the 2-LP set, housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket, will be available in a range of limited-edition color pressings through the Evanescence Store (Midnight Nebula), Craft Recordings (Metallic Blue), Barnes & Noble (Sea Glass), Books-A-Million (Ghost Blend), Revolver (Mercury Blend), Indie Record Stores (Opaque Ivory), and select International retailers (Translucent Cobalt). All formats are available to pre-order and/or pre-save here.

Frontwoman Amy Lee says: “The Open Door was such an important time for me, pushing boundaries and feeding my desire to experiment and grow. I wanted to connect on a deeper level, and fought for a future for the music I loved. It was beyond worth it. The fact that it resonates with so many people 20 years later means so much to me.”

When Evanescence emerged in the early 2000s, their debut album Fallen became a global phenomenon, earning two Grammy Awards and establishing the band as one of the defining rock acts of the decade. Released on September 25, 2006, The Open Door arrived with enormous expectations—and found Evanescence pushing decisively beyond the sound of their debut. With Amy Lee taking greater creative control, the album expanded the band’s musical vocabulary through sweeping orchestration, electronic textures, choral arrangements, and piano-rich compositions, setting Lee‘s unmistakable voice against music that could move from crushingly heavy to starkly intimate. The result was an album that felt unmistakably like Evanescence while opening up entirely new possibilities for the band.

Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, The Open Door sold more than 447,000 copies in its first week and topped charts around the world while landing in the Top 5 across more than 15 countries. Lead single “Call Me When You’re Sober” became a Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit, while the piano-led “Lithium” emerged as an enduring fan favorite and live staple. “Sweet Sacrifice,” which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, captured the album at its most ferocious, while closing track “Good Enough” revealed its other extreme: a sparse, piano-driven performance centered on Lee‘s voice.

Two decades later, The Open Door continues to find new audiences. “Sweet Sacrifice” has recently experienced a resurgence on TikTok, where a new generation of listeners has embraced the track, adding another chapter to an album whose appeal has extended well beyond its original release.

The anniversary edition arrives amid a busy chapter for Evanescence. Following the June 2026 release of Sanctuary, their sixth studio album, the band embarked on an extensive world tour, with dates across North America, the UK and Europe, followed by upcoming shows in Asia and a run through Australia and New Zealand in early 2027. The 12-track Sanctuary includes “Who Will You Follow” and the No. 1 rock hit “Afterlife,” originally released for Netflix’s Devil May Cry, and follows a run of collaborations with K.Flay, Halsey, Poppy and Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante. As Evanescence continues to move forward, The Open Door (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) offers a chance to revisit the album that first demonstrated just how far the band’s sound could reach. For the latest tour listings and ticket information, visit here.

The post EVANESCENCE Celebrates 20 Years Of “The Open Door” With Expanded Deluxe Anniversary Edition Includeing Four Bonus Tracks appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Ever since getting excited about meeting the band at a record signing for Rust in Peace back in 1990, I have followed Dave Mustaine’s up and down life and career – something that’s been easy enough to do as Mustaine is remarkably open (some would say overly so!). When his first autobiography, A Life in … Continue reading Book Review: Dave Mustaine – In My Darkest Hour

The other week, Santa Monica’s Ocean Way Festival was canceled due to beach erosion. Now, the first day of Maryland’s Oceans Calling Festival has been canceled for similar reasons.

The post Oceans Calling Cancels Tomorrow’s Sets appeared first on Stereogum.

Clocking in at 2 hours and 38 minutes.

The post Trailer And Track Listing Revealed For ‘Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning’ Film appeared first on Theprp.com.

ATOMIC ROOSTER have been announced for Time to Rock Festival 2027, taking place on July 9–12 at Knislinge Folkets Park in Knislinge, Sweden. The British band join the festival’s growing lineup, with their individual performance date yet to be specified in the announcement. Formed in 1969, ATOMIC ROOSTER developed a distinctive sound around Vincent Crane’s […]

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Hey, Cameron Winter! I was just talking about that guy! I saw Geese play Richmond’s Iron Blossom Festival on Sunday, and that got me reflecting on the nature of hype. Meanwhile, frontman Winter recently discussed the psyop allegations in a Rolling Stone cover story, and his Paul Thomas Anderson-directed concert film will soon start screening. (There’s an accompanying live album, too.) On Tuesday night, Winter also casually debuted a couple of new songs at a secret solo-piano show in New Orleans.

The post Cameron Winter Debuts New Songs At Secret New Orleans Show appeared first on Stereogum.

In the summer of 1991, as America celebrated Independence Day, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan drove the 150 miles from his Chicago hometown to Madison, Wisconsin, to spend the day with his friend Butch Vig. The two men had first met in Madison’s Smart studios the previous summer, when Sub Pop records co-founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman asked the producer – who’d made a name for himself on the US underground scene via his work with Touch and Go records artists Killdozer, Die Kreuzen and The Laughing Hyenas – to record two Pumpkins songs (Tristessa and La Dolly Vita) for release on their label in December 1990.

In the studio, Corgan and Vig developed a mutual respect which later blossomed into friendship over the 30 intense working days they devoted to the recording of Smashing Pumpkins’ debut album Gish during the winter of 1990/’91. It was during these sessions that the producer was asked if he’d be interested in working on Nirvana’s second album, and major label debut, the Aberdeen, Washington trio having parted company with Sub Pop since demoing tracks for the record at Smart Studios in April in 1990.

Vig met with the band for pre-production in Los Angeles at the end of April ’91, Geffen having booked four weeks at Sound City studio from May 2 – 28. Before the sessions for what became Nevermind, Kurt Cobain gave Vig just one direction: “I want to sound heavy.”

Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins)

“So the sun’s going down, it’s a beautiful Wisconsin summer night, and Butch is like, ‘Hey, you guys wanna hear the new Nirvana?’ And he brings out a boombox. And at that point, how many people had heard …Teen Spirit? Probably under 10 or 20.”

“When the song kicked in, I said, You ripped off my guitar sound motherfucker! [But] I’m not trying to take credit, Kurt was easily the most talented person in our class… I don’t know know how long …Teen Spirit is – four minutes? – but by the time you get to the end of the four minutes, you’re like, Okay, that’s a classic.

“It was obvious then and it’s obvious now, Nevermind was a once in a generational record.”

“It was obvious then and it’s obvious now, Nevermind was a once in a generational record

Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins

Dave Grohl (Nirvana)

“I thought In Bloom was going to be the ‘smash hit’ off the record, or Lithium. I thought Smells Like Teen Spirit was just another album cut. We recorded it pretty quickly, and I think it was one of Butch Vig’s favourites, and it soon became pretty clear that it would be the special song on the record. But, of course, at that point we didn’t think anything was going to happen with the record.

“I thought Teen Spirit might get on [MTV’s] 120 Minutes and allow us to tour with Sonic Youth, but no one thought it was a hit single because [that] was just unimaginable.”

Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age)

“My band Kyuss was on tour, and I remember seeing the video on MTV at 3 a.m. in a hotel room. I was saying, ‘Man, this is so good, everyone should be into this music but they’re not going to be, it’s not going to get played because it’s too good.’ About a week later I realised how wrong I was …’

Chris Cornell, Soundgarden

“I think one of the biggest reasons why a band like Nirvana appealed to such a broad audience was the fact that you went from seeing a video of a band like Whitesnake, where you have the singer’s model wife doing a striptease act on the hood of a Jaguar, and basically all of these rock bands presenting themselves as having a lifestyle that you will never have. That’s very special. It’s very exclusive.

“And then you see a video with a band like Nirvana, where the band essentially looked like everyone and their friends at high school, and it was proof that anyone can do it: you don’t have to look a particular way. You can just be who you are, make great music, and it will appeal to people.”

Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)

“I wasn’t the biggest Nirvana fan in the world. I have since realized that part of my negativity toward them was probably jealousy. Even after I realized they were a good band, there was no getting away from them. They were everywhere-on the radio, on MTV, in the papers…”

“When you heard the first notes of the Nirvana record you just knew that it was absolutely going to change something.

Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam

Melissa auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins)

“When I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit in the club where I worked as a ticket girl, it wasn’t the melody only, or the lyrics, it was the whole package. The magic that Butch Vig captured for that band, with that tape machine, and those tube amps, and mics, just had more shine to it. And the song itself captured a zeitgeist moment. Kurt captured our generation in spirit, somehow. Music is a magic potion, and you never know when you will strike the chord of an entire generation, but he did that.

“When I first heard it, it was like, Here we go, generation, here we go! The ’90s have arrived boldly. The new sound was born through that song. And when I got an advanced cassette of the album, I just played it all day at the bar where I worked, and I’d tell people, You don’t understand, life as we know it is going to change. Don’t you see? It’s over. Life is never going to be the same.”

Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam)

“When you heard the first notes of the Nirvana record you just knew, you could just tell, that it was absolutely going to change something. It was so obvious that it was the perfect balance of totally straight rock, blues and punk rock. And sonically it had nothing to do with Mötley Crüe, which was so refreshing: as much as I loved the first Mötley Crüe record, I was ready for something new.’

Additional sources: The LA Times (Reznor), Rick Beato, Scott Lipps (Corgan), Templo of Chris Cornell (Cornell)

New album arrives in November and features a collaboration with Dolly Parton. Continue reading…

KAVRILA have released “Detention,” the second single and video from their forthcoming album, Transcend. Following the earlier preview “Exhume,” the track arrives ahead of the album’s November 6, 2026 release through Supreme Chaos Records. The band describe their sound as doom punk, a foundation that remains central to Transcend. According to the album announcement, the […]

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Released in 1986, Orgasmatron featured the line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel and
Pete Gill. It marked a new chapter for the band, pushing further into heavier territory while retaining the speed, aggression and raw energy that had defined Motörhead from the beginning.

The album’s production was the subject of much discussion among the band and their fans, but beneath it was a formidable collection of songs. “Orgasmatron”, “Deaf Forever” and “Built For Speed” became key parts of the Motörhead live repertoire, while the album’s combination of hard rock, heavy metal and punk influences gave it a character all of its own. Four decades on, Orgasmatron has taken its place as one of the most distinctive and respected records in the Motörhead catalogue.

Now, 40 years after its original release, Orgasmatron is revisited in a new anniversary edition that explores both the album itself and the story behind its creation. The original studio recordings have been remastered for the anniversary and cut at half speed from the original tapes, while longtime Motörhead collaborator Cameron Webb has created a brand-new remix and remaster from the original stems.

The Motörhead team explain: “Orgasmatron is a special album. Part of that is down to the stylized production of Bill Laswell, who approached the work from a unique perspective. Bill’s work stands in its own right as something special in the Motörhead library, and Orgasmatron stands as one hell of an album. However, there was some controversy in the sense that both Lemmy and Phil Campbell felt that some of the power, bite and energy had been lost in Laswell’s final delivery.

“As old-school Motörhead fans, we found ourselves sitting around the coffee table one night several months ago, drinks in hand, pondering what Orgasmatron would sound like if it were to be remixed by Motörhead’s longtime producer, Cameron Webb. Cameron helmed six studio albums, and it’s fair to say he had the trust, love — and grumbles too! — of Lem, Phil and Mikkey. Would it be ‘right’ to ask him if he wanted a crack at remixing Orgasmatron? Would it be disrespecting the original album if we were to offer such a thing alongside Bill’s original work? We concluded a big fat ‘no’! It would be an added adventure if people wanted to take it. So we asked Cameron if he was up for it. And he screamed a rather enthusiastic ‘yes’!”

For Cameron, the opportunity was particularly personal: “My brother introduced me to Orgasmatron when I was 14 years old. I heard the song and thought, ‘Is this even music?’ It was like the devil coming through my cassette tape. And I loved it. That record and Rock ’N’ Roll were my Motörhead records, so being asked to work on this is incredibly special to me. I honestly don’t know anyone in the world who would be more excited than me to do it.”

At the same time, Webb was keen to preserve the character of the original recording and acknowledge the work of producer Bill Laswell and engineer Jason Corsaro: “I love the fact that the original is wild and a little messy. I wanted to be respectful to what Jason Corsaro and Bill Laswell created, rather than simply trying to make it sound like a modern heavy metal record. When we opened up the original 24-track tapes, you could really hear how creative they were with the sounds, particularly the drums. There’s so much character in that recording, and I wanted to preserve that.”

With the original mix in mind, Webb also approached the remix by considering what Lemmy and Phil might have wanted to hear: “Lemmy and Phil both said they didn’t like the original mix, so I thought about what they might have asked me to do if they were sitting next to me. I tried to channel what I knew about them and their approach to recording — bringing out the bass here, defining the guitars there — while still respecting what was already there. The aim was never to replace the original, but to reveal more of what was inside it.”

The Orgasmatron 40th Anniversary Edition will be available as a deluxe 3LP bookpack and 2CD, featuring the remastered original mix, the Cameron Webb Remix, additional studio rehearsals and outtakes recorded in 1985, and the complete BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show session from 1986, capturing the band during the Orgasmatron era. The 40th anniversary edition is also available as a 1LP pressing on transparent violet vinyl, featuring the original studio album.

The post MOTÖRHEAD Proudly Announce The 40th Anniversary Edition Of “Orgasmatron” Featuring A Brand-New Remix & The Remastered Original Recording appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.