As Evanescence prepared to create what would become Sanctuary, frontwoman Amy Lee made a decision that would have terrified her younger self: she walked into the studio without a plan.
For a songwriter known for meticulously crafting every detail of Evanescence’s sprawling catalog, the blank slate approach represented a creative leap of faith. It also became the catalyst for one of the most ambitious records of the band’s career.
“I always have a bag of ideas,” Lee says. “This time I didn’t. Going in empty-handed was what was different for me.”
The result is Sanctuary, an album that pushes Evanescence further into the cinematic, electronic, and emotionally expansive territory they have flirted with throughout their career while retaining the thunderous hard rock foundation that made them one of the defining bands of the 21st century.
At the center of that evolution was an unlikely creative alliance. While longtime collaborator and acclaimed producer Nick Raskulinecz remained part of the process, Lee also brought in former Bring Me the Horizon architect Jordan Fish and powerhouse producer Zakk Cervini, whose credits span modern rock’s biggest names.
For Lee, the partnership began long before anyone stepped into the studio. After performing alongside Bring Me The Horizon at Download Festival, she walked away convinced there was unfinished business between her and Fish.
“At the end I was like, ‘We’re supposed to work together. Let’s make sure that happens in the future,’” Lee recalls.
A year later, Cervini called with an invitation to experiment in the studio.
“Zach was like, ‘Hey, let’s just get in the studio and try some stuff. I’m gonna bring my friend Jordan Fish.’ And I was like, ‘Perfect, meant to be. I already wanted to do that.’”
What followed was the kind of creative chemistry artists spend entire careers searching for.
“We got in there and it was just magic,” Lee says. “It was just literally like, ‘Yep, this is exactly what we were supposed to do.’ Fast, really good, really fast. Great songwriting, exciting sounds, new energy. Just trying something new and connecting with people on a musical level. It just felt really good. They brought a lot to this album.”
Instead of arriving with completed demos, the sessions became collaborative explorations. Lee, guitarist Troy McLawhorn, Fish, and Cervini gathered around keyboards, guitars, and laptops, building ideas in real time.
“I don’t even remember who started it,” Lee says. “But it just became this perfect round of like, ‘Ooh, I got an idea. Ooh, let me do this on that. Ooh, I got this other idea.’ Just amazing synergy. You know, when it clicks, it clicks.”
That willingness to surrender control may be the defining characteristic of Sanctuary. Lee describes the project as part of an “era of yes,” a period where she has become more open to unexpected opportunities and creative partnerships.
“I feel like I’m getting better at letting the universe work in my life and not always pushing for what I think I want,” she says.
For a band entering its third decade, that openness has produced something rare: reinvention without losing identity. Sanctuary sounds unmistakably like Evanescence, but it also sounds like a band energized by new collaborators, new ideas, and new possibilities.
Most importantly, Lee believes the creative risk paid off.
“With this one,” she says, “I feel like it’s the best music we’ve ever made.”
Watch the full interview with Amy Lee below:
