Evanescence

Bands release live albums and concert DVDs for two reasons: to buy time to finish their next record, and to make a quick buck off adoring fans, in Evanescence's case the legions of angst-ridden, Hot Topic-loving teens with a penchant for combat boots and black eyeliner. Kids, keep the chain wallet in your pants for this one. Recorded during the group's sold-out European tour, the CD includes 13 unremarkable live cuts, plus a previously unreleased studio recording ("Missing"). While Amy Lee's voice is a little too impassioned for my taste, the live album proves the chick's got pipes and knows how to use 'em, unlike some pop stars we know. The DVD's concert sequence is cheesy at worst and boring at best; the bloopers aren't funny, and the behind-the-scenes footage -- mostly of ass cracks and pre-show Jell-O shots -- is plain embarrassing. Though some of us wish Evanescence would, well, evanesce already, if the 15,000 screaming fans singing every word on this disc are any indication, Lee and company ain't going anywhere anytime soon.