Evanescence is back with their self-titled third official studio release.

Their first single, “What You Want,” is No. 15 on Billboard’s rock charts and the style of the song sets the tone for the album.

Nearly the whole album is more fast-paced than what’s typical of Evanescence, which is partly disappointing for the die-hard fans that were looking forward to the next Amy Lee piano ballad. However, the rise in the tempo could be a refreshing change for fans who don’t want to hear yet another Lee piano ballad.

Evanescence satisfies the latter with their first release in five years. While most of the songs are the band’s experiments to see what else they’re capable of, there are a few ballads thrown into the mix.

“Lost in Paradise” channels the classic Evanescence song, “My Immortal,” but is revamped with the same energy that went into the faster-paced songs on the rest of the album. The song starts simply with Lee and her piano and then grows to include the full band in a power ballad at the end. This is easily the best track on the album.

“The Change,” “Oceans,” and “End of Dream” are all the typical Evanescence sound that should have been left on their previous albums, but for some reason has been carried onto this one. “Disappear,” one of the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition, takes that typical Evanescence sound and mixes it with the new sound of the album, but just isn’t up to the standard of the band’s hits that made them lovable in the first place.

One song that does succeed in taking the classic and new sounds of the band and meshing them together is “Erase This.” While it’s not the most gripping song on the album, it is definitely catchy and is one song that may deserve another listen.

Some of the songs on this album seem like they were cut from the final versions of some of the band’s previous work. “My Heart is Broken” would have sounded better on “The Open Door,” while “Secret Door” sounds like a sister track to “Missing” on the band’s live album, “Anywhere but Home.”

While the album as a whole is decent, it isn’t anything special. It sounds like the band recycled old songs and didn’t write anything new to keep returning fans interested. The album is stale and one to keep on the shelves.

Grade: D+