Evanescence Set To Drop New Album In October

Evanescence are set to return in October with their first album in more than five years, according to frontwoman/mastermind Amy Lee.

In a new interview with Billboard, Lee says that the follow-up to the band's multiplatinum The Open Door is nearly complete — they're putting the finishing touches on it in Nashville — and is scheduled to hit stores on October 4 through the band's longtime label, Wind-up Records.

And, as is the case with seemingly everything Evanescence, there was certainly no shortage of drama surrounding its creation ... including an 18-month hiatus Lee took from the group at the conclusion of the Door touring cycle.

"I just sort of took off and didn't know what I was going to do next and wasn't sure if the Evanescence thing would happen again or when it would," Lee told Billboard. "I ended up falling back in love with Evanescence again and wanted to work with the guys, and it became more of a group project."

After scrapping solo sessions with producer Steve Lillywhite ("That was a hard time for me," Lee says), she was teamed with Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) and began writing new songs with her Evanescence mates, drummer Will Hunt, guitarist Terry Balsamo and bassist Tim McCord. And it was during that collaborative period that the band not only gelled, but the long-delayed album finally began to take shape.

"The process has been much more of a collaboration between the whole band," Lee said. "Usually, it's me and one main co-writer ... this time everybody had something to do with it from the ground up. ... The way everyone is playing strong, it's like we've been playing the songs on tour for a year."

A spokesperson for Wind-up Records confirmed to MTV News that the as-yet-untitled new album is set for an October 4 release, though no other information was available at press time.

Are you excited to hear Evanescence are recording new music? Tell us in the comments!