Written by: Amy Lee, Benjamin Moody, David Hodges
Produced by: Dave Fortman
Release date: April 7, 2003
Genre: Nu metal, gothic metal, rap rock, alternative rock, hard rock
Running time: 3:56 (album version)
“Bring Me to Life” is a song by American rock band Evanescence, recorded for their debut studio album, Fallen (2003). Wind-up released it as the lead single from the album on April 7, 2003. The track was written by group members Amy Lee, Ben Moody, and David Hodges and produced by Dave Fortman. It also features uncredited guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. “Bring Me to Life” is a nu metal, rap rock, hard rock and alternative rock song. According to Lee, “Bring Me to Life” has several meanings and inspirations; its subjects are an incident in a restaurant, open-mindedness, and waking up to the things which are missing in the protagonist’s life. Lee later revealed that the song was inspired by her long-time friend and husband Josh Hartzler.
Critical response to the song was mostly positive, with critics praising the melody of the song, Lee’s vocals and their accompaniment by McCoy. The song remains one of the band’s signature songs. Following the inclusion of “Bring Me to Life” on the Daredevil soundtrack the song became a commercial and critical success, topping the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and Italy. It charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries including the United States, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand. “Bring Me to Life” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and twice platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The lyrics of the song were interpreted by some as a call for new life in Jesus Christ, which helped the song to chart on the Christian rock charts, despite it not being the songwriters’ intention.
The band won in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards where the song was also nominated for Best Rock Song. The accompanying music video was directed by Philipp Stölzl; it shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her bedroom. “Bring Me to Life” was part of the set list during the Fallen and The Open Door Tour. Many artists recorded cover versions of the song, including the classical singer Katherine Jenkins and American pianist, John Tesh. The song was also used on several television shows.
