Evanescence by Evanescence and Theseus' Paradox

Before buying Evanescence’s new self-titled album, I decided to check out the early customer reviews on Amazon. One reviewer raised the question of whether the album can really be considered an Evanescence album since the only original member of the band who appears on it is Amy Lee. I found the reviewer’s question, rhetorical and casual as it was, to be an interesting, if not difficult, one and immediately thought of Theseus’ paradox.

The ship of the Greek hero Theseus, Plutarch tells us in The Life of Theseus, was preserved by the Athenians for generations. Over time, the planks were replaced as they aged and decayed. The question then arose among philosophers whether it was really the same ship anymore. Suppose every last bit of it were replaced at some time or another. If not a single piece of the original ship remains, is it still Theseus’ ship?

Most of us today would say no, it is a replica of the ship of Theseus. However, let us reimagine the paradox. Suppose Theseus is still alive to sail his ship with those under his command. As the years pass and the adventures stack up, parts of the ship grow old or are damaged and must be replaced until no original piece of the ship remains. Is this still Theseus’ ship? 

Obviously, yes. In the same way, Evanescence is still Evanescence by virtue of Amy Lee, who as founding member, constant presence, guiding force and frontwoman, defines the band.

Other music groups have been able to weather massive shakeups because one or more members remain at the helm, preserving the group’s name despite changing members and musical styles. Whitesnake is still going strong under David Coverdale’s leadership--and ownership, of the band’s name--despite regular lineup changes. Billy Corgan reformed The Smashing Pumpkins for 2007’s Zeitgeist with all-new bandmates, and there have been more changes since.

“But,” you may say, “that isn’t really The Smashing Pumpkins,” which raises an interesting point: Sometimes we aren’t prepared to accept the new entity under the same name. 

Personally, as much as I admire Jimmy Chamberlain’s drumming and saw D’arcy and James Iha has important elements of the image of The Smashing Pumpkins during its rise to fame and zenith, I don’t mind recognizing anything Billy Corgan wants to call The Smashing Pumpkins as The Smashing Pumpkins. But something in me refuses to accept the band now calling itself Dream Theater as truly deserving the name. I accepted the earlier changes in keyboardists, but drummer Mike Portnoy was one of Dream Theater’s Amy Lees, the others being John Petrucci and James LaBrie. Without him, something of the essence of the band has been lost. Others may feel differently.

Evanescence is, in my opinion, the solidest of the group’s three studio albums. Whereas the previous two established a new sound and had amazing standout tracks, the other tracks tended to be stiff and just fill in space. The new album has fewer filler tracks and demonstrates a liveliness and groove that the previous albums lacked. For this reason, some of the other reviewers on Amazon feel that the band has drifted away from its alternative and Goth roots toward commercial pop, but many others, like me, hear something slightly different from what is the same band.