Evanescence Tour Loses Moody

Evanescence co-founder and guitarist Ben Moody unexpectedly dropped off the band's current European tour. Following an October 21st date in Stockholm, Moody did not join the group for a string of four dates in Germany.

A spokesperson for the goth rock band's label, Wind-Up, would only confirm that "Ben is not currently on the tour," but would not elaborate on why the guitarist is not performing with the band he co-founded with twenty-year-old singer Amy Lee in Little Rock, Arkansas when the pair were in their early teens.

Evanescence is still performing as a quintet, but the spokesperson declined to name Moody's temporary replacement and said he could not comment on whether Moody will rejoin the band when they kick off an upcoming slate of U.S. dates on November 21st with a gig at Rillito Park in Tucson, Arizona. That tour is scheduled to run into mid-December, with the band playing Australia and Japan in January.

England's Rock Sound magazine reported that Moody flew home without speaking to his band mates on a day off during the German dates. Lee told the magazine, "You don't do that to your band. You wouldn't do that to your friends or your family. You don't do that to anyone."

Evanescence has been on a non-stop blitz of U.S. and European tour dates since its multi-platinum major-label debut, Fallen, was released in March. The group was forced to cancel a number of shows in Germany in June when Moody fell ill during a gig in Spain, reportedly suffering from dehydration. The current European dates, which continue this week with a string of performances in England, are the first the band has ever played without Moody.

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Song Stories

“Youth Knows No Pain”

Lykke Li | 2011

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

More Song Stories entries »

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