Amy Lee Names ’90s Soundtrack Song That Inspired Evanescence

Music soundtracks were big in the ’90s, and as it turns out Amy Lee began to formulate the sound of Evanescence after finding inspiration in one of the decade’s biggest soundtrack hits.

Evanescence formed in 1994 when Amy Lee was just a teenager, but their first major album didn’t arrive until nearly a decade later with 2003’s Fallen. As the teen years were a formative time for Lee, she reflected with Abe Kanan on the Audacy Check In about their shared love of ’90s soundtracks. It was then that Lee revealed one major ’90s soundtrack song that played. a role in developing the sound she wanted for her band.

What ’90s Soundtrack Song Helped Shape Evanescence’s Sound?

As Kanan and Lee reflected on being the same age and growing up in a period where movie soundtracks were major players in the new music world, Kanan dropped Singles and the Batman Forever soundtracks being amongst his favorites. That led Amy Lee to share a favorite of her own.

“City of Angels was where that Alanis Morissette ‘Uninvited’ song happened,” shared Lee.

“It was kind of like huuuuuge to me,” she shared in a more animated manner. “It kind of was like one of those things where I had the idea, kind of, for our band. Like cinematic strings and stuff but like rock, contemporary. All that crossbreeding was so beautiful and epic, dark.”

Lee also threw in a shout out to The Crow soundtrack as well.

Evanescence’s Amy Lee Guests on the Audacy Check-In

About the City of Angels Soundtrack and “Uninvited”

City of Angels was a 1998 film starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. While the film was a success at the box office, the soundtrack may have eclipsed the movie in terms of popularity.

“Uninvited” was the lead single from the movie’s soundtrack and it was notable as the first offering from Alanis Morissette after the humongous success of her mid-90s smash album Jagged Little Pill.

READ MORE: The Best Rock + Metal Soundtrack for Each Year of the 1990s

Morissette wrote the song and co-produced it with Rob Cavallo. Starting with a subtle four piano notes, the track continues to build in intensity with an epic and haunting string backing leading into a major instrumental climax before its more intimate conclusion.

The song was never issued as a single, but it did reach No. 26 for Alternative Airplay.

The City of Angels soundtrack also yielded another smash hit in the Goo Goo Dolls’ chart-topper “Iris,” as well as U2’s “If God Will Send His Angels” and Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” as charting songs.

The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart and has been certified five times platinum in the U.S.

Alanis Morissette, “Uninvited”

Evanescence are currently building up to a potential soundtrack smash of their own. The song “Afterlife” is set to arrive this Friday (March 28) from the soundtrack of the Netflix animated series Devil May Cry.