Evanescence guitarist Jen Majura is working on her second solo album, “InZENity”. The disc, which is tentatively due in early 2018, will feature guest appearances by Mattias IA Eklundh (Freak Kitchen), Jeff Waters (Annihalotor) and Alex Skolnick (Testament).
Said Jen: “With all the Evanescence touring and recording the new project album “Synthesis”, I am overwhelmingly happy that I have managed to be in the studio with my second album in August this year — to record my own and very Jen-like album! Creating music followed by recording an album is a very emotional special thing and I am really looking forward to it.”
Majura has launched am Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for “InZENity” where fans have a chance to “get the most personal items that had toured with me the last trillion years all over the world,” she said.
Jen‘s self-titled debut solo album was released in 2014. It was recorded at Gernhart Studios in Germany with producers Dennis Hormes and Martin Buchwalter (Perzonal War) and it featured guest appearances by Tobias Kersting from Orden Ogan, Manni Schmidt from Refuge, and Marco Wriedt from 21 Octayne.
Earlier this year, Majura spoke to Greece’s Rock Overdose about what it has been like to join Evanescence in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo. She said: “[To be] honest, I’ve never been, like, one of those insane Evanescence fans. Of course, I knew the music — everybody does — and I love the music, and I bought the CDs, and I listened to the songs, and I sang along… But being able, and thankful for being able, to be one part of this band is… It’s hard to describe it in words, because… I do not see it as a job. Of course it’s work, but, for me, mainly, after I got to know all the guys really [well], [it’s] mainly fun, because we really get along very good. Even if we’re not on the road touring, we keep texting each other and talk on Skype and stuff, and it’s really a very, very mature, friendly relationship that we have, with a lot of respect for each other. And playing those shows… One can never understand the feeling f how it is to stand on stage together with those guys, because they’re just so talented, creative, great musicians, and we’re just having so much fun on stage, andI think the people can see that. It has nothing to do with, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta work now?’, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta deliver music?’ It’s more like, ‘Come on! Let’s do a rock show and have fun and have a great time!’ And I really appreciate that, because this is something that is not happening within every band. I know bands [where] hardly the singer talks to the guitar player, and they have different hotels, and so many issues and stuff and… I was looking for a band my entire life where I can say that everybody is friends, everybody is honest, everybody is talented and working on the same thing, which always should be… Do a really cool rock show, enjoy yourself and make fans happy. And I think that is something I found in Evanescence, because… it’s just cool! [Laughs]”
Due this fall, Evanescence‘s new album, “Synthesis”, will reimagine some of the band’s past catalog with full orchestration and electronic backing.
Evanescence has released a reworking of its debut single and global hit, ‘Bring Me To Life’. The reworked version of the song strips out the big distorted guitars and rock drums, replacing them with full orchestration in a completely synthetic world of beats and sounds, with help from arranger and composer David Campbell. The song can be streamed here.