Evanescence accused of bullying fan to cover up sex abuse

Hackers’ group Anonymous have declared online war on Evanescence in reaction to allegations made about frontwoman Amy Lee in a House of Commons Early Day Motion.

Lee and her manager Andrew Lurie were accused of bullying a fan in order to cover up sex abuse and drug use.

The motion, tabled by John Hemming MP, suggests they engaged in threatening action against fan Sam Smith, who’d uncovered evidence of illegal activity on Evanescence’s EvThread website.

The official document states the pair hired law firm Schillings and through them “threatened Sam Smith with legal action unless he agreed to enter into a contract not to report allegations of criminal activity, including abuse and sexual predation, and illegal drug use.”

It recognises those allegations have not been tried in court, but says “there is evidence to support them” and continues: “Threats of legal action and the consequential threat of legal costs should not be used to prevent wrongdoing being reported to the police.”

Hemming accuses Schillings of behaving in a manner that would be illegal in the US, and calls on the British Government to pass a law making that behaviour illegal in the UK.

The motion has been signed by two other MPs, Mike Hancock and Peter Bottomley. Early Day Motions are unlikely to be debated in the UK Parliament but can carry considerable political weight if signed by a large number of MPs.

Full documentation provided in the House of Commons publication Hansard suggests that some of the cyber-bullying referred to was intended to “procure the suicide of a teenage girl.” Other incidents are said to include the posting of material including “a story about sexual offences against a physically disabled male minor” and “sexual activity with animals. While the record notes none of these actions are themselves illegal, it’s suggested that connected activities are.

Now Anonymous have vowed to take action to pursue Lee and Lurie, and have called on the organisation’s followers to picket concerts on Lee’s upcoming tour.

They say: “Evanescence are touring the UK in November and Anons are asked to picket their concerts in full masked gear.” The group aim to show a presence in at the Manchester Arena on November 6 and Wembley Arena, London, on November 9.

Schillings, Lee and Lurie have not commented on the matter. A spokesman for Lurie’s 110 Management told Classic Rock: “This is an old story and we have no comment to make.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Rock rules

Nothing beats watching an honest-to-goodness rock concert. The latest gig that floored us for its awe-inspiring components was that of Evanescence, held recently at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The show was actually a twin-bill, with British band Bush playing a 10-song set that burned with hot musicianship.

Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale channeled his grunge roots through a no-frills, take-no-prisoners stance, howling out with passion on songs like “All My Life” and “Sound of Winter” (both from the band’s 2011 album “Sea of Memories”), “Greedy Fly” and “Everything Zen.”

The band’s dense guitar sound was a palpable element—with guitarist Chris Traynor flying high with fiery solos and, in several instances, trading licks with Rossdale.

A pleasant surprise came when Rossdale sneaked in some lines from Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,” revealing a fondness for New Wave music.

“I’m on fire,” he growled on “The Afterlife” (another track from “Sea of Memories”), triggering screams from women in the audience. Moments into the song, Rossdale jumped off the stage and walked briskly around the Big Dome, further stoking the fans’ excitement.

We went bonkers over a blistering cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” It had been ages since we last shouted out a song’s lyrics.

We’re glad to note that Rossdale has not lost touch of his artistic gifts, even after Bush split up not too long ago and he formed another band, Institute. The way he looked, sang, played guitar and danced like a young man made it difficult for us to believe that he’s 46. Then again, Mick Jagger is 68 (!), which just confirms our hunch that rock ’n’ roll keeps these guys hale and hearty.

It took a while before Evanescence went onstage, but the minute the band cranked it up, it seemed like the heavens growled with non-stop thunder.

“Hello, hello,” lead singer Amy Lee wailed—her banshee-like voice floating over an onrushing wave of screeching guitars and pounding percussion.

It was hard to decipher the lyrics she was spouting in the succeeding numbers, but the sound was enough to bring smiles to many a star-struck, hard rock fanatic.

It was like hearing the soundtrack of the Apocalypse—except that this wasn’t a horrific scene of doom, but rather a cathartic expression of fears that ends in joy.


Mind-boggling was the way Lee belted out the high notes without letup, even as she conspicuously took a few sips of water after a few songs.

We thought things would cool down when Lee started playing on a baby grand and singing slowly, only to give way to another round of aural assault from the band.

Later on we realized we were listening to a wonderfully crafted sound that melded classical and heavy metal—seemingly disparate genres but whose complex passages and tempo changes virtually share a common ground.

In a fitting climax, the band capped its spellbinding performance with the hits “Bring Me To Life” and “My Immortal,” sending out a clear: Life sucks, but love makes it worthwhile.

source: http://entertainment.inquirer.net/31871/rock-rules