AMY LEE Cites Guitarist's Impact On New EVANESCENCE Album

Launch Radio Networks reports: EVANESCENCE got a shock last November when guitarist Terry Balsamo suffered a stroke during the recording sessions for the band's upcoming album, "The Open Door". Singer Amy Lee told Launch that Balsamo has played an integral role in the group ever since joining three years ago. "I don't think this record would sound like it does if it wasn't for Terry," she said. "We just play off each other really well. I trusted him already, and we really connect and like each other as friends a lot. I felt like we're really alike in the first place, so I wasn't trying to be somebody in order to play with him. Writing was easy, and in addition, like, as a writer and as a collaborator, he's just really creative, like, it felt like we were creating a whole new sound."

Balsamo continues to recuperate from his stroke. He is able to play and will tour with the band, but Lee told Launch that the guitarist's recovery is still a "step-by-step process."

The former COLD axeman joined EVANESCENCE in the fall of 2003 as a replacement for founding guitarist Ben Moody.

"The Open Door" arrives on October 3. The disc follows the band's 2003 major label debut, "Fallen", which has sold more than six million copies in the U.S. The first single is "Call Me When You're Sober".

The group recently recruited THE REVOLUTION SMILE bassist Tim McCord to replace Will Boyd, who left earlier this summer.

EVANESCENCE will hit the road for a 17-date tour beginning on October 5 in Toronto, with a larger-scale trek expected to follow.