Former EVANESCENCE Guitarist BEN MOODY Doesn't Rule Out WE ARE THE FALLEN Return: 'We Would All Be Willing To Make It Work'

In a new interview with The Joel Martin Mastery Podcast, former EVANESCENCE guitarist Ben Moody spoke about the status of WE ARE THE FALLEN, the band he launched in 2009 with fellow original EVANESCENCE members John LeCompt (guitar) and Rocky Gray (drums) along with "American Idol" powerhouse vocalist Carly Smithson and current DAUGHTRY bassist Marty O'Brien. Asked if there is any unreleased WE ARE THE FALLEN material that could see the light of day, Ben said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm probably being a little premature here, but fuck it… But Carly just left. Carly was just here [at my house]. Her and her kid, they came down for spring break and we recorded. And we have been fucking with shit.

"We've been in talks [and] threatening to do something since we did that show last [September], when we did the spot with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra" and conductor Eímear Noone for one song at a very special night of Gamesymphonic at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This marked the first live performance by WE ARE THE FALLEN in 14 years.

Moody went on to confirm that there is "unreleased stuff" from WE ARE THE FALLEN that could see the light of day. "There's shit we did even for that [first WE ARE THE FALLEN] record that wasn't released," he said. "Plus there's been ideas since and stuff."

As for the possibility of further WE ARE THE FALLEN recording and touring activity, Ben said: "I refuse to believe that there is nothing in the future for WE ARE THE FALLEN, simply because we didn't break up because of some sort of a band squabble. Everyone involved loves each other very much, has an immense amount of respect for each other.

"There's a lot of things that went on behind the scenes with that, that no one knows about that, that cost and that sort of sucked a lot of life out of it. But we're all very proud of that.

"I'm sorry — I will put that live band up against anyone in existence," Moody continued. "We were at the top of our game, and I have never been a part of touring or anything to that degree that could fucking touch how good we were, how fucking tight we were, how a force of nature we were to contend with live. And I will still stand by that. That was something that was the last sort of victim of a system that should have already been gone, which is the major label bullshit. There's nothing on paper that can give you a decent... Show you the math. It should give you a reason why that wasn't a bigger success than it was, other than it was just so many fucking things dropping the ball that had nothing to do with us. And we put in more than people realize. That cost a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of energy to put together, to keep it secret as long as we did, and to keep it protected, to be able to make the album we wanted to make. And I stand by that album. I love it. I love it, and I love all those people."

After the interviewer noted that there is a great deal of interest in something new from WE ARE THE FALLEN, Ben said: "I'll be honest with you. There are two things right now that are the instant hurdles we have to get over for something to happen. One of them is easier than the other, and one of them is we all are parents and our lives are different now. We want it badly, all of us. One, Marty's kind of busy. Marty's on tour with DAUGHTRY. [Chris] Daughtry's fucking relentless, and he will not fucking take long breaks. We'd have to contend with that, 'cause Marty's with somebody else now. But for the rest of us, we would all be willing to make it work.

"If I'm being honest, a lot of it comes down to me, and it's my fault," Ben admitted. "There's one more surgery [I have to undergo], [and] after that I believe I will have the ability to be able to do this adequately. But when I first started having problems, physically, it coincided with some problems I was dealing with on a mental health issue. And that sort of killed all the momentum we had after the fact. And now, to be honest with you, everyone would say yes. And we've had this discussion. Everyone is on board, and we've wanted to try to work on things multiple times. And there are actually some things that have begun, some ideas that were thrown around. A lot of it comes down to — if I'm being honest, I physically can't play our set, and that could change, and I've worked very hard on that. I gave up working on that a few years ago when other things became more important. In fact, the surgery I'm speaking of, the last time it was scheduled, my father died about 36 hours prior to that surgery, and there was a lot of things going on that week, and I needed something to take a backseat, so I could deal with all that and process that and mourn that and not have it sort of capsize my life at the time. And the thing that was chosen was that surgery, and I haven't rescheduled it. So it's possible, but it is not a lack of desire."

Moody continued: "One thing Carly has always been… She's so aware of and concerned about wanting to give people who showed their support, wanting to give them what they deserve and say 'thank you'. And she's always the one bringing up, 'Listen, fans want this, and they've said this,' and whatever. And it's important to all of us. None of us take it lightly, but it boils down to being on me, if I'm being honest, and it's my fault. And I can only do what I can. I'm trying. But that's just one small portion of sort of what this medical issue has taken.

"Dude, I love WE ARE THE FALLEN," Moody repeated. "I would jump on stage with them tomorrow if I could do it justice. It still could happen. I don't know when. We haven't blown it off. We all talk about it regularly. I have, unfortunately, a couple of things that take priority over that surgery now medically, and I'm doing my best. I mean, I hate it. I hate being subject to that. I hate that having control over so much of my life, but it does. If I try to change it, I just end up hurting myself. I end up furthering injuries. 'Cause I don't know when to quit, and I don't know when to say, 'I can't do this.' That's hard for me to say. 'I cannot do this.' And that's kind of where I'm at. I physically can't play it, which played a huge part in my disappearing from music altogether. I didn't want anybody to know that. I didn't know if it was gonna be permanent. I didn't know what the fuck was going on. All I knew was my body was betraying me, my hands had become this liability, and I didn't want anybody to know. I was embarrassed. So, I just disappeared.

"WE ARE THE FALLEN didn't break up," Ben clarified. "It's just sort of is where it is for now. We love it, though. Everyone involved loves that band. There's no bad blood. I talk to John and Rocky all the time. Carly was just here. Marty texted me yesterday or the day before. Carly and I went to go see him on the road. We're good. That band is not like EVANESCENCE. We all still talk to each other."

Gray did not perform with WE ARE THE FALLEN at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Filling in for him was Miles McPherson, who has previously played with played with Kelly Clarkson, PARAMORE, TONIC and BETTER THAN EZRA.

WE ARE THE FALLEN's debut album, "Tear The World Down" was made available in May 2010 via Universal Republic Records. The LP sold 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart.

WE ARE THE FALLEN made its live debut on in March 2010 at Kings College in London, England. A 28-city U.S. tour as the support act for HIM launched later that month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and wrapped in May 2010 in New York City.

Sixteen years ago, Moody explained why he formed an EVANESCENCE soundalike band after his exit from the Amy Lee-fronted group. He wrote in a lengthy statement posted online that "contrary to almost every EVANESCENCE fan's opinion… what we were looking for was NOT an Amy Lee lookalike. Nor was it someone who would wear Amy Lee's clothes, or try to sing like Amy Lee. I hate to break it to you, but this is about five people who love to make music together. Does [WE ARE THE FALLEN's debut album] 'Tear The World Down' have many stylistic similarities to [EVANESCENCE's debut album] 'Fallen'? Sure. You want to hear me do something different? How about the songs I wrote on both DAUGHTRY records. Or Kelly Clarkson. Or Avril Lavigne. Celine Dion. HALESTORM. Hana Pestle… Hell… I even have country releases. My solo record is as far from EVANESCENCE as it gets, which has a lot to do with why about 12 people own it. I made EVANESCENCE music to leave a mark on this world. Everything else I do, I do for me.

"I LOVE playing in WE ARE THE FALLEN… I WAS the guitar player in EVANESCENCE. If I appear to be reminiscent in style, its because it's written and performed by the very same damn people. It's not rocket science… it's plain and simple. Rocky, John and I playing together just doesn't come out any other way. Accusing me of ripping off myself is just silly."

In January 2011, WE ARE THE FALLEN played a special show at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, California. The concert, dubbed "Cirque Des Damnés" (English translation: "Circus Of The Damned"),was previously described by Moody as "a carnival-style event thrown into the unpredictability of a rock and roll show — bigger than we've ever done before." The performance, which was filmed for a DVD, featured "aerial acts and old-school freakshow freaks," and a burlesque show.