A spokesperson for the band's label confirmed on July 14, 2006 that
bassist Will Boyd had left the band for "not wanting to do another big tour" and wanting "to be close to his family." Amy Lee originally broke the news to the fans in a post on an unofficial Evanescence site, EvBoard.com.
[21] In an interview with MTV, posted on their website on August 10, 2006, Lee announced that
Tim McCord, former
Revolution Smile guitarist, would switch instruments and play bass for the band.
[22]
Evanescence performing at a concert in Brazil in 2007
The album progressed slowly for several reasons, including Amy Lee's desire to maximize the creative process and not rush production, other band members' side projects, guitarist
Terry Balsamo's
stroke, and the loss of their former manager.
[23] Although Lee stated on the fan
forum Evboard that Evanescence's new album would be completed in March 2006,
[24] the release was pushed back allegedly because "Wind-up Records...wanted to make a few changes to the upcoming single "
Call Me When You're Sober", which hit modern rock and alternative rock radio on August 7, 2006. The 13-track album
The Open Door was released in
Canada and the United States on October 3, 2006;
[12] the
United Kingdom on October 2, 2006; and
Australia on September 30, 2006.
[25] The album sold 447,000 copies in the United States in its first week of sales and earned their first #1 ranking on the
Billboard 200 album chart, becoming the 700th #1 album in
Billboard since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956.
[14][26] The music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was shot in Los Angeles and is based on the
fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.
The Open Door became available for pre-order on the
iTunes Store on August 15, 2006; the music video for "Call Me When You're Sober" was also made available.
The tour for
The Open Door began on October 5, 2006 in
Toronto and included locations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during that year. This first tour continued on January 5, 2007 and included stops in Canada (alongside band
Stone Sour), Japan and Australia (alongside band
Shihad) and then returned to the U.S. for a second tour in the spring (alongside bands
Chevelle and
Finger Eleven).
[27][28] As part of their tour, Evanescence performed on April 15, 2007 on the Argentinan festival Quilmes Rock 07 along with
Aerosmith,
Velvet Revolver and other local bands.
[29] They also co-headlined on the
Family Values Tour 2007 along with
Korn and other bands.
[30][31] The group closed their European tour with a sell-out concert at the Amphi in
Ra'anana,
Israel, on June 26, 2007,
[32] and finished the album tour on December 9, 2007.
[33]
John LeCompt, former Evanescence guitarist
On May 4, 2007, John LeCompt announced that he had been fired from Evanescence, and also stated that drummer Rocky Gray had decided to quit.
[34] Wind-up issued a
press release on May 17, 2007, stating that two
Dark New Day members, drummer
Will Hunt and guitarist
Troy McLawhorn, would be joining the band to replace LeCompt and Gray.
[35] It was initially stated that Hunt and McLawhorn would tour with Evanescence until the end of the Family Values Tour in September 2007,
[36] but both continued to play with the band through
The Open Door tour.
[33]
