Sweet Sacrifice
Encyclopedia
"Sweet Sacrifice" is a song by American rock
band Evanescence
. It was released on May 25, 2007, as the third single from their second studio album, The Open Door
. It was written by Amy Lee
and Terry Balsamo
while the production was handled by Dave Fortman
. "All That I'm Living For" was initially planned to be the third single, as announced at live concerts and online. However, due to requests from the band and fan reaction, Wind-up
reconsidered its release and announced that "Sweet Sacrifice" would be the band's third single from The Open Door. Evanescence's lead singer Amy Lee wrote the song about the abusive relationship that inspired all of the songs on the group's debut record Fallen
(2003).
"Sweet Sacrifice" is a rock song written in a moderate tempo
. Several critics found a metaphor
to Evanescences former guitarist Ben Moody
in the song. Upon its release, "Sweet Sacrifice" received mostly positive reviews by critics; many deemed the song as a highlight on the album and praised Lee's vocals, which some described as "haunting". Although the song failed to chart as highly as the band's previous singles, it appeared on the charts in Turkey and Germany, as well as the Billboard
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Sweet Sacrifice" was nominated in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance
at the 50th Grammy Awards
. A music video
for the song, directed by Paul R. Brown, was filmed in California between March 9 and March 10, 2007; It contained mostly live performances and was compared with the film, The Cell
(2000). "Sweet Sacrifice" was also added on the set-list on Evanescence's The Open Door Tour.
and Terry Balsamo
while the production was handled by Dave Fortman
. It was recorded in Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, mixed by Dave Fortman at Ocean Way Studios
, Los Angeles and mastered by Ted Jensen
at Sterling Sound, New York. The programming was done by DJ Lethal
. Talking about The Open Door, Lee said that lot of people expected the new songs on the album to be similar with "My Immortal
" (2003) before adding that "'Weight of the World', 'Sweet Sacrifice' and 'All That I'm Living For' are so amazing to me because of the adrenaline. Especially when we play them live." She further revealed the inspiration behind the song,
The band announced at live concerts and online that their upcoming third single from The Open Door
would be "All That I'm Living For," however, due to requests from the band and fan reaction, Wind-up
announced that "Sweet Sacrifice" would be the band's third single from The Open Door. The original single was released in Germany
on May 25, 2007, featuring a basic and premium version. Elsewhere, it was scheduled for a release on May 8, 2007 through Amazon.com
but it was later canceled.
, alternative metal
, post-grunge
and gothic metal song, set in common time
and performed in moderate tempo
of 96 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F# minor
and Lee's vocals for the song range from the musical note of A#3
to G5
. According to IGNs Ed Thompson, Lee sings the lines "It's true we're all a little insane/But it's so clear now that I'm unchained", with her "haunting vocals". Some critics found dark lyrics like "I dream in darkness, I sleep to die, erase the silence, erase my life, our burning ashes darken the day, a world of nothingness, blow me away" accompanied with "rumbling guitars" and a string section. A writer for the website Sputnikmusic
found similarities between the songs on Fallen and "Sweet Sacrifice". The main theme for the song is getting over from an abusive relationship. Jordan Reimer of The Daily Princetonian
concluded that Lee sings the lines "You know you live to break me" and "Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?" to Evanescence's past guitarist Ben Moody
. That was somehow echoed by Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
who said that the lyrics "One day I'm gonna forget your name/And one sweet day, you're gonna drown in my lost pain" are aimed at Moody .
, put the song on his list of of Top Tracks on The Open Door alongside with "Lacrymosa
", "Call Me When You're Sober
", "Your Star" and "Good Enough
". In his review of The Open Door, Ed Thompson of IGN
, highlighted the song as the "best track" on the album and put it on his list "Definitely Download". The Washington Post
s Richard Harrington wrote that "There's no shortage of soaring, dynamic rockers on 'The Open Door,' including 'Sweet Sacrifice,'" among others. Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend
concluded that "Call Me When You're Sober
and "Sweet Sacrifice" were the only "radio-friendly" songs on the album before adding that "those are the only songs that don't excruciatingly wane after a minute."
Sara Berry of St. Louis Post-Dispatch
wrote "the CD's opening track, 'Sweet Sacrifice,' features disquieting lines like 'I dream in darkness/I sleep to die/Erase the silence/Erase my life.' The lyrics are par for the course on this lineup of overwhelmingly melancholy compositions. Still, it's well-executed music, and it's an ideal soundtrack for life's moodier moments." Jon Dolan of the magazine Entertainment Weekly
found the song to be a "bruising breakup lament that turns into an anthem
of freedom." Giving the song a negative review, Alex Nun of musicOMH
wrote that "Sweet Sacrifice" was "a turgid attempt to recapture past glories, the heard-before riff
s and shockingly average vocals act as a slap from the proverbial wet fish." The song was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance
at the 50th Grammy Awards
.
A music video directed by Paul R. Brown was filmed in Burbank, California
between March 9 and March 10, 2007. The music video leaked onto the Internet
on April 4, 2007, after briefly being available for digital download
on iTunes Store
. It initially premiered on Yahoo! Music
on April 5. The video was compared with the psychological thriller
film directed by Tarsem Singh
, called The Cell
(2000). Lee said that the main inspiration is "like we're in the walls of our minds, sort of". During an interview with MTV News
, she further revealed the concept of the video, "It's mostly live performance. It's not so much fluff and flying and tricks and wolves and stuff. It's more really just about the song, and that is unique for us. We usually do crazy stuff. It's gonna be sort of like a video within the video. Since the song is our heaviest single, we really wanted to focus on mostly performance but still have something about it that's really unique. And I think [Paul] really hit the nail on the head." The video starts with Lee laying on a couch and as the song progresses, she starts singing the lyrics "It's true, we're all a little insane, but it's so clear now that I am unchained" while getting up from it. She wears a red dress and a red make-up on her face. Later another scenes, show her singing in a room similar to the thriller The Cell
, while the band is performing in another room.
during the band's second worldwide The Open Door Tour (2006). Some of the performances included those in The Great Saltair in Saltair, Utah
on October 25, 2006, and on April 4, 2007 in Dunkin' Donuts Center
in Providence, Rhode Island
On November 8, 2009, the band had a concert in São Paulo
, Brazil
in which they played "Sweet Sacrifice". The song is used in the direct-to-video film Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball
.
Basic Maxi CD (Part 1)
Premium Maxi CD (Part 2)
Note
(*)The interview was filmed for AOL Music at SonyBMG Studios in New York on August 3, 2006. It touches on the creative process of recording The Open Door as well as Lee and LeCompt's musical opinions.
, "Sweet Sacrifice" peaked at number 75 where it stayed one week. However, the song fell out of the chart on July 8, 2007 spending a total of 4 weeks on the chart. It also peaked at number 11 on the Turkish Singles Chart
, and number 24 on Billboard
s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. It was released on May 25, 2007, as the third single from their second studio album, The Open Door
The Open Door
The Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 other countries worldwide...
. It was written by Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
and Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo , is an American guitarist. He is the former guitarist of the alternative metal band Cold and the current guitarist of Evanescence.-Early projects and Cold:...
while the production was handled by Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
. "All That I'm Living For" was initially planned to be the third single, as announced at live concerts and online. However, due to requests from the band and fan reaction, Wind-up
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
reconsidered its release and announced that "Sweet Sacrifice" would be the band's third single from The Open Door. Evanescence's lead singer Amy Lee wrote the song about the abusive relationship that inspired all of the songs on the group's debut record Fallen
Fallen (Evanescence album)
-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
(2003).
"Sweet Sacrifice" is a rock song written in a moderate tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. Several critics found a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
to Evanescences former guitarist Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
in the song. Upon its release, "Sweet Sacrifice" received mostly positive reviews by critics; many deemed the song as a highlight on the album and praised Lee's vocals, which some described as "haunting". Although the song failed to chart as highly as the band's previous singles, it appeared on the charts in Turkey and Germany, as well as the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Sweet Sacrifice" was nominated in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
. A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, directed by Paul R. Brown, was filmed in California between March 9 and March 10, 2007; It contained mostly live performances and was compared with the film, The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
(2000). "Sweet Sacrifice" was also added on the set-list on Evanescence's The Open Door Tour.
Background and release
"Sweet Sacrifice" was written by Amy LeeAmy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
and Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo , is an American guitarist. He is the former guitarist of the alternative metal band Cold and the current guitarist of Evanescence.-Early projects and Cold:...
while the production was handled by Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
. It was recorded in Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, mixed by Dave Fortman at Ocean Way Studios
Ocean Way Recording
Ocean Way Recording is the name of a series of recording studios in Hollywood, California and Nashville, Tennessee. Ocean Way Studios is well known in the recording industry due to the award-winning albums that were produced there....
, Los Angeles and mastered by Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
at Sterling Sound, New York. The programming was done by DJ Lethal
DJ Lethal
Leor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...
. Talking about The Open Door, Lee said that lot of people expected the new songs on the album to be similar with "My Immortal
My Immortal
"My Immortal" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on December 8, 2003 as the third single from their debut studio album Fallen. The song was entirely written by former guitarist Ben Moody, with the exception of the bridge, which was later added by Amy Lee, and it was...
" (2003) before adding that "'Weight of the World', 'Sweet Sacrifice' and 'All That I'm Living For' are so amazing to me because of the adrenaline. Especially when we play them live." She further revealed the inspiration behind the song,
It's the one song on The Open Door that's about the same abusive relationshipRelational aggressionRelational aggression, also known as covert aggression or covert bullying, is a type of aggression in which harm is caused through damage to relationships or social status within a group rather than by means of actual or threatened physical violence...
which was the source of all the songs on FallenFallen (Evanescence album)-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
. It was appropriate to put this song at the beginning, but it comes from a much stronger standpoint than Fallen. It's not saying, "I'm trapped in fear and somebody save me." It's saying, "Fear is only in our minds ... I'm not afraid anymore."
The band announced at live concerts and online that their upcoming third single from The Open Door
The Open Door
The Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 other countries worldwide...
would be "All That I'm Living For," however, due to requests from the band and fan reaction, Wind-up
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
announced that "Sweet Sacrifice" would be the band's third single from The Open Door. The original single was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on May 25, 2007, featuring a basic and premium version. Elsewhere, it was scheduled for a release on May 8, 2007 through Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
but it was later canceled.
Composition
According to the sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, "Sweet Sacrifice" is a rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
, post-grunge
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
and gothic metal song, set in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and performed in moderate tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 96 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F# minor
F (musical note)
F is a musical note, the fourth above C. It is also known as fa in fixed-do solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle F is approximately 349.228 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in...
and Lee's vocals for the song range from the musical note of A#3
A (musical note)
La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
to G5
G (musical note)
Sol, So, or G is the fifth note of the solfège starting on C. As such it is the dominant, a perfect fifth above C.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle G note is approximately 391.995 Hz...
. According to IGNs Ed Thompson, Lee sings the lines "It's true we're all a little insane/But it's so clear now that I'm unchained", with her "haunting vocals". Some critics found dark lyrics like "I dream in darkness, I sleep to die, erase the silence, erase my life, our burning ashes darken the day, a world of nothingness, blow me away" accompanied with "rumbling guitars" and a string section. A writer for the website Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
found similarities between the songs on Fallen and "Sweet Sacrifice". The main theme for the song is getting over from an abusive relationship. Jordan Reimer of The Daily Princetonian
The Daily Princetonian
The Daily Princetonian is the daily independent student newspaper of Princeton University. It is published five days a week from September to May and three days a week during the University's Reading Period in January and May.- Finances :...
concluded that Lee sings the lines "You know you live to break me" and "Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?" to Evanescence's past guitarist Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
. That was somehow echoed by Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
who said that the lyrics "One day I'm gonna forget your name/And one sweet day, you're gonna drown in my lost pain" are aimed at Moody .
Critical reception
Bill Lamb of the website About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, put the song on his list of of Top Tracks on The Open Door alongside with "Lacrymosa
Lacrymosa (song)
"Lacrymosa" is a song recorded by American rock band Evanescence for their second studio album, The Open Door . The song was composed by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo and produced by Dave Fortman. "Lacrymosa" incorporates the Lacrimosa sequence from Mozart's Requiem throughout the song and Lee said...
", "Call Me When You're Sober
Call Me When You're Sober
"Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. The song was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo and produced by Dave Fortman and it was included on their second studio album The Open Door. On July 30, 2006 several radio stations played the track before its official...
", "Your Star" and "Good Enough
Good Enough (Evanescence song)
"Good Enough" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released in 2007 as the fourth single from their second studio album, The Open Door. The song was written by lead vocalist Amy Lee and produced by Dave Fortman. According to Lee it was written for her long-time friend and husband,...
". In his review of The Open Door, Ed Thompson of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, highlighted the song as the "best track" on the album and put it on his list "Definitely Download". The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
s Richard Harrington wrote that "There's no shortage of soaring, dynamic rockers on 'The Open Door,' including 'Sweet Sacrifice,'" among others. Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
concluded that "Call Me When You're Sober
Call Me When You're Sober
"Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. The song was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo and produced by Dave Fortman and it was included on their second studio album The Open Door. On July 30, 2006 several radio stations played the track before its official...
and "Sweet Sacrifice" were the only "radio-friendly" songs on the album before adding that "those are the only songs that don't excruciatingly wane after a minute."
Sara Berry of St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
wrote "the CD's opening track, 'Sweet Sacrifice,' features disquieting lines like 'I dream in darkness/I sleep to die/Erase the silence/Erase my life.' The lyrics are par for the course on this lineup of overwhelmingly melancholy compositions. Still, it's well-executed music, and it's an ideal soundtrack for life's moodier moments." Jon Dolan of the magazine Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
found the song to be a "bruising breakup lament that turns into an anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
of freedom." Giving the song a negative review, Alex Nun of musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
wrote that "Sweet Sacrifice" was "a turgid attempt to recapture past glories, the heard-before riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s and shockingly average vocals act as a slap from the proverbial wet fish." The song was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
.
Music video
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
between March 9 and March 10, 2007. The music video leaked onto the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
on April 4, 2007, after briefly being available for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. It initially premiered on Yahoo! Music
LAUNCHcast
Yahoo! Music Radio is an Internet radio service offered by CBS Radio through Yahoo! Music. The service, formerly offered by LAUNCH Media, and originally developed by Todd Beaupré and Jeff Boulter, debuted on November 11, 1999, and was purchased by Yahoo! in October, 2001...
on April 5. The video was compared with the psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
film directed by Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Dhandwar Singh , known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.- Life and career :...
, called The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
(2000). Lee said that the main inspiration is "like we're in the walls of our minds, sort of". During an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, she further revealed the concept of the video, "It's mostly live performance. It's not so much fluff and flying and tricks and wolves and stuff. It's more really just about the song, and that is unique for us. We usually do crazy stuff. It's gonna be sort of like a video within the video. Since the song is our heaviest single, we really wanted to focus on mostly performance but still have something about it that's really unique. And I think [Paul] really hit the nail on the head." The video starts with Lee laying on a couch and as the song progresses, she starts singing the lyrics "It's true, we're all a little insane, but it's so clear now that I am unchained" while getting up from it. She wears a red dress and a red make-up on her face. Later another scenes, show her singing in a room similar to the thriller The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
, while the band is performing in another room.
Live performances and usage in media
"Sweet Sacrifice" was part of the set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
during the band's second worldwide The Open Door Tour (2006). Some of the performances included those in The Great Saltair in Saltair, Utah
Saltair, Utah
Saltair, also The SaltAir or Saltair Pavilion, is the name which has been given to several resorts located on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States, about fifteen miles from Salt Lake City.-Saltair I:...
on October 25, 2006, and on April 4, 2007 in Dunkin' Donuts Center
Dunkin' Donuts Center
The Dunkin' Donuts Center , is an indoor arena, located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
On November 8, 2009, the band had a concert in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in which they played "Sweet Sacrifice". The song is used in the direct-to-video film Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball
Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball
Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball is an action crime film directed by P.J. Pesce and starring Tom Berenger, Vinnie Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Autumn Reeser and Ernie Hudson. The film is a prequel to Joe Carnahan's 2007 film Smokin' Aces. The film centers on an FBI desk jockey who is targeted for murder...
.
Track listing
There are two versions of the single that have been released, they have different photos by Amy V. Cooper.Basic Maxi CD (Part 1)
- "Sweet Sacrifice" (Album version} - 3:05
- "Weight of the World" (Live from Tokyo) - 3:44
Premium Maxi CD (Part 2)
- "Sweet Sacrifice" (Album version) - 3:05
- "Weight of the World" (Live from Tokyo) - 3:44
- "Sweet Sacrifice" (Radio mix) - 3:03
- Interview with Amy LeeAmy LeeAmy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
and John LeComptJohn LeComptJohn Charles LeCompt is an American musician who has been part of the Little Rock heavy metal music scene since the mid-1990s. He has been associated with a great number of bands, ranging from the unknown and unsigned to multi-platinum sellers, most notably the alternative metal band Evanescence...
* - 5:07
Note
(*)The interview was filmed for AOL Music at SonyBMG Studios in New York on August 3, 2006. It touches on the creative process of recording The Open Door as well as Lee and LeCompt's musical opinions.
Credits and personnel
Credits for "Sweet Sacrifice" are taken from The Open Door liner notes.- Amy LeeAmy LeeAmy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, writingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Terry BalsamoTerry BalsamoTerry Balsamo , is an American guitarist. He is the former guitarist of the alternative metal band Cold and the current guitarist of Evanescence.-Early projects and Cold:...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, writing - John LeComptJohn LeComptJohn Charles LeCompt is an American musician who has been part of the Little Rock heavy metal music scene since the mid-1990s. He has been associated with a great number of bands, ranging from the unknown and unsigned to multi-platinum sellers, most notably the alternative metal band Evanescence...
- guitar - Will Boyd - bass
- Rocky GrayRocky GrayWilliam "Rocky" Gray is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He has an extensive career as a musician and is best known as the lead guitarist for Living Sacrifice and the drummer for We Are the Fallen...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Dave FortmanDave FortmanDave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
- producingRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Jeremy Parker - audio engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Mike Houge - assistant engineering
- Wesley Seidman - assistant engineering
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- audio masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - DJ LethalDJ LethalLeor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...
- programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - David Campbell - orchestral arrangement
- Recorded at Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles
- Mixed at Ocean Way StudiosOcean Way RecordingOcean Way Recording is the name of a series of recording studios in Hollywood, California and Nashville, Tennessee. Ocean Way Studios is well known in the recording industry due to the award-winning albums that were produced there....
, Los Angeles - Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York
Chart performance
On the German Singles ChartMedia Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
, "Sweet Sacrifice" peaked at number 75 where it stayed one week. However, the song fell out of the chart on July 8, 2007 spending a total of 4 weeks on the chart. It also peaked at number 11 on the Turkish Singles Chart
Türkiye Top 20
The Turkey Top 20 is a music singles chart in Turkey. It has been compiled by Billboard Türkiye since November 2006. The charts were announced from the web site weekly, and monthly from the "Billboard Türkiye" magazine. Since September 2009, the charts are only announced monthly from the published...
, and number 24 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
| Chart (2007) |
Peak position |
|---|---|
| Turkey (Türkiye Top 20 Türkiye Top 20 The Turkey Top 20 is a music singles chart in Turkey. It has been compiled by Billboard Türkiye since November 2006. The charts were announced from the web site weekly, and monthly from the "Billboard Türkiye" magazine. Since September 2009, the charts are only announced monthly from the published... ) |
11 |
| Germany (Media Control AG Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... ) |
75 |
| Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
24 |
External links
- Official music video at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Evanescence's official website