The Open Door
2006 studio album by Evanescence
The Open Door is the second studio album by American rock band Evanescence, released on September 25, 2006, by Wind-up Records. Amy Lee had full creative control of the record, incorporating new elements into their previous musical styles, including her classical influences, homemade sounds, industrial rock, symphonic metal, progressive rock, electronica and the use of choirs on several songs. The album was written in the course of 18 months, and the recording process was delayed as a result of guitarist Terry Balsamo's stroke. Most of the songs were co-composed by Lee and Balsamo, with production handled by Dave Fortman.
The Open Door received generally positive reviews from music critics. The song "Sweet Sacrifice" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, and the album won Album of the Year at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards. The Open Door debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 447,000 copies in its first week. It topped the charts in Australia, Europe, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, and reached the top five in over 15 countries. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA just over a month after its release, and has since been certified double platinum. As of 2011, it has sold more than six million copies worldwide.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Open Door” as 2006 studio album by Evanescence. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2006 studio album by Evanescence. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q629989. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006 and 2011.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Open Door”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Open Door primary sources, The Open Door archive and Door research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Open Door”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Open Door” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.