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 countries worldwide. The release date, which was originally intended to be in March 2006, was changed because of guitarist
Terry Balsamo's stroke, the loss of the band's former manager, and
Will Boyd's and
Ben Moody's departure from the band. The album symbolizes a new beginning for the band, incorporating new elements into their previous musical styles, which include
gothic rock,
symphonic rock and
pop music as well as the use of choirs on several songs. The writing process for the album took over 18 months to complete; most of the songs were written by
Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo, and were produced by
Dave Fortman.