“Sweet Sacrifice” by Evanescence

"Sweet Sacrifice" comes from The Open Door, Evanescence's second album, and it became the record's third single in May 2007, first out in Germany, but only after some lobbying: the label had lined up "All That I'm Living For" for that slot until pressure from the band and their fans changed its mind. Amy Lee wrote it with Terry Balsamo, and Dave Fortman produced and mixed it with full alternative metal heft, all crashing weight under Lee's voice.

The song finds her walking out of the abusive relationship that had fueled so much of the band's debut, and she has described it as almost sarcastic, a message to herself to quit playing the willing victim. Critics mostly liked it, it drew a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 50th ceremony, and P.R. Brown directed the video.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.