Evanescence singer says stroke "really affected" guitarist

The latest Evanescence single, "Lithium," is the second track issued from the band's sophomore major label album, The Open Door. The difficult creation of the album was made even harder when guitarist Terry Balsamo suffered a massive stroke in November of 2005, shortly after finishing his guitar parts. Singer Amy Lee told us that bouncing back was a challenge for her 34-year-old bandmate: "He was really affected, for sure, for a while. I mean, he was paralyzed, and he spent this entire time recuperating and regaining strength in his arm to play guitar again and going to physical therapy, like, three times a week and, like, relearning everything that he's known. So it's been a ton of hard work for him."

Lee told Canada's Jam! Music this week that Balsamo is "still not 100% but he's doing amazing." She added that doctors initially told the guitarist he would never play his instrument again.

Evanescence is currently on a Canadian tour with support from Stone Sour and head to Japan and Australia later in the month.

The Open Door has sold more than 1.4 million copies since its October release.

Singer Amy Lee appeared last month at Korn's taping of MTV Unplugged, which will premiere in February.
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