I've been following the breakup of Evanescence in these pages for awhile, and here, aparently, is the coda. From time to time, I check in on the Exodus Evanescence message board, where band members sometimes come to mingle with their fans. Of these band members, Ben Moody has been an EvBoard fixture in the forms of his alter egos (all of which denied being Ben.) The posts of Efanar or The Priest always drew reverence and provoking entertaining discussions while letting us all feel a little more connected to the people behind the music. When Ben left the band, he stayed around on the boards, but wouldn't speak much at all about the breakup, save what you have already read in these pages. That is, of course, until the board maintainer, a man known as The Other Ben, or TOB for short, theorized that Ben's best days were behind him and that Evanescence was Ben's "shot at greatness."

I'm posting Ben's final message to the board in full. Ben Moody is a guy I looked at as something of a hero -- a man who through his own ambition and hard work assembled one of the world's most popular bands. And despite having the sort of success that someone living in his parent's basement would kill for, Ben remained down-to-Earth and approachable. The fact that he turned his back on that sort of success speaks a lot about his character and offers some perspective on what is really important in life. Although we may never fully know why he made that choice, the following message hints that it may be, in my eyes, the most heroic thing he's ever done, even if he does come off as a bit of an asshole.

OKay, I probably shouldn't be going into this, but I will.
A couple of things...
John was not left holding the bag, so to speak. Ben did NOT leave without notice. John spent weeks learning Ben's parts and Ben actually sat with John to go over the solos. There were absolutely more than one guitar tracked on Fallen. And as far as leaving Ev being a poor personal decision, I would think as a friend, you would be cooler, and wiser, than to say something so hanusly uneducated. I understand if you have a hard on for John, but Ben created Ev from the beginning. ACCEPT IT. Ev was not his shot at greatness. It was the one thing standing in his way.. oh fuck this third person bullshit. This is Ben. and your statements are fucked up. I have achieved greatness.. and you know what that is?
I've made my peace with myself and my peace with God. My shot at greatness came in the form of a decision. Follow my heart, or follow my head. And as far as I'm concerned you are in no position to judge what is and what is not great. If your definition of greatness is being in a band like ev than your world is a sad, dark, hopeless, and all around FUCKED UP PLACE. I pitty you and will be praying for you. I can only hope that you and anyone who thinks that way will one day open your eyes to life beyond this bullshit.

You know, I have cherished this board and everyone on it since even before you, TOB, were a part of it. I have been the only member of Ev, past or present, to be loyal to those who are loyal to us. I am the one who from day one did everything in my power to relay how much you all mean to ev and how much i respect you. And TOB, you have been here long enough to know better than to even think this way. It's sickening. I did everything I could for ev, up to and including letting all manner of things be said by fans and "friends" without saying a word. Keeping my promise of silence at the expense of my honor and dignity. I have allowed attack after attack go unavenged because I took refuge in the one place I knew was safe for me. The exodus board. But now that has been taken from me.
The sad fact is, that you haven't even seen what is to come. Do you really think that anyone in ev has even a small percentage of the drive or ambition that I have? Do you really think that the world has a shot in hell at making ev the biggest thing I ever do? WAKE UP! You haven't seen the last of me and won't for a long time. But none of that even matters. One line keeps repeating in my head even as I type this. "ev was his one shot at greatness."
If that's true, and if being in ev (not writing, mind you.. i can do that anywhere.) was my "one shot at greatness"... then my asperations as a human being far outweigh the limitations of this earth and the standards that people like you live by are too far beneath me to even strive for. I'm sorry to those of you who have been loyal to us, and especially to me. I had hoped that the relationship that we built over the last year would carry on into future endeavors, but apperantly you have already decided my fate.
So this will be the last post I make. I love you all, and it has been a blast. But i think that my persuit of greatness is headed in a direction that simply isn't important to you, and that saddens me.
Goodbye.
- Ben Moody

Goodbye indeed.