Benjamin Robert Moody (born January 22, 1981, in Little Rock, Arkansas, US) is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003. Since leaving Evanescence, Moody has collaborated with an array of performers vocally, instrumentally, and as a writer. He is now a member of We Are the Fallen.
Moody met Amy Lee in 1994 while at a youth camp and the two eventually became friends. They soon began playing music at local shops. Within a few years, the pair began selling EPs at local shows, culminating in their discovery by Wind-up Records and the release of their major label debut album, Fallen, in 2003. Moody abruptly left the band in October 2003 during their European tour, citing "creative differences".
Beginning in 2004, Moody began collaborating with a variety of artists, working in multiple disciplines. That year, he co-wrote the track "Nobody's Home" for Avril Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, and wrote and recorded the track "The End Has Come" with Jason C. Miller and Jason "Gong" Jones for The Punisher soundtrack. He then wrote with David Hodges, Kelly Clarkson, and others for Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, working on the songs "Because of You" and "Addicted".
In early 2005, Moody played lead guitar for the song "Forever in Our Hearts", the 'song for tsunami relief' made exclusively for iTunes. He collaborated with singer Anastacia on the song "Everything Burns", which is featured on her album Pieces of a Dream and the Fantastic Four soundtrack. Moody then assisted Lindsay Lohan on her album A Little More Personal (Raw) and worked with Bo Bice on the song "My World" (a cover from SR-71) for his debut album The Real Thing.
In April 2006, Moody began working on the debut album of Billings, Montana singer-songwriter Hana Pestle. He co-produced and co-wrote alongside Michael "Fish" Herring, and contributed vocals and instrumentals to the album. He later produced the Godhead album The Shadow Line with Julian Beeston, and played a clown in their music video for the song "Push". He collaborated with David Hodges again on American Idol Chris Daughtry's debut album, Daughtry, for the song "What About Now".
In 2007, Moody worked with Céline Dion on her album Taking Chances, and began work for his own solo album.
In December 2008, he released the Mutiny Bootleg E.P. and announced that his solo album would be released on March 3, 2009. This release would be delayed, however, as was hinted at in February 2009, when Moody's official website displayed the release as "available 2009" instead of the March 3 release date. On June 9, 2009, Moody's debut solo album, entitled All for This, was released digitally via Amazon.com, iTunes, and Amie Street through Moody's label, FNR Records. His second album, You Can't Regret What You Don't Remember, was released on November 11, 2011.
Shortly after the release of All for This, it was announced that Moody has created and is also now a member of a new rock band called We Are the Fallen. The members of the band include American Idol 7 finalist Carly Smithson as the lead singer, former Evanescence members Rocky Gray and John LeCompt, and Moody's friend Marty O'Brien. We Are the Fallen made their first public appearance together for a press conference at SIR in Los Angeles, CA, on June 22, 2009. Their debut album, Tear The World Down was released in 2010 to generally positive reviews. The band toured for most of the year in support of the album, and filmed their first live DVD, Cirque Des Damnés, at the Avalon Theatre. The DVD is scheduled for release in late 2011.
